Encourages timely recording of residential deeds.

A1668

ASSEMBLY, No. 1668

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Encourages timely recording of residential deeds.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning the recordation of deeds, supplementing and
amending P.L.1968, c.49.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� (New section)� a.� In
addition to all other fees imposed under P.L.1968, c.49 (C.46:15-5 et seq.), if
a deed for the transfer of residential real property is delivered for recording
to the county recording officer more than 90 days after the date of its delivery
to the grantee, there is imposed upon the grantee a late filing fee.� If the
county recording office is closed on the 90th day following the date of the
delivery of the deed to the grantee, then a late filing fee shall not be
imposed if the deed is delivered to the county recording officer by the first
day thereafter that the county recording office is open.� A late filing fee
shall not be imposed if a delay in the delivery of a deed to the county
recording officer is the result of the deed being held in escrow.� If failure
to deliver a deed to the county recording officer within the time required is
the fault of an agent or someone other than the grantee, then the late filing
fee shall be imposed upon the agent or other person and not passed through to
the grantee. A late filing fee shall not be imposed on the State, or any
instrumentality, agency, or subdivision thereof.

���� b.��� The proceeds of late
filing fees collected by the county recording officer pursuant to subsection a.
of this section shall be accounted for and remitted to the county treasurer.�
The county treasurer shall deposit the surcharges so collected into the county�s
Homelessness Housing Trust Fund created pursuant to P.L.2009, c.123
(C.52:27D-287a et al.) or into an account to be expended for the purposes set
forth in section 6 of P.L.2009, c.123 (C.52:27D-287f).�

���� c.���� For the purposes of
this section:

���� �Late filing fee� means a fee
of $10 per calendar day, including the day the deed is delivered to the county
recording officer which, however, shall not cumulatively exceed $500.

���� �Residential real property�
means property that is classified pursuant to the requirements of
N.J.A.C.18:12-2.2 as Class 2: "residential;" Class 3A: "farm
property (regular)," but only if the property includes a building or
structure intended or suited for residential use; and a cooperative unit as
defined in section 3 of P.L.1987, c.381 (C.46:8D-3).

���� 2.��� Section 2 of P.L.1968,
c.49 (C.46:15-6) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� In addition to other
prerequisites for recording, no deed evidencing transfer of title to real
property shall be recorded in the office of any county recording officer unless
it satisfies the following requirements:

���� a.���� If the transfer is
subject to any fee established under section 3 of P.L.1968, c.49 (C.46:15-7) or
section 2 of P.L.2003, c.113 (C.46:15-7.1), a statement of the
delivery date
of the deed to the grantee and of the
true consideration for the transfer
shall be contained in the deed, the acknowledgment, the proof of the execution,
or an appended affidavit by one of the parties to the deed or that party's
legal representative.

���� b.��� If the transfer is
exempt from any fee established under section 3 of P.L.1968, c.49 (C.46:15-7)
or section 2 of P.L.2003, c.113 (C.46:15-7.1), an affidavit stating the
delivery
date of the deed to the grantee and the
basis for the exemption shall be
appended to the deed.

���� c.���� If the transfer is of
real property upon which there is new construction, the words "NEW
CONSTRUCTION" in upper case lettering shall be printed clearly at the top
of the first page of the deed, and an affidavit by the grantor stating that the
transfer is of property upon which there is new construction shall be appended
to the deed.

(cf: P.L.2004, c.66, s.2)

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall be applicable to deeds submitted for recording on
and after the first day of the fourth

month next following the date of enactment.�����

STATEMENT

����
This bill encourages purchasers of residential real
property to record deeds in a timely fashion.� Under the bill, a purchaser that
submits a residential deed to the county for recording more than 90 days after
the delivery date of the deed will be charged a late filing fee of $10 a day
for each day thereafter, up to a cumulative total of $500.� The bill would
allow an extension of the deed delivery deadline if the county recording office
is closed on the final day before the late filing fee is initiated.� A late fee
would not be imposed on State entities.� A late fee would not be imposed if a
delay in the delivery of a deed is the result of the deed being held in
escrow.� If failure to deliver a deed to the county recording officer within
the time required is the fault of an agent or someone other than the grantee,
then the late filing fee would be imposed upon the agent or other person and
not passed through to the grantee.� The bill dedicates the proceeds of these
late filing fees to combatting homelessness.