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A5289
ASSEMBLY, No. 5289
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 18, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman� LINDA S. CARTER
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes certain protections against deed theft.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning deed theft, amending N.J.S.2A:15-6, and
supplementing Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� (New section) a.� (1)�� A
federal, State, or local government entity may move for a stay of any
proceeding to recover possession of or quiet title to real property relating to
a residential dwelling unit or property, based on a pending good faith
investigation into the theft or fraud in the title to, or the financing of, the
premises that is the subject of the proceeding.� Upon the agency�s showing of
the pendency of a good faith investigation, the court shall issue a stay of the
proceeding, including staying execution of a warrant of eviction or enforcement
of a judgment so long as the investigation is ongoing.
���� (2)�� Every six months, the
court shall schedule a status conference with the government agency and any
other parties to the action to review any stay and to determine if the
investigation is still continuing in good faith and shall continue the stay of
the proceeding until the government investigation is closed.� A court may, in
its discretion, review any supporting documents filed by the government entity
in camera and to be filed under seal if deemed necessary by the government
entity.
���� b.��� The court shall stay all
proceedings:
���� (1)�� to recover possession of
or quiet title to real property relating to a residential dwelling unit or
property, where a criminal complaint is filed against a party to the proceeding
for deed theft, larceny, offering a false document for filing, criminal possession
of stolen property or any other law asserting theft or fraud in obtaining title
to property and the criminal complaint relates to the premises that is the
subject of the proceeding.� The stay shall remain in effect until resolution of
the criminal action;
���� (2)�� to recover possession of
or quiet title to real property relating to a residential dwelling unit or
property, where a federal, state or local government entity has commenced a
civil action or proceeding relating to the theft or fraud in the title to, or the
financing of, the premises that is the subject of the proceeding; and
���� (3)�� relating to any
landlord-tenant action before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division,
Special Civil Part, or before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division,
if the action was removed to the Law Division pursuant to N.J.S.2A:18-60 for 90
days to allow a party to file a complaint in the appropriate forum when the
court makes a determination that there is a bona fide dispute between parties
purporting to own the property that is the subject of the proceeding.
���� c.���� A rebuttable
presumption that a bona fide dispute to title exists shall be created when the
party disputing petitioner�s title, owns or owned the property that is the
subject of the court proceeding during the last three years, or is a person
interested in the property.�
���� d.��� A party may seek an
additional stay of the proceeding beyond the initial 90 day stay by the court
if the party was unable to file a complaint or seek a stay from another forum.�
In extending the stay, the court shall consider, without limitation, the totality
of the circumstances including steps the parties have taken to resolve the
dispute, the harm to the parties of a further stay, and the ability of the
parties to advocate for themselves or retain counsel.
���� e.���� This section shall not
apply to any proceeding commenced against a person in possession who has
entered the property or remains in possession by force or unlawful means and the
person or the person�s predecessor in interest was not in quiet possession for
three years before the time of the forcible or unlawful entry or detainer and
the petitioner was peaceably in actual possession at the time of the forcible
or unlawful entry or in constructive possession at the time of the forcible or
unlawful detainer.
���� f.���� Nothing in this section
shall diminish the court�s own discretion to further stay a proceeding in the
interests of justice.
���� g.��� Nothing in this section
shall limit a party from seeking relief, including a stay of a proceeding, in
another court.
���� h.��� For the purposes of this
section, a proceeding to recover possession of or quiet title to real property
shall include an ejectment action or a writ of possession, a foreclosure
action, an action to enforce a mortgage note, or any other action affecting
title to or encumbrance upon real property, or any other judicial or
administrative proceeding to recover possession of or quiet title to real
property.
���� i.���� As used in this
section:
���� �Party� means a corporation,
limited liability company, partnership or other entity:
���� (1)�� where a criminal
complaint has been filed against an individual who has a financial or
controlling interest in the entity that holds title to the property; or
���� (2)�� where a criminal
complaint has been filed against a seller of the property, including an
individual or corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other
entity, or where a criminal complaint has been filed against an individual who
has a financial or controlling interest in the entity that sold the property.
���� �Person interested in the
property� shall mean a person entitled or allegedly entitled to share as
beneficiary in the estate concerning the premises that is the subject of the
proceeding, or trustee in bankruptcy, or the receiver of such a person.
���� 2.��� (New section) a.� Where
a person has been convicted of a criminal offense in connection with a deed
theft or fraudulent transaction involving real property, the conviction shall
create a rebuttable presumption that the deed transfer was fraudulent.�
���� b.��� This section shall also
apply where a grantee of a fraudulent deed is an entity that is beneficially
owned by the convicted person.� A defendant may produce proof to establish by a
preponderance of the evidence that the deed was not procured through fraud.
���� c.���� As used in this
section, �person� means an individual, proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, association, or other legal entity.
���� 3.��� (New section) P.L.��� ,
c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not in
any manner affect or impair the title of a purchaser or encumbrancer for a
valuable consideration, unless it appears that the purchaser or encumbrancer
had previous notice, whether actual or constructive, of the fraudulent intent
of the immediate grantor, or of the fraud rendering void the title of that
grantor.� There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a purchaser or
encumbrancer had notice of fraud or fraudulent intent in the case of a transfer
of mortgaged real property, between a purchaser and seller who are not
associated parties, that is not accompanied by the recording with the county
recoding officer of the county or with the commissioner of deeds in which the
property is located, of a statement, executed by the mortgagee, and duly
acknowledged, stating, substantially, that:
���� a.���� a party is assuming the
seller�s indebtedness secured by the mortgage; or
���� b.��� the indebtedness secured
by the mortgage has been satisfied.
���� As used in this section,
�associated parties� means spouses, ex-spouses, parents and children, siblings,
a homeowner and that homeowner�s family trust, or a homeowner and that
homeowner�s wholly-owned limited liability company.
���� 4.��� (New section) a.� When a
defendant has been convicted after a trial or pled guilty to any crime that
affects the title to, encumbrance of, or possession of, real property and where
there is an instrument that is material to the encumbrance, transfer, or
purchase of the real property, the Attorney General or any law enforcement
agency may file a motion in Superior Court in the county where the property
that is the subject of the instrument is located or the prosecution occurred,
on behalf of the victim to void the instrument.� A motion pursuant to this
section shall be in writing and state the county, block, lot, and street
address of the property and include a description of the property, and a copy
of the judgment of conviction.
���� b.��� Within 10 days after
filing a motion pursuant to this section, the agency filing the motion shall
record a copy of the notice of the motion in the office of the county recording
officer of the county in which the property is situated.
���� c.���� The Superior Court
shall conduct a hearing and make findings of essential to the determination
whether to declare the instrument void.� There will be a rebuttable presumption
that where a party is convicted after a trial or a guilty plea to any crime that
affects the title to, encumbrance of, or possession of, real property and where
there is an instrument that encumbers or is material to the transfer or sale of
real property, that the instrument is void.
���� d.��� Upon the defendant�s
conviction or guilty plea, and after conducting a hearing pursuant to this
section, a court shall make a determination, and if appropriate, shall order
that the instrument be declared void or grant other appropriate relief to the
victim.� The order of the court shall describe the nature of the false
statement or false information contained in the instrument.� A copy of the
instrument shall be attached to the order of the court.
���� e.���� If the order relates to
an instrument that has been filed with, registered, or recorded in a public
office, a certified copy of the order shall be recorded in the office of the
county recording officer of the county in which the property is situated.
���� f.���� As used in this
section, �all persons who have an interest in the property affected by such
instrument� means all parties who have recorded an instrument affecting the
real property that is the subject of the instrument described in this section,
any last record owner and anyone in residence during the pendency of the
prosecution and any party with a lien against the property that is unsatisfied,
or any other party that may claim to have liens or an interest in the property,
and any current residents of the property, as of the date of the filing of the
criminal information or indictment.
���� g.��� Nothing in this section
shall be deemed to inhibit or prevent relief otherwise provided by law, or a
party�s right to appeal an order issued pursuant to this section.
���� 5.��� N.J.S.2A:15-6 is amended
to read as follows:
���� 2A:15-6.�
a.
In every
action, instituted in any court of this State having civil jurisdiction or in
the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the object of
which is to enforce a lien upon real estate or to affect the title to real
estate or a lien or encumbrance thereon, plaintiff or his attorney shall, after
the filing of the complaint, file in the office of the county clerk or register
of deeds and mortgages, as the case may be, of the county in which the affected
real estate is situate, a written notice of the pendency of the action, which
shall set forth the title and the general object thereof, with a description of
the affected real estate.�
The pendency of an action pursuant to this
subsection is constructive notice, from the time of filing of the notice, to a
purchaser from, or encumbrancer against, any defendant named in a notice of
pendency indexed in a block index against a block in which property affected is
situated or any defendant against whose name a notice of pendency is indexed. �A
person whose conveyance or encumbrance is recorded after the filing of the
notice is bound by all proceedings taken in the action after the filing to the
same extent as a party.
����
b.
��� No notice of lis
pendens shall be filed under this article in an action to recover a judgment
for money or damages only.�
����
c.���� Notwithstanding any
provision of subsection a. of this section to the contrary, a notice of
pendency may be filed by a district attorney or the Attorney General upon a
determination after investigation that there is probable cause that a crime has
occurred that affects the title to, encumbrance of, or possession of real
property, in the county where the real property is located.� A notice of
pendency filed pursuant to this subsection shall remain in effect for a period
of six months but may be renewed twice.
����
d.��� Notwithstanding any
provision of subsection a. of this section to the contrary, a notice of
pendency may be filed by a district attorney or the Attorney General upon the
filing of a criminal complaint or indictment that allege charges affecting the
title to, encumbrance of or possession of real property, in the county where
the real property is located. �A notice of pendency filed pursuant to this
subsection will remain in effect until the prosecution of a criminal case is
either dismissed, or otherwise disposed of at sentencing.
(cf:� P.L.1993, c.318, s.39)
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill implements certain
protections against deed theft.� First, the bill provides that a federal,
State, or local government entity may move for a stay of any proceeding to
recover possession of or quiet title to real property relating to a residential
dwelling unit or property, if there is a pending good faith investigation into
the theft or fraud in the title to, or the financing of, the premises that is
the subject of the proceeding.� Upon the agency's showing of the pendency of a
good faith investigation, the court is required to issue a stay of the
proceeding, including staying execution of a warrant of eviction or enforcement
of a judgment so long as the investigation is ongoing.� The bill stipulates
that every six months, the court is required to schedule a status conference
with the government agency and any other parties to the action to review any
stay and to determine if the investigation is still continuing in good faith
and is further required continue the stay of the proceeding until the government
investigation is closed.� A court may, in its discretion, review any supporting
documents filed by the government entity in camera and to be filed under seal
if deemed necessary by the government entity.
���� Under the bill, the court is
required to stay all proceedings;
���� (1)�� to recover possession of
or quiet title to real property relating to a residential dwelling unit or
property, where a criminal complaint is filed against a party to the proceeding
for deed theft, larceny, offering a false document for filing, criminal possession
of stolen property or any other law asserting theft or fraud in obtaining title
to property and the criminal complaint relates to the premises that is the
subject of the proceeding.� The stay is to remain in effect until resolution of
the criminal action:
���� (2)�� to recover possession of
or quiet title to real property relating to a residential dwelling unit or
property, where a federal, state or local government entity has commenced a
civil action or proceeding relating to the theft or fraud in the title to, or the
financing of, the premises that is the subject of the proceeding; and
���� (3)�� relating to any
landlord-tenant action for 90 days to allow a party to file a complaint in the
appropriate forum when the court makes a determination that there is a bona
fide dispute between parties purporting to own the property that is the subject
of the proceeding.
���� The provisions of the bill
concerning the stay of proceedings do not apply to proceedings commenced
against a person in possession who has entered the property or remains in
possession by force or unlawful means and the person or the person�s
predecessor in interest was not in quiet possession for three years before the
time of the forcible or unlawful entry or detainer.
���� Under the bill, where a person
has been convicted of a criminal offense in connection with a deed theft or
fraudulent transaction involving real property, the conviction creates a
rebuttable presumption that the deed transfer was fraudulent.� This applies
where a grantee of a fraudulent deed is an entity that is beneficially owned by
the convicted person.�
���� The bill provides that, in
cases where a defendant has been convicted after a trial or pled guilty to any
crime that affects the title to, encumbrance of, or possession of, real
property and where there is an instrument that is material to the encumbrance,
transfer, or purchase of the real property, the Attorney General or any law
enforcement agency may file a motion in Superior Court in the county where the
property that is the subject of the instrument is located or the prosecution
occurred, on behalf of the victim to void the instrument.� The Superior Court
is required to conduct a hearing and make findings of essential to the
determination whether to declare the instrument void.� Upon the defendant�s
conviction or guilty plea, and after conducting a hearing pursuant to the bill,
the court is required to make a determination, and if appropriate, order that
the instrument be declared void or grant other appropriate relief to the
victim.�