Lis Pendens: What It Means When You Find One on a Property
A lis pendens is a recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting title is pending. What it does, where it is filed, how to tell if it is still active.
Quick answer
A lis pendens, or notice of pendency, is a recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting title to a specific parcel is pending. It is not a lien and not a judgment, and it names no dollar amount. It gives constructive notice: anyone who buys or lends after it is filed is bound by the case’s outcome.
What is a lis pendens?
Lis pendens is Latin for "suit pending." In New York the statutory name is notice of pendency, and practitioners and courts use the two terms interchangeably. CPLR 6501 permits the filing in any action in a state or federal court where the judgment demanded would affect title to, encumbrance of, or the possession, use or enjoyment of real property. Summary proceedings to recover possession, meaning ordinary evictions, are excluded.
The device solves one problem: a defendant who sells or mortgages the property mid-case. Filing does not stop the sale. It makes the sale pointless, because the buyer takes the property already bound by whatever the court decides.
New York courts read the statute narrowly. Under 5303 Realty Corp. v. O & Y Equity Corp., 64 N.Y.2d 313 (1984), the relief demanded must directly affect the property; a money judgment the plaintiff hopes to collect later against real estate does not qualify and will not support a notice.
Definition
Lis pendens (notice of pendency) — A recorded notice that a lawsuit is pending in which the judgment demanded would affect the title to, an encumbrance on, or the possession, use or enjoyment of a specific parcel of real property.
A lis pendens is notice, not a lien and not a judgment
A notice of pendency secures nothing and liquidates nothing. It states no dollar amount, so there is no payoff figure and nothing to satisfy at closing. Unlike a mortgage or a docketed judgment, you cannot wire money to make it go away. It comes off the record when the case ends or a court cancels it.
What it does instead is convert the lawsuit into record notice. CPLR 6501 provides that a person whose conveyance or encumbrance is recorded after the notice is filed is bound by all proceedings taken in the action after that filing to the same extent as a party. Buy on Tuesday, and a judgment entered next year against the seller in that case runs against you.
The commercial consequence follows directly. A title insurer will not insure over an open notice of pendency without an exception, a lender will not close a purchase money mortgage against that exception, and a refinance stalls. The property is not unsellable, only unsellable at a clean price.
A lis pendens says nothing about who is winning. A plaintiff files it unilaterally, usually at commencement, with no judicial review of the merits. The notice tells you a fight exists. Only the docket tells you how it is going.
What kinds of lawsuits produce a lis pendens?
Mortgage foreclosure is the most common source but far from the only one. The underlying action determines the risk entirely, which is why the notice tells you almost nothing without the case behind it.
| Underlying action | What the plaintiff wants | What it means for a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage foreclosure | A judgment of foreclosure and sale | RPAPL 1331 requires a notice of pendency at least twenty days before a final judgment directing a sale. Expect one on essentially every NY foreclosure. |
| Partition | A court-ordered sale or division among co-owners | Title is not defective, but no single co-owner can convey clean title while the action runs. |
| Matrimonial / divorce | Equitable distribution of the marital residence | A non-titled spouse asserts a claim. A purchase from the titled spouse alone is subject to the outcome. |
| Specific performance on a contract of sale | An order forcing the seller to convey to the plaintiff | Another buyer claims the same property. This conflicts with your purchase, not merely with the seller’s equity. |
| Estate and inheritance disputes | A declaration of ownership under a will or intestacy | Common where one heir among several signed the deed. Attacks the chain, not just the equity. |
| Deed fraud or fraudulent conveyance | To void a recorded deed | The most severe category. If the plaintiff wins, a deed in your chain disappears. |
| Mechanic’s lien foreclosure | A judgment foreclosing the lien | CPLR 6516(a) expressly denies successive notices here, so an expired one cannot simply be refiled. |
Where a lis pendens is actually filed
How do I find a lis pendens on a property?
New York City splits property records across two systems that most people conflate. The City Register records deeds, mortgages and liens through ACRIS for the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, online back to 1966; the Department of Finance directs Staten Island recordings to the Richmond County Clerk. Notices of pendency go to the County Clerk in all five boroughs regardless.
Start from the borough, block and lot, not the address
CPLR 6511 requires a notice filed with a clerk who maintains a block index to designate every affected block on the county land map. NYC county clerks maintain block indexes, so the block number is the search key, not the address.
Search the County Clerk block index for that borough
Manhattan is New York County, Brooklyn is Kings County, Staten Island is Richmond County. Each clerk runs its own index with its own online coverage and start date. Confirm the date range before treating a clean result as conclusive.
Search the party index as well as the block index
A notice filed against the wrong block, or amended after filing, can miss a block-only search. Running the owner and any known entity names catches filings the parcel index does not.
Pull the index number and read the case
The notice carries the court, county, index number and parties. Take that number into the New York State court records: the complaint states the relief demanded, the docket shows whether the case is live, dormant, settled or over. CPLR 6501 also covers federal actions, so a notice naming a national bank or receiver may point to a case with no state docket entry.
Outside New York City, expect one office instead of two
In the rest of New York State, in Florida and in Texas, land records and lis pendens filings both sit with the county clerk or clerk of court. The split is a New York City artifact.
How do I tell whether a lis pendens is still active?
This is where cheap title reports fail. A notice of pendency can be dead as a matter of law while still visible in the clerk’s index: expiration happens by operation of statute and produces no recording event. Cancellation requires a court order or stipulation; expiration requires nothing.
- Filing date against the three-year clock. CPLR 6513 makes a notice effective for three years from filing. A court may extend it for a like period on the plaintiff’s motion for good cause, but the extension order must be filed, recorded and indexed before the existing period expires. A notice older than three years with no recorded extension is presumptively spent.
- Service of the summons. CPLR 6512 makes a notice effective only if the summons is served on the defendant, or first publication is made under a court order and later completed, within thirty days after filing. A notice filed and then abandoned never took effect at all.
- Cancellation on the record. CPLR 6514(a) directs the clerk to cancel on mandatory grounds, including that the action was settled, discontinued or abated, or that the time to appeal a final judgment against the plaintiff has expired. Subdivision (b) covers a plaintiff who has not prosecuted in good faith; subdivision (d) covers stipulations.
- Whether an undertaking was posted. CPLR 6515 lets a court cancel a notice where the defendant posts an undertaking, but that route is unavailable in foreclosure, partition and dower actions. In a foreclosure the notice cannot be bonded off.
- Successive filings from one case. CPLR 6516(a) permits a successive notice in a foreclosure action to satisfy RPAPL 1331, even if the earlier one expired or never took effect. Long-running NYC foreclosures therefore produce several notices from a single case. Three entries against one block is a sequence, not three lawsuits, and reporting them separately is a false positive.
- The one-shot rule everywhere else. Outside foreclosure, CPLR 6516(c) bars a new notice where a previous one affecting the same property was cancelled, vacated, expired or became ineffective. A stale non-foreclosure notice usually ends the plaintiff’s ability to cloud title.
Lis pendens rules in New York, Florida and Texas
Duration and removal are set by state statute and differ materially. These provisions get amended; verify current text on the state’s official statute site.
| State | Where it is filed and indexed | Statutory duration | How it comes off |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | County Clerk of each county where the property sits, indexed against the block where the clerk keeps a block index (CPLR 6511). In NYC that is not ACRIS. | Three years from filing, extendable for a like period on motion, with the order filed and indexed before expiry (CPLR 6513). | Cancellation under CPLR 6514 or by stipulation. Undertaking under CPLR 6515, which does not apply to foreclosure, partition or dower. |
| Florida | Clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property is located. | Not effectual beyond one year from commencement, unless the relief sought is founded on a duly recorded instrument or a chapter 713 construction lien (Fla. Stat. 48.23). | Expires by operation of the statute; a court may also extend or discharge it on reasonable notice and for good cause. |
| Texas | County clerk of each county where part of the property is located, indexed in a direct and reverse index under each party’s name (Tex. Prop. Code 12.007). Name-indexed, not parcel-indexed. | The statute sets no expiration period. | Motion to expunge under Tex. Prop. Code 12.0071, granted where the pleading states no real property claim, the claimant fails to show probable validity by a preponderance, or the filer failed to serve it. |
What should an investor do after finding a lis pendens?
Finding a notice of pendency begins diligence, it does not end it. The notice is a cover sheet; the risk lives in the case.
Read the complaint, not just the notice
The relief demanded is what binds you. Foreclosure, partition and deed-fraud complaints create three completely different outcomes behind the same recorded notice.
Establish where the case actually stands
Look for a judgment of foreclosure and sale, a referee appointment, a discontinuance, a settlement stipulation, a bankruptcy stay, or eighteen months of silence. A dormant docket and a scheduled auction are opposite facts behind identical notices.
Test the notice against the timing rules
Run the filing date against CPLR 6513 and check whether the summons was served inside the CPLR 6512 window. In a foreclosure, expect and account for successive notices under CPLR 6516(a).
Confirm the named defendant is your owner
Match the defendant to the grantee on the last recorded deed. Entity name collisions and common personal names produce notices that have nothing to do with the parcel you are buying.
Decide whether you are buying the property or the litigation
You can buy subject to a lis pendens, and investors do it routinely at auction and in note purchases. What you cannot do is buy at a clean-title price, or exit at one before the case resolves and the notice is cancelled of record.
Bring counsel and an underwriter in before closing
HeritageDeed reports on public records; it does not sell or underwrite title insurance. A lender-financed purchase requires a policy from a licensed insurer, and no search substitutes for one — see title search vs title insurance. Use the search to decide whether to pursue the deal, then take the case facts to counsel.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- A lis pendens is constructive notice of pending litigation affecting the property. It is not a lien, carries no dollar amount, and cannot be paid off.
- Anyone taking a conveyance or encumbrance after the filing is bound by the outcome as if they had been a party (CPLR 6501).
- In New York City, notices of pendency are filed with the County Clerk, not the City Register. ACRIS has no notice-of-pendency document type, so an ACRIS-only search misses every one.
- A New York notice runs three years from filing and is extended only by an order filed before it lapses (CPLR 6513). Expiration leaves no trace in the index, so an old entry is not evidence of live litigation.
- Foreclosure actions may file successive notices under CPLR 6516(a); most other actions get one. Multiple notices on one foreclosure are a sequence, not separate suits.
- The notice tells you a dispute exists. Only the complaint and docket tell you what is at stake and whether it is still moving.
Frequently asked questions
- Does a lis pendens mean the property is in foreclosure?
- Usually, but not always. Mortgage foreclosure is the most common source because RPAPL 1331 requires a notice of pendency before a judgment of sale. Partition actions, divorces, contract disputes, estate fights, mechanic’s lien foreclosures and deed-fraud claims produce them too. Read the complaint to find out which.
- Is a lis pendens the same thing as a lien?
- No. A lien secures a specific amount against the property and is discharged by payment. A lis pendens states no amount and secures nothing. It is notice that litigation affecting the property is pending, and it comes off when the case ends or a court cancels it, not by paying anyone.
- Can you buy a property with a lis pendens on it?
- Yes, and investors regularly do. You take the property bound by the outcome of the pending case, exactly as if you had been a defendant in it. That is why properties with an open notice of pendency trade at a discount and why lenders will not finance a conventional purchase of one.
- How long does a lis pendens last in New York?
- Three years from the date of filing under CPLR 6513. A court may extend it for another three years on the plaintiff’s motion for good cause, but the extension order must be filed, recorded and indexed before the original period runs out. In foreclosure actions, CPLR 6516(a) allows a successive notice even after the first expires.
- Will a title search show a lis pendens in New York City?
- Only if the search reaches the County Clerk. NYC notices of pendency are filed with the County Clerk of the borough and indexed against the block under CPLR 6511. ACRIS, the City Register system holding deeds and mortgages, has no notice-of-pendency document type, so a search limited to ACRIS will not surface one.
- How do I get a lis pendens removed?
- By court order or stipulation. CPLR 6514(a) requires cancellation where the action was settled, discontinued or abated, or where the plaintiff lost and the appeal window closed; 6514(b) allows it where the plaintiff has not prosecuted in good faith. CPLR 6515 permits cancellation on an undertaking, but not in foreclosure, partition or dower actions.
- Does a HeritageDeed report include lis pendens filings?
- HeritageDeed reports cover recorded instruments and court-record filings affecting the parcel, including notices of pendency, at $49, $79 and $129 depending on search depth. HeritageDeed does not sell or underwrite title insurance. A lender-financed purchase requires a policy from a licensed insurer; a search report is not a substitute for one.
Sources
Primary records and official documentation cited in this article.
- 1NY CPLR 6501 — Notice of pendency; constructive notice
- 2NY CPLR 6513 — Duration of notice of pendency
- 3NY CPLR 6516 — Successive notices of pendency
- 4NYC Department of Finance — Recording property-related documents
- 5NYC Open Data — ACRIS Document Control Codes
- 6Florida Statutes 48.23 — Lis pendens
- 7NY CPLR 6511 — Filing, indexing and content of the notice of pendency
- 8NY CPLR 6512 — Constructive notice conditioned on service of the summons
- 9NY CPLR 6514 — Motion for cancellation of notice of pendency
- 10NY CPLR 6515 — Cancellation upon an undertaking
- 11NY RPAPL 1331 — Notice of pendency in a mortgage foreclosure action
- 12Texas Property Code Chapter 12 — Lis pendens (12.007) and expunction (12.0071)
HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.