Bill Text: NJ A985 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Encourages timely recording of residential deeds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee [A985 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A985-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 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.
