This week we wanted to update you about a recent NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) decision to issue new boiler violations for owner’s failure to correct alleged defects that were disclosed in annual inspections for the years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and/or 2022.

This week we wanted to direct your attention to and interesting decision out of the First Department which reversed a lower Court ruling and directed summary judgment in favor of a Developer-Plaintiff who sued for Specific Performance, Injunctive Relief and Attorneys fees to enforce contract terms requiring a Seller to deliver certain Air Rights as part of its contractual obligations.
The relevant facts of, as well as a link to, the case are set forth below.

We wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of properly ordering a Title Read Letter from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to ascertain the status of the Seller’s Water/Sewer account prior to Closing title on your transaction. As you likely know, DEP has restricted 3^rd party, non-owners’ access to on-line Water/Sewer account information. Title companies can no longer obtain copies of prior DEP invoices or billing period information to assist you with your adjustments or account status inquiries.

Criminals have become more knowledgeable about our business and have learned how to take advantage of a busy real estate market. While we have all seen instructions on how too prevent wire fraud, below are a few tips and reminders so we may all stay vigilant.

RPL § 244 – When does Title to Property actually transfer from Grantor to Grantee?
Today we wanted to focus your attention on the importance of promptly recording your Clients’ Deed to ensure that the Fee Title to their property is unequivocally transferred as they intended. We start by looking at NY RPL § 244 which states that “[A] grant takes effect, so as to vest the estate or interest intended to be conveyed, only from its delivery; and all the rules of law, now in force, in respect to the delivery of deeds, apply to grants hereafter executed.”

Today we wanted to bring your attention to a Second Department decision wherein the Court affirmed a lower Court’s decision to dismiss a Plaintiff motion for an Injunction seeking to enforce a Restrictive Declaration recorded solely against a neighbor’s property. The decision, in part, turned on the fact that the Plaintiff’s property was not adversely affected by the violation of the Restrictive Declaration and not whether the Defendant actually violated the recorded Restrictive Declaration.
The relevant facts of, as well as a link to, the case are set forth below.

This week we wanted to bring your attention to an Appellate Court decision out of the 2^nd Department which reversed a lower Court’s Order and ultimately denied Defendant-Seller’s claim for Summary Judgment to terminate a Contract and retain the Plaintiff-Purchaser’s Downpayment for failure to close title under the terms of a Time Being of the Essence (“TOE”) Letter.

As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to remind you of the upcoming deadline for certain property owners to complete and file their gas piping inspections in accordance with NYC Local Law 152 of 2016 (“LL 152”).You can review LL 152 using the following link:ll152of2016.pdf (nyc.gov). No later than December 31, 2022, all buildings (except for one- and two-family homes, and other buildings classified in Occupancy Group R-3), in Community Districts 4,6,8,9, and 16 in all five (5) boroughs must complete a gas piping system inspection of their property to be conducted by a Licensed Master Plumber (LMP), or a qualified individual working for an LMP.

This week we wanted to take the opportunity to discuss an often-misunderstood topic in the Title Industry - the use of the “Ancient Mortgage” Doctrine to allow a Title Company to insure the transfer of Title over an unsatisfied mortgage of record. 

We wanted to take this opportunity to alert you to recent legislation (Assembly Bill A2739) signed by Governor Hochul on December 12, 2025, which is designed to directly address the disruptive practices of mortgage servicers who return or destroy payoff checks due to minor discrepancies. As you know, our own Mark D’Addona currently serves as the President of the New York State Land Title Association (NYSLTA) and on his watch, NYSLTA has actively lobbied the legislature to get this important Bill passed into law.

Given that the Heirs Property Protection and Deed Theft Prevention Act of 2024 (New Real Property Law (RPL) § 424) went into effect on July 19, 2024 (the “Effective Date”), we wanted to take this opportunity to update you on what is known, as well as unknown, regarding the use of a Transfer on Death Deed (“TODD”).

This week we wanted to supplement our October 31, 2023, Title Tuesday which discussed NYC Local Law 31 of 2020 (“LL 31”) which went into effect on August 9, 2020 (the “Effective Date”) and requires certain property owners to complete at least one (1) investigation for the presence of lead-based paint utilizing an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer by no later thanAugust 9, 2025 (the “Effective Date”).

A link to the October 31, 2023, Title Tuesday email is set forth below.
https://www.homeabstractcorp.com/bulletin/lead-based-paint-inspections

While it is commonly known that LL 31 requires all Residential Apartments in covered properties to be tested for lead utilizing an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer before the Effective Date (unless an Apartment qualifies for a specific Exemption), what many are not aware of is that NYC Local Law 111 of 2023 (“LL 111”) now supplements LL-31 and requires that all Common Areas of covered buildings be tested in similar fashion. The deadline to complete the XRF testing for all Common Areas and report results is due by August 9, 2025, as well.

A link to LL 111 is set forth below.
https://intro.nyc/local-laws/2023-111

Please note that HPD will require submission of documented evidence of XRF lead testing in accordance with LL 31 and LL 111 as part of any attempt to clear Lead Paint Violations issued after August 9, 2025.

Below is a link to HPD’s website with additional important information regarding the current state of NYC’s Lead Paint testing requirements.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/lead-based-paint.page

This week we wanted to bring your attention to an interesting decision out of the 2^nd Department which held, in part, that an unrecorded Easement for ingress/egress could be enforced by the benefitted property owner based on Constructive Notice to the burdened property owner. 

The relevant facts of, as well as a link to, the case are set forth below.

This week we wanted to draw your attention to an interesting decision out of the 2^nd Department which reversed a lower Court’s Order and granted a Defendant’s motion to cancel Plaintiff’s Lis Pendens and further dismissed Plaintiff's Complaint which claimed that Plaintiff owned a twenty-five (25%) percent interest in the property by way of an unrecorded agreement. 
The relevant facts of, as well as a link to, the case are set forth below.

This week we wanted to supplement our July 23, 2024 Title Tuesday and let you know that the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has extended the deadline for certain Property Owners to register their properties with HPD from September 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024 (the “New Registration Deadline”).

This week we wanted to bring to your attention an interesting decision out of the 2^nd Department which held, in part, that a decedent’s children could not successfully claim an interest in their father’s property where the father had, prior to his death, executed and recorded a deed adding his current wife (the children’s stepmother) to Title with the designation - as “His Wife.”

As we approach the end of the year, we just wanted to remind that the deadline to complete the initial annual parapet inspections for buildings covered under §§ 103-15 (Periodic observation of building parapets) of Local Law 126 of 2021 (LL 126) will expire on December 31, 2024. LL 126 requires annual inspections of all parapets by “a person competent to inspect parapets”. The law defines “a person competent to inspect parapets” by stating “…(T)his includes, but is not limited to, a bricklayer, building superintendent, handyman, mason or a person in a similar construction-related trade, architect, engineer, an inspector working for a New York State-authorized insurance company, a New York State-authorized building inspector or any other person capable of identifying hazards on the parapet.”

This week we wanted to draw your attention to an interesting, and what some may consider a surprising, decision out of the 2^nd Department wherein the Appellate Division affirmed a Lower Court’s Order that had denied a Lender’s motion for Summary Judgment seeking, among other relief, enforcement of its mortgage. The Order and Appellate Division’s affirmation were based, in part, on the determination that the Lender failed to provide evidentiary support refuting Plaintiff’s allegation that one of mortgagees was incompetent and, further that the Lender failed to provide proof that Lender was unaware of any facts alleging that the mortgagor was under undue influence at the time of transferring title or making the mortgage.
The relevant facts of, as well as a link to, the case are set forth below.

This week we wanted to remind you that that the official New York City “Heat Season” has begun.  Building owners are legally required to provide heat and hot water to their tenants.  Hot water must be provided 365 days per year at a constant minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

This week we wanted to remind you that building owners of certain “Covered Buildings” must start to comply with NYC Local Law 97 of 2019 (“LL 97”), which became effective on November 15, 2019, and sets limits on the greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2024. The goal of LL 97 is to help New York City reduce, by at least 40%, its greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by the year 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.