Quiet Title Action New York: Clearing a Fraudulent or Stolen Deed

Quick answer

What do I do if someone forged or stole the deed to my house in New York? File a quiet title action New York courts will recognize under RPAPL Article 15. A forged deed is void from the start and conveys no title, so the court can declare you the rightful owner and cancel the fraudulent deed of record. File a notice of pendency under CPLR Article 65 the same day to freeze the title, report the deed theft to the New York Attorney General and the local district attorney (deed theft is now grand larceny under New York law), and put any lender, title insurer, and tenant on written notice.

Table of contents

• What is a quiet title action in New York?
• Someone forged the deed to my house. What do I do?
• Is a forged deed valid in New York?
• How do I remove a fraudulent deed from my property?
• How do I clear an old mortgage or lien still showing on my title?
• Is deed theft a crime in New York?
• Boundary and adverse possession quiet title
• The notice of pendency
• Frequently asked questions

Talk to a Long Island real estate attorney

If you believe your deed was forged, stolen, or recorded without your authority, time matters. Thomas A. Sirianni, Esq. handles quiet title litigation across Nassau, Suffolk, and the New York City boroughs. Call (516) 314-1343 or visit 1 Pine Valley Road, Upper Brookville, NY for a confidential consultation. This page is general information about New York law, not legal advice, and no attorney client relationship is formed by reading it.

What is a quiet title action in New York?

A quiet title action New York courts hear under RPAPL Article 15 is a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court in the county where the property sits to declare who actually owns the real estate and to extinguish every adverse claim against it. The statute, RPAPL section 1501, lets any person with an estate or interest in real property sue to compel the determination of any claim adverse to that interest. The court can declare a recorded deed void, cancel a mortgage that was paid off years ago but never discharged, resolve a boundary that two neighbors have fought over, or settle an adverse possession claim.

The relief is a judgment that, once recorded, becomes part of the chain of title. Future buyers, lenders, and title insurers can rely on it. That is the practical purpose of the action: replace a cloudy record with a clean one.

Someone forged the deed to my house. What do I do?

Move quickly and in this order.

1. Pull a current deed and lien search. Go to the county clerk where the property is recorded and pull every instrument filed against the parcel in the last two years. Look for a deed, a mortgage, or an assignment you did not sign.
2. Lock the title with a notice of pendency. Your lawyer files the quiet title complaint and immediately records a notice of pendency under CPLR Article 65. That filing puts the whole world on notice that title is in dispute and stops a buyer or lender from claiming bona fide status.
3. Report the deed theft. File a complaint with the New York Attorney General, the local district attorney, and your county sheriff. Deed theft is now grand larceny under New York's Heirs Property Protection and Deed Theft Prevention Act of 2024. Law enforcement can file its own red flag pendency and pause related foreclosure or eviction proceedings during the investigation, under the 2023 civil reforms signed by Governor Hochul.
4. Notify every party touching the property. Send written notice to your homeowners insurer, your mortgage servicer if you have a loan, the title insurance company that insured the original purchase, any tenants, and the utility companies. A title insurer that knows of a forged deed has an obligation to defend insured title.
5. Freeze related civil actions. If a foreclosure or eviction has been filed against the property by someone claiming title under the forged deed, your lawyer asks the court to stay those proceedings until the quiet title is resolved.

Is a forged deed valid in New York?

No. A forged deed in New York is void, not voidable. Void means it never had legal effect, so it cannot pass title even to a later buyer or lender who paid value in good faith and had no notice of the forgery. That is a critical difference from a deed obtained by fraud in the inducement (someone tricked the owner into signing), which can be voidable and where a bona fide purchaser may keep title. With a true forgery, the owner never signed and the chain of title is broken at that link.

Quiet title under RPAPL Article 15 is the procedural vehicle to get that legal reality reflected on the public record. The court issues a judgment declaring the forged deed void and directing the county clerk to cancel it of record.

How do I remove a fraudulent deed from my property?

The remedy is the quiet title judgment plus a court order directing cancellation of the offending instrument. The complaint pleads ownership, attaches the recorded fraudulent deed, identifies every grantee, mortgagee, or assignee in the post-forgery chain, and asks the court to:

• Declare the plaintiff the rightful owner.
• Declare the fraudulent deed and every instrument derived from it void and of no effect.
• Direct the county clerk to mark the fraudulent instruments cancelled of record.
• Award damages where appropriate, including mesne profits (rents collected by the wrongful party) and the cost of suit.

If the fraudster has already conveyed to a buyer, that buyer is named as a defendant. Forged deed void New York law applies even to that buyer, but they often raise equitable defenses and tender claims against the title insurer, which is why the litigation can take time even when the forgery is obvious.

How do I clear an old mortgage or lien still showing on my title?

Quiet title is also the standard tool for stale paper. Common examples on Long Island:

• A mortgage paid off in 1998 that was never discharged of record because the lender went out of business.
• A judgment lien that expired under the ten year statute but still shows on a title search.
• A mechanic's lien that was never bonded or foreclosed but is choking a refinance.
• A defective deed where a margin description is wrong, a grantor signed in the wrong capacity, or a corporate seller had been dissolved.

The quiet title complaint pleads the cloud, identifies the holder of the stale interest (or alleges that the holder cannot be found after a diligent search and seeks service by publication), and asks the court to declare the interest extinguished and direct cancellation. For long abandoned mortgages, the action often piggybacks on RPAPL Article 15 plus the statute of limitations under CPLR 213.

Is deed theft a crime in New York?

Yes. Effective July 19, 2024, deed theft is prosecutable as a form of grand larceny under New York's Heirs Property Protection and Deed Theft Prevention Act of 2024. The Office of the Attorney General has concurrent jurisdiction with local district attorneys, meaning either office can prosecute. According to the New York Attorney General, the New York City Sheriff received nearly 3,500 deed theft complaints between 2014 and 2023, and Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx have been the hardest hit areas.

The 2023 civil reforms run alongside the criminal statute. Under the legislation signed by Governor Hochul, law enforcement can file a notice of pendency to flag a parcel under investigation, courts can pause related foreclosure or eviction matters, and a homeowner whose deed was stolen has an expanded toolkit to undo recorded transfers. The criminal case and the civil quiet title case proceed in parallel; a criminal conviction is helpful evidence but not required to win quiet title.

Boundary and adverse possession quiet title

Not every cloud on title comes from fraud. Boundary disputes, encroachments, and adverse possession claims also resolve through quiet title. Adverse possession in New York is governed by RPAPL Article 5, which requires possession that is hostile, actual, open and notorious, exclusive, and continuous for ten years, plus the additional elements added by 2008 legislation. A record owner who has been ignoring a neighbor's fence line, driveway, or shed for more than ten years may have a problem. A claimant who meets all the elements can file quiet title to confirm title by adverse possession. The court takes evidence on use, taxes paid, and any color of title, then issues a judgment that resets the legal boundary.

The notice of pendency

The single most important procedural step in a deed theft case is the notice of pendency, sometimes called a lis pendens, filed under CPLR Article 65. Once recorded, anyone who buys or lends against the property takes subject to the outcome of the lawsuit. That alone usually freezes the chain of title and forces title insurers to the table. In a quiet title action the notice of pendency is filed with the complaint and indexed against the parcel in the county clerk's land records.

Costs, timelines, and what to expect

Quiet title is a Supreme Court action, so it follows the usual New York civil timeline. A straightforward case to cancel an old mortgage where the lender is defunct may resolve in a few months on a motion for default judgment plus service by publication. A contested deed theft case where the fraudster, a buyer, and a lender all appear may take a year or longer, especially if there is a parallel criminal case. Costs depend on whether title insurance is on the hook to defend, whether service by publication is required, and whether expert handwriting or forensic accounting evidence is needed.

Related practice areas

• Quiet Title Litigation
• Real Estate Law
• Foreclosure Defense
• Partition Action New York: Forcing the Sale of Inherited or Jointly Owned Property

Contact Thomas A. Sirianni, Esq.

If a forged or stolen deed is on your property, or a stale mortgage or lien is blocking a sale or refinance, call (516) 314-1343 or visit 1 Pine Valley Road, Upper Brookville, NY. Thomas A. Sirianni, Esq. handles quiet title litigation across Nassau, Suffolk, and the New York City boroughs. This article is general information about New York law, not legal advice, and no result is guaranteed.

Last updated: June 23, 2026.