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Lis Pendens Explained: What It Means and How It Affects Buyers
Lis pendens (pending litigation): a notice recorded with the county recorder that a lawsuit affecting title to a property is active. Effect: clouds title; no lender will fund over an active lis pendens. Common causes: foreclosure (judicial states), divorce disputes, contractor claims, boundary litigation. Removal: resolve the underlying lawsuit, post a bond ($0 to the court to release the lien in some states), or obtain a court order. Own Luxury Homes® 12-Point Agent Integrity Audit™.
Lis Pendens Explained: What It Means and How It Affects Buyers
A lis pendens is a "do not cross" sign on a property's title. It tells every potential buyer, lender, and title company that a court has a pending claim affecting this property — and until that claim resolves, the title cannot be cleared for a normal sale.
Lis pendens is Latin for "lawsuit pending." When a lawsuit is filed that involves specific real property — affecting ownership, title, or the right to possess it — a party to the lawsuit can record a lis pendens notice at the county recorder's office. Once recorded, it is part of the public record for that property and will appear in any title search.
What it does legally: recording a lis pendens provides constructive notice to the world that the property is subject to pending litigation. Any person who purchases or takes a mortgage on the property after the lis pendens was recorded does so "subject to" the outcome of the lawsuit. They cannot claim to be an innocent purchaser who didn't know about the dispute.
Why lenders stop cold: a lender funding a mortgage on a property with an active lis pendens would be making a secured loan on an asset whose ownership is legally contested. If the lawsuit resolves against the borrower, the lender's collateral could be affected. No conventional lender funds over an active lis pendens.
Foreclosure (judicial foreclosure states): in states where foreclosure must go through the courts (Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and others), the lender files a foreclosure lawsuit and records a lis pendens as part of initiating the process. This is the pre-foreclosure signal that property-data services aggregate for investors. A foreclosure lis pendens does NOT mean the owner has lost the property — they are in the legal process, which can take 6-24 months in judicial states. See our pre-foreclosure guide for the full buyer's playbook.
Divorce: when divorcing spouses dispute the disposition of the marital home, one party may record a lis pendens to prevent the other from selling the property without court approval. The lis pendens stays in place until the divorce decree resolves the property allocation or a court orders its release.
Contractor disputes: a contractor who believes they have a right to payment may file a lawsuit and record a lis pendens rather than (or in addition to) a mechanic's lien.
Title and boundary disputes: boundary line lawsuits, adverse possession claims, and quiet title actions all involve specific parcels; a lis pendens is routinely filed to protect the litigant's claim while the court resolves it.
How it's removed:
• Resolution of the underlying lawsuit: when the case settles or is decided, the prevailing party files a formal release or the court orders the lis pendens expunged
• Wrongful filing: a party who records a lis pendens on a claim that doesn't actually affect title can be compelled by court order to remove it, with potential liability for damages
• Bond substitution: in some states, the property owner can post a bond equal to the claim amount, allowing the lis pendens to be released while the litigation continues; the bond substitutes for the property as security
What buyers should do when they find a lis pendens:
1. Identify the underlying lawsuit from the county court records (the lis pendens should reference the case number)
2. Determine what the lawsuit is about and whether it genuinely affects title (a divorcing spouse's lis pendens on their own home is different from a contractor fraud claim)
3. Assess the timeline — how far along is the litigation? Has a resolution date been set?
4. If you want to proceed: consult a real estate attorney who can evaluate whether the lis pendens can be cleared before or at closing
5. In most cases, the simplest path is to wait for the lis pendens to be resolved before contracting, or to require its resolution as a condition of the purchase
What does lis pendens mean in real estate?
Lis pendens is Latin for "lawsuit pending." When filed with the county recorder, it is a public notice that a lawsuit affecting the ownership or title to a specific property is currently active. It clouds the title, preventing the property from being sold or mortgaged with clear title until the lawsuit resolves. Common causes: foreclosure (in judicial foreclosure states, the lender's foreclosure lawsuit triggers a lis pendens), divorce disputes over the marital home, contractor disputes, and boundary or adverse possession claims. A lis pendens must be resolved — through settlement, judgment, court order, or bond substitution — before a conventional sale or mortgage can close.
How do you remove a lis pendens?
A lis pendens is removed by: (1) resolution of the underlying lawsuit through settlement or judgment, after which the prevailing party files a release; (2) a court order compelling release if the lis pendens was wrongfully filed on a claim that doesn't genuinely affect title; (3) bond substitution in states that permit it, where the property owner posts a bond equal to the claim amount, freeing the property while litigation continues. A real estate attorney should evaluate any lis pendens before purchase — the type of underlying claim determines how complex removal will be and whether a defined resolution timeline exists.
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