Fifth Community Association Bill Signed into Law: Increased Register of Deeds Indexing Fees

Community Association Legislation

Senate Bill 332 “Register of Deeds – POA Indexing Fees” (with a full title of “An Act to Enable Register of Deeds to Collect Additional Fees for Indexing Instruments that Contain Exhibits with Multiple Enterable Parties”) was ratified by the NC General Assembly on August 19, 2015, and signed by Governor McCrory this week. SB 332 becomes the fifth piece of legislation to impact community associations enacted into law this year (see First Community Association Bill Signed into LawSecond Community Association Bill Signed into LawThird Community Association Bill Signed into Law: Landlord/Tenant Foreclosure and Eviction Changes, and Fourth Community Association Bill Signed into Law: Streets & Traffic Safety Devices). For a full list of filed HOA/condo bills, visit Community Association Legislative Roundup – May 14, 2015.

The new law adds the following language to N.C. General Statute 161-10(a):

§ 161-10. Uniform fees of registers of deeds.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, all fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the county general fund. While performing the duties of the office, the register of deeds shall collect the following fees which shall be uniform throughout the State:

(1) Instruments in General. – For registering or filing any instrument for which no other provision is made by this section, the fee shall be twenty-six dollars ($26.00) for the first 15 pages plus four dollars ($4.00) for each additional page or fraction thereof. For any instrument that assigns more than one security instrument as defined in G.S. 45-36.4(18) by reference to previously recorded instrument recording data that are required to be indexed pursuant to G.S. 161-14.1(b), the fee shall be an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for each additional reference.

For an instrument that contains excessive recording data, the fee shall be an additional two dollars ($2.00) for each party listed in the instrument in excess of 20. An instrument contains excessive recording data when there are more than 20 distinct parties listed in the instrument, including any attachments and exhibits, that require indexing pursuant to G.S. 147-54.3 or this Chapter.

When a document is presented for registration that consists of multiple instruments, the fee shall be an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for each additional instrument. A document consists of multiple instruments when it contains two or more instruments with different legal consequences or intent, each of which is separately executed and acknowledged and could be recorded alone.

While not an issue that community associations will deal with daily, the new law increases the filing fee at the Register of Deeds for any document “where there are more than 20 distinct entities listed in the instrument, including any attachments and exhibits,” which is often the case with HOA and condominium filings, by $2.00 per listed party. In addition, some filings will likely be delayed since Registers of Deeds may interpret the required filing fee for a specific document differently than that anticipated by the preparing attorney’s office.

To view the full bill and legislative history, visit:
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2015/Bills/Senate/PDF/S581v3.pdf

HOA & Condo Associations