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Senate Bill S8768

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the discharge of a mortgage

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

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2025-S8768 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A9447
Current Committee:
Senate Rules
Law Section:
Real Property Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §275, RP L; amd §1921, RPAP L; amd §3, Chap of 2025 (as proposed in S.6363 & A.2739)

2025-S8768 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires a mortgagee to accept and apply payments; relates to the effectiveness thereof.

2025-S8768 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8768 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8768
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property law and the real property actions  and
   proceedings  law,  in  relation to the discharge of a mortgage; and to
   amend a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the real property law and
   the real property actions and proceedings law relating to discharge of
   a mortgage, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  6363  and  A.
   2739, in relation to the effectiveness thereof
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 275 of  the  real
 property  law,  as  added  by a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the
 real property law and the real  property  actions  and  proceedings  law
 relating  to  discharge  of a mortgage, as proposed in legislative bills
 numbers S. 6363 and A. 2739, is amended to read as follows:
   (b) [Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, if
 payment is received at the location and in the manner specified  by  the
 mortgagee,  the  mortgagee must accept and may not return or destroy any
 payment received in reliance on a payoff  statement  and  must  promptly
 apply  such  payment  to  the  unpaid  principal,  interest or any other
 amounts due under the mortgage.]  NO MORTGAGEE SHALL RETURN, DESTROY, OR
 OTHERWISE REFUSE TO ACCEPT A PAYMENT  MADE PURSUANT TO THE  TERMS  OF  A
 PAYOFF LETTER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TERMS REGARDING THE LOCATION
 AND  THE  MANNER  OF PAYMENT SPECIFIED  BY  THE MORTGAGEE,  EVEN IF SUCH
 PAYMENT DOES NOT COVER THE FULL AMOUNT OF PRINCIPAL, INTEREST,  AND  ANY
 OTHER  AMOUNTS  DUE  AND OWING UNDER THE MORTGAGE, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, IF
 THERE IS A DEFECT WITH THE PAYMENT  THAT  PREVENTS  THE  MORTGAGEE  FROM
 IDENTIFYING  WITH  REASONABLE  DILIGENCE  THE  MORTGAGE  FOR  WHICH SUCH
 PAYMENT IS MADE, THE MORTGAGEE MAY REFUSE TO  ACCEPT  SUCH  PAYMENT  AND
 RETURN  THE  PAYMENT  TO THE REMITTER.   THE MORTGAGEE SHALL APPLY  SUCH
 PAYMENT  TO  THE  UNPAID  PRINCIPAL, INTEREST OR ANY OTHER  AMOUNTS  DUE
 UNDER  THE  MORTGAGE,  PROVIDED THAT A PAYMENT MADE PURSUANT TO A PAYOFF
 STATEMENT SHALL NOT RESULT IN THE ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF DISCHARGE
 OF MORTGAGE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  THIS  SECTION  OR  IN  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

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