Beware Pitfalls Caused by New Requirements that Public Agencies Pay Recording Fees

Stradling attorney Cyrus Torabi published an article on Martindale-Hubbell entitled, “Beware Pitfalls Caused by New Requirements that Public Agencies Pay Recording Fees.”

Many local governments in California continue struggling to balance their budgets. Largely unable to raise taxes and having undertaken relentless expenditure cuts, they are also desperately searching for additional revenue sources. It comes as no surprise, then, that the Orange County Recorder’s Office has invoked an obscure and seldom-used statute to require public agencies to pay a fee when recording lien termination documents. While the recording fee is hardly substantial, failure to know about it and plan ahead can cause serious consequences to the project timeline.