What Is a Notice of Lis Pendens in Florida?

A notice of lis pendens in Florida is a document recorded in the county’s official records that warns the world a lawsuit is pending over a specific piece of property. The Latin phrase means “suit pending.” Once it’s on record, anyone who later buys the property, lends against it, or takes any other interest in it is bound by whatever the court decides in the case. It isn’t a lien, but for a property owner the practical effect can be just as paralyzing.¹

What It Does to the Property

Recording the notice creates what the law calls constructive notice. Every potential buyer, lender, and title company is presumed to know about the lawsuit, whether they actually read the filing or not. A buyer who closes after the notice is recorded takes the property subject to the court’s eventual ruling. If the court rules against the seller, the buyer inherits the result.¹

The immediate consequence is a cloud on the title. Nothing in the statute flatly prohibits selling a property with an active lis pendens, but the sale almost never happens. Title insurers won’t issue a policy while the notice is on record, and lenders won’t finance a purchase or a refinance until the title clears. A homeowner trying to pull cash out through a refinance, for example, can be turned away the moment the lis pendens surfaces in the title search.

When a Lawsuit Can Support a Lis Pendens

Not every lawsuit against a property owner justifies one. The claim has to directly affect title to the property or an interest in it. A suit seeking only money damages against someone who happens to own real estate doesn’t qualify, even if the plaintiff eventually hopes to collect against the house.¹

Lawsuits that properly support a lis pendens include:

Mortgage foreclosure, where a lender sues to enforce a recorded mortgage.
Specific performance, where a buyer sues to force a seller to close under a real estate contract.
Quiet title, where the court is asked to sort out competing ownership claims.
Equitable lien, where a party asks the court to impose a lien tied to improvements or other contributions to the property.
Construction lien enforcement under Chapter 713. The lien must be enforced within one year of recording, and the lis pendens makes the claim enforceable against later buyers or creditors.²

What the Notice Must Contain

A lis pendens that leaves out required information can be challenged. Florida law requires the notice to include:

The full names of everyone involved in the lawsuit.
Case identification: the date the suit was filed, the clerk’s electronic receipt date, or the case number. If the notice is filed the same day as the lawsuit, the clerk’s filing-date notation satisfies this requirement.
The specific court where the case is pending.
A legal description of the property, not just a street address. This is the metes-and-bounds or plat-and-lot description from the deed.
A statement of the relief the filer is asking the court to grant with respect to the property.¹

How Long It Lasts

Duration depends on what kind of claim sits behind the notice, and Florida law splits those claims into two groups.

If the claim is not founded on a recorded instrument or a Chapter 713 construction lien, the lis pendens expires automatically one year after the lawsuit was filed. The court can extend it for good cause on reasonable notice, but without an extension it dies at the one-year mark.

If the claim is founded on a recorded instrument or a construction lien, the notice stays in effect for the entire life of the lawsuit, with no automatic expiration. Mortgage foreclosures are the most common example. Because the mortgage itself is recorded, the lis pendens stays active until final judgment, even if the case drags on for years.¹

Once a lis pendens expires or if one was never recorded, a buyer who pays value for the property takes it free of the claims in the lawsuit. The statute treats that buyer as though they had no knowledge of the case.¹

Getting a Lis Pendens Removed

A property owner stuck with a notice on their title has a few options, and the right one depends on how strong the underlying claim is.

Wait Out the Case

The simplest removal comes with the end of the lawsuit. A final judgment, voluntary dismissal, or settlement terminates the lis pendens. Even then, you may need to file a separate discharge document to make the public record clean.

Ask the Court to Dissolve It

You can move to dissolve the notice while the case is still going. The standard the court applies depends on the claim.

When the lawsuit is not founded on a recorded instrument or construction lien, the court treats the lis pendens like an injunction and has broad discretion to discharge it. Florida courts apply what’s known as the fair nexus test: the person who filed the notice has to show a reasonable connection between the property and the dispute. If that connection is thin or missing, the court will dissolve the notice.¹

When the claim is founded on a recorded instrument like a mortgage, dissolution is harder. The filer has a stronger presumptive right to keep the notice in place, and the owner usually has to show a defect in the underlying claim itself.

Post a Bond

A lis pendens bond substitutes money for the property as security for the claim. The owner posts a bond with the court in an amount the judge sets, and the notice comes off the public records. The lawsuit continues, but the property is no longer frozen and can be sold or refinanced. The amount depends on the property’s value and the potential damages at stake. This option is most commonly available when the lis pendens is not based on a recorded instrument.

Filing Without a Valid Basis

Filing a lis pendens without a legitimate claim to the property carries real risk for the filer. Florida courts treat a baseless lis pendens much like a wrongfully issued injunction, and the property owner who was harmed by it can recover damages. Attorney’s fees spent fighting the improper notice are a recognized element of those damages.

This matters because lis pendens filings are occasionally used as leverage in disputes that have nothing to do with property. Someone in a business disagreement or personal conflict may record a notice to pressure the owner into settling by making it impossible to sell or refinance. Courts take a dim view of that tactic, and an owner who successfully dissolves a bad-faith lis pendens is in a strong position to recover the legal costs of the fight.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 48.23 – Lis Pendens
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 713 – Liens