## Quiet title actions in District of Columbia A **quiet title action** is a lawsuit asking a court to declare who actually owns a piece of real property. The result is a court judgment that "quiets" all competing claims — establishing the plaintiff as the legitimate owner. ## When quiet title actions are needed **1. Defective deed / chain of title:** - Missing deed in the chain - Improperly executed prior deeds - Forged deeds in history - Deeds from people without authority **2. Boundary disputes:** - Old fences / improvements crossing property lines - Overlapping legal descriptions - Survey disputes between neighbors **3. Adverse possession:** - After meeting the statutory possession period, formal court order needed to establish title **4. Tax sales:** - Cleaning up title after purchase at tax sale - Removing prior-owner claims **5. Foreclosure-related issues:** - After foreclosure to clear residual liens / claims - Resolving wrongful-foreclosure aftermath **6. Estate / inheritance issues:** - Family members disputing ownership after a death - Multiple heirs with conflicting claims - Property held informally for generations without proper transfer **7. Mortgage / lien issues:** - Old mortgages never released - Mechanic's liens that should have been cleared - Tax liens that have expired - Judgment liens that don't apply **8. Encroachment disputes:** - Driveway / structures partly on neighbor's land - Trees, buildings crossing lines **9. Easement disputes:** - Establishing or terminating easements - Resolving disputes over easement scope **10. Forged or fraudulent deeds:** - Identity-theft real estate fraud - Wild deeds with no chain to legitimate owner ## Common parties to a quiet title action **Plaintiff:** the person claiming to be the rightful owner **Defendants** include anyone with a potential claim: - Prior owners (or their heirs) - Neighbors - Mortgage holders - Lien holders - Tax authorities - The state itself - Any unknown claimants (joined by name "all unknown persons claiming an interest") ## The procedure 1. **Title search and survey** — identify all potential claimants and the precise property 2. **Demand letter** to known claimants (in some states; not always required) 3. **Complaint filed** in court of proper jurisdiction (usually circuit / superior court where property is located) 4. **Service of process** on all known defendants 5. **Service by publication** for unknown claimants in many states 6. **Lis pendens** filed in land records — putting world on notice 7. **Discovery** — title abstracts, surveys, witnesses 8. **Hearing or trial** — court determines ownership 9. **Judgment** — declares ownership; orders title cleared 10. **Recording** of judgment in land records to clear chain ## What the plaintiff must prove Generally: - **Standing** — plaintiff has a real interest - **Source of title** — chain leading to current claim - **Defects in adverse claims** OR **superior right** - **Adequate notice** to all interested parties ## Common defenses - **Statute of limitations** — most claims have time limits - **Adverse possession** — defendant's possession ripened into ownership - **Equitable estoppel** — plaintiff acquiesced in defendant's claim - **Defective service** — failure to give proper notice - **Bona fide purchaser status** — defendant bought without knowledge of plaintiff's claim - **Title superior to plaintiff's** — defendant has the better claim ## Service by publication When parties' identities or addresses are unknown: - Publish notice in newspaper of general circulation - Typically 4-6 weeks of weekly publication - Combined with court-issued affidavits regarding diligent search - Allows judgment binding even unknown claimants ## Title insurance **Title insurance** can sometimes resolve issues without litigation: - Owner's policy covers many defects discovered post-purchase - Insurer may pay to clear title or compensate the owner - Insurer often hires attorneys for quiet-title actions If you have title insurance and discover a problem, contact the insurer BEFORE filing your own lawsuit. ## Costs Typical quiet-title costs: - **Filing fee:** $200-$500 - **Title search / abstract:** $200-$1,000 - **Survey:** $500-$2,500 - **Service / publication:** $500-$2,000 - **Attorney fees:** $3,000-$15,000+ depending on complexity Contested cases with multiple parties can run much higher. ## Time to resolution - **Uncontested simple cases:** 3-6 months - **Cases requiring publication:** 6-9 months - **Contested cases:** 12-24+ months ## Heirs property — a particular crisis **Heirs property** — land owned informally by extended family, often inherited generation-to-generation without formal estate proceedings — has been a major issue, especially in the South and rural communities. Quiet title is often the only way to: - Sell the property - Get a mortgage - Develop the property - Receive disaster aid (FEMA requires clear title) - Pay property taxes properly Many states have adopted the **Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act** to provide protections for heirs in court-ordered sales. ## Alternatives to litigation Sometimes title issues can be cleared without full quiet-title: - **Curative deeds** — corrected deeds with all parties' signatures - **Quitclaim deeds** — transferring whatever interest may exist - **Affidavit of heirship** (in some states) - **Statutory marketable title acts** — automatic clearing of old defects - **Title insurance "endorsement"** of certain defects - **Waiver / release** documents Try these first when possible. ## What you should do If you have title issues — known defects, missing deeds, boundary disputes, inherited property without clear title — talk to a District of Columbia real-estate attorney. Many District of Columbia attorneys specialize in quiet-title actions and offer flat-fee or fixed-cost packages for routine cases. Free legal-aid organizations sometimes help with heirs-property cases for low-income owners. --- *This guide is general information about District of Columbia law as of early 2026 and is not legal advice. Quiet-title procedures vary by state. Talk to a licensed District of Columbia real-estate attorney about your specific situation.*