The Alabama Legislature is close to final passage on bills supporters hope will protect property owners by making it harder for fraudsters to sell real estate they don’t own.
Senate Bill 292, the Alabama Property Protection Act of 2026, was unanimously passed by the Alabama Senate on Tuesday. The House version also passed that chamber without opposition.
The legislation requires more identification verifications at multiple points in the property titling and selling processes. It also increases the penalties for the fraudulent sale of real property to a Class D felony.
Property title fraud occurs when people falsely represent themselves as property owners and list, sell or encumber real estate they do not own.
“It’s an emerging crime that people are very unaware of, because our system is based on 20th-century honesty and integrity among the public,” Orr told Alabama Daily News. “And now, with fraudsters becoming more and more brazen and abundant, they’re using our outdated system to basically steal the titles to property then flip them very quickly to unwitting buyers.”
Orr has been working on this legislation since last year.
Senate Bill 292, by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and House Bill 426, by Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, require real estate agents or brokers to obtain a government-issued identification and real property ownership records before agreeing to sell or lease real property when the seller is unknown and not physically present.
Settlement agents would have to conduct identity and property ownership verification prior to closing for Class III properties, which include single-family homes, farmland and timberlands, that are vacant. The bill also enhances notary requirements and gives discretion to refuse to notarize documents that may be fraudulent.
“People are actually going in and they don’t even live in the country, they are trying to slip in and buy land without you knowing it,” Lee said on the House floor Tuesday. “People that are actually the target are those that have a home paid for, they’re the hottest target I might say… Those people come in and actually make a quick buy and the people that own the property have no idea that’s taken place until much later, until they see some sort of activity on the property.”
Groups supportive of the bills include the Alabama Realtors Association, the Alabama Bankers Association and the Land Title Association of Alabama.
“Sen. Orr and Rep. Lee have provided great leadership in advancing protections for Alabama property owners,” Jeremy Walker, executive director of the Alabama Realtors Association, said. “A broad coalition of stakeholders helped strengthen this legislation into one of the most comprehensive title fraud bills in the country.”
The legislation establishes a statewide notification system to alert property owners when documents or liens are recorded on their property.
Fraud victims would also have better remedies. The legislation establishes a fast-track court procedure allowing fraudulent conveyances to be voided quickly and title restored to rightful owners, Walker said.
It also gives the Alabama Securities Commission more authority to investigate fraud and enforce the law..
The bills now move to the opposite chambers.
Alabama Daily News’ Claire Harrison contributed to this report.