House & Apartment

Knowing who has legal rights to land and buildings is necessary. Problems can occur when multiple people claim to have rights to the same piece of property.

Illinois counties have set up property recording systems to help avoid property rights disputes. These systems make filed documents related to a specific property in the county available to the public. The records include a history of all recorded sales, mortgages, and other transactions related to a property.

The local county recorder's office manages these recording systems. In Cook County, the recorder is part of the Cook County Clerk's Office.

Property deeds are filed at the county recorder's office. Deeds are legal documents that let others know who owns the property. Other types of documents are commonly filed with the county recorder's office, including:

• Mortgages,
• Leases,
• Liens,
• Easements,
• Condominium Declarations, and
• Notices of pending lawsuits regarding the property (called Lis Pendens).

The county recorder's office charges for filing documents. State laws and county ordinances set these fees. The filing costs differ depending on the document type and the county. However, all counties must charge a minimum filing fee of $21.

As of January 1, 2019, counties must implement predictable fee schedules for filings with the county recorder's office. These fee schedules avoid surcharges that differ based on the information in the document.

Some county recorders provide blank forms for frequently recorded documents. If you know what you need to accomplish with the filing, you can ask the county recorder's staff if they have a form for that purpose.

If you aren't sure what type of document you need to file, ask a lawyer. The county recorder staff can't give you legal advice.

Most county recorders allow people to file a document in person at their offices. Some county recorders allow you to mail the documents to the county recorder. Certain entities can also record documents electronically, but you would need to find an entity willing to record the document on your behalf.

The county recorder only files the documents. If you find a document you think is suspicious, like a fake deed or a lien you don't know anything about, the first step is to talk to an attorney. Addressing the situation depends on the specific information in the file.