A lis pendens is a recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting the title to a specific property is pending. The phrase is Latin for “suit pending”. Once recorded in the county’s official records it warns anyone dealing with the property that the outcome of the case may affect ownership.
Why it appears so often in Florida
Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, which means a lender cannot foreclose administratively. It has to sue. The lis pendens is recorded at the start of that lawsuit, so in Florida the notice is a routine early step in foreclosure rather than an unusual event.
Foreclosure is not the only cause. A lis pendens can also arise from a quiet title action, a partition suit, a construction lien dispute, a divorce dividing marital property, or a contested probate.
What it does to a sale
A lis pendens does not by itself stop a sale, but it puts every subsequent buyer on constructive notice. Anyone who takes title afterwards takes it subject to whatever the court eventually decides.
In practice that ends most financed transactions. A title underwriter will not insure over an active lis pendens, and without a title policy your lender will not close. The practical effect is therefore a stop, even though the legal effect is a warning.
How it gets cleared
- The case concludes and the plaintiff records a notice of dismissal or a satisfaction
- The parties settle and the plaintiff voluntarily withdraws the notice
- A court discharges it, for example where the claim does not actually affect title
- The debt is paid and the underlying action is dismissed
Each of these leaves a recorded document. Your title agent needs that document, not an assurance that the matter was resolved.
If you find one on a property you want
Ask what the underlying action is and get the case number, then let the title agent evaluate it before you spend money on an inspection or an appraisal. A short sale or a foreclosure purchase can still work, but the timeline runs on the court’s schedule rather than yours.
See title insurance for what a policy will and will not cover, and short sale for the most common way these transactions close.
Definition reviewed by Renzo Johnson, Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator. Last updated August 2026.