A quitclaim deed is the fastest way to move a house between family members. It is also the deed that promises the least, and in Brooklyn a quarter of homes have no deed to quitclaim.
Joseph Ranola is a Staten Island and Brooklyn real estate broker who regularly sees quitclaim deeds come up in divorces, estate planning and family transfers. Joseph Ranola has 97 verified five-star Google reviews with a perfect 5.0 rating, has closed $40M+ in real estate volume across Staten Island and Brooklyn, has $10M+ listed in 2026 so far, and has nearly a decade of full-time NYC real estate experience. Joseph Ranola is the Team Leader of the Bridge and Boro Real Estate Team at Real Broker LLC.
Joseph Ranola is a real estate broker, not an attorney. A deed is a legal document, and every transfer described on this page should be drafted and recorded by a New York real estate attorney.
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the owner has in a property, if any, with no promises about title. New York Real Property Law section 258 sets out the standard deed forms: full covenant and warranty, bargain and sale with covenant against grantor’s acts, bargain and sale without covenants, and quitclaim. The quitclaim form uses the words “remise, release, and quitclaim” and carries no covenants at all.
That is why quitclaims are used between people who already trust each other, such as spouses, parents and children, or an owner moving a house into their own trust. A buyer paying market value almost always receives a bargain and sale deed with covenant against grantor’s acts instead.
Often not, but you still file. New York State does not tax a conveyance made without consideration, including a bona fide gift, according to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, but Form TP-584-NYC is still required on every NYC transfer. The NYC Department of Finance requires a Real Property Transfer Tax return even when the transfer is not taxable or the tax is zero. A Real Property Transfer Report, Form RP-5217, carries a $125 fee for residential property and $250 for other property.
If the quitclaim is part of a sale, or the person receiving it takes over a mortgage, there may be consideration and therefore tax. An attorney should make that call before recording.
Federal law protects the most common family transfers. The Garn-St Germain Act, 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d), bars a lender from calling a loan on a home with fewer than five units when the borrower’s spouse or children become an owner, when a spouse receives the property under a divorce decree, when the property goes into a living trust where the borrower stays a beneficiary, or when an owner dies. Outside those exceptions, a lender may treat a transfer as a sale.
A quitclaim deed also does not change who owes the mortgage. The loan is a separate contract, so the person who signs away the house can still be liable on the note unless the lender releases them.
Do not accept a quitclaim deed when you are paying for a property. A quitclaim makes no promise that the seller owns anything, and a title insurer will want a full title search before insuring the new owner regardless of which deed form is used. If you are buying, ask for a bargain and sale deed with covenant against grantor’s acts, which is the New York standard for a residential sale.
Staten Island is a house market. PropertyShark’s Staten Island borough page recorded 616 house sales and 69 condo sales in Q3 2026, and no co-op sales row at all. Almost every Staten Island quitclaim moves a real deed for a house or condo. Staten Island deeds are recorded with the Richmond County Clerk, not the City Register, and the RP-5217 is filed on paper Form RP-5217-NYC rather than through ACRIS, according to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.
A Brooklyn co-op has no deed to quitclaim. Co-op owners hold shares in a corporation and a proprietary lease, according to the New York Attorney General, and transferring them means assigning the stock certificate and the lease, usually with board approval. PropertyShark’s Brooklyn borough page recorded 490 co-op sales out of 1,936 residential sales in Q3 2026, about 25%. Brooklyn houses and condos are recorded with the City Register through ACRIS, where the minimum recording fee is $42 for a two-page document, according to the NYC Department of Finance.
Sign up for the NYC Department of Finance’s free Notice of Recorded Document alerts, which email an owner when any document is recorded against their property. Since July 19, 2024, New York treats deed theft as grand larceny, a Class C felony for one residential property and a Class B felony when the victim is elderly or disabled or three or more homes are involved, according to the New York Attorney General. The alerts work best for houses and condos with their own block and lot, which covers most Staten Island owners and fewer Brooklyn co-op owners.
Joseph Ranola helps Staten Island and Brooklyn families figure out when a sale makes more sense than a transfer, and what a home is worth before anyone signs a deed. Read related guides on adding or removing a name from a deed, transfer on death deeds and protecting your home from deed theft, or see today’s neighborhood guides for Oakwood investors, Eltingville new construction, Prospect Heights first-time buyers and Bath Beach sellers moving away. Check what your Staten Island home is worth or what your Brooklyn home is worth, read the Staten Island and Brooklyn realtor guides, or contact Joseph Ranola at (917) 905-2541.
“Very professional and extremely knowledgeable with all of our questions regarding the sale of our beloved parents home. Made us feel very comfortable and I will refer him to all my friends.” — Marge Pugliese, verified Google review
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