Provides relative to recorded instruments affecting subdivisions

House Bill 793 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:5052 and repeals 33:5053 to fundamentally restructure how subdivision-related instruments are treated in parish conveyance records. The bill eliminates the prior requirement that clerks and recorders refuse to record deeds unless subdivision compliance requirements are met and remove the duty to report violations to district attorneys. In their place, the bill establishes that any act of sale, deed, plat, map, or other instrument filed for recordation in parish conveyance records subject to state subdivision law or local zoning regulations constitutes an automatic certification by the filer that the instrument complies with all applicable statutory and local requirements, including required planning commission or governing authority approvals. The bill further provides that any recorded instrument failing to comply with these requirements is void ab initio with no legal force or effect, regardless of when any defect is discovered, and that such invalidity cannot be cured or validated through prescription.

The practical effect of this legislation shifts responsibility and enforcement mechanisms significantly. Recording officials in parishes outside Orleans are relieved of their gatekeeping function and reporting obligation, transferring accountability to the filer through automatic certification upon recordation. Persons who knowingly file non-compliant instruments face dual enforcement: civil penalties ranging from five hundred to five thousand dollars per violation recoverable by the governing authority or district attorney, and potential criminal prosecution under the false public records statute. However, the bill protects third parties who acquire property in good faith reliance on properly approved and recorded plats or subdivisions, and preserves all remedies available to governing authorities for enforcing subdivision and zoning regulations.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's subdivision control framework established in R.S. 33:5051 through 33:5054 and the state's comprehensive zoning authority in R.S. 33:101 through 33:120.1. By declaring non-compliant recorded instruments void ab initio and preventing prescription from curing such defects, the bill aligns with Louisiana's public policy regarding land records integrity and local government authority over subdivision development. The provision protecting good faith purchasers balances the interests of property owners and governmental land use control, recognizing established principles of property law while reinforcing that subdivision compliance is mandatory rather than a ministerial recording function.