City Councilman William Greenlee says the city's safeguards against title theft are lax, so he introduced a bill yesterday that would tighten them.

Under Greenlee's proposal, the Records Department would be required to conduct a background check for every deed transfer, certifying that the seller who appears on the deed is actually the owner of the home.

When a house is stolen, the fraudulent "buyer" forges documents that allow the thief to gain title to the house, which the thief resells and makes off with the money. That creates two victims - the new buyer and the old owner - and it can take thousands of dollars in legal fees to straighten out the mess.

Greenlee's office tells tales of a man's returning from summer at the Shore to find someone living in his house, and a soldier's house being sold from under him while he served in Afghanistan. Often it is a family member who forges the documents to get hold of a property. Many of the properties have been neglected, or their owner died.

The bill, which will go to committee for a hearing, also requires that proper documentation be included with every deed, that it be delivered in person, and that the Records Department notify the record owner by mail that a new deed has been recorded.

The Records Department actually started notifying owners last year, and the policy has resulted in between 125 and 175 new reports of fraud a month, according to Greenlee's office.

Greenlee and Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, who has been a leading voice on the subject, have called for a task force to address the problem because the District Attorney's Office does not have the resources. They said 122 homes were stolen in the city in 2006, the last year for which statistics are available.

Greenlee said he had tried to work with Records Commissioner Joan Decker to enact stricter controls, but "it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere."

"They seem very much in a rush to move the process," Greenlee said. "In doing that, they're letting a lot of things slip through."

Decker could not be reached for comment.

In other business yesterday, Council unanimously passed W. Wilson Goode Jr.'s bill to give current Philadelphia residents a tiebreaker over nonresidents when seeking city employment.

The legislation, which requires voter approval in the Nov. 4 general election, requires that residents be chosen over nonresidents with the same score on a Civil Service test.

Last month Council approved legislation eliminating the city's rule that those hired for city employment must have lived in Philadelphia for one year before their appointment.

Council also approved Frank DiCicco's zoning legislation allowing for a 15-story Stamper Square hotel and condo development on the NewMarket site in Society Hill, unanimously except for the abstention of Brian J. O'Neill, whose law firm represents one of the parties.