Buying a Property and don’t know about Property Documents?
- shrey singh
- Jan 7, 2020
- 11 min read
The blog explains various property related document which one should ask to builders or should check while buying a property to prevent litigation over it.
Title Deed/ Certificate of title of the land:
Title deed tells whether the person has a right to transfer/sell/alienate the property or not as title deed proves the ownership of property.
a) Sale deed: is an agreement between buyer and seller by which interest in the property is transferred and assigned to another, evidencing sale and transfer of ownership of property in favour of the buyer, from the seller. It establishes the proof of ownership of the property. It is mandatory to register the Sale Deed in Registrar/Sub-Registrar office in whose jurisdiction property is situated, within 4 months from the date of execution of the Sale deed.
b) Conveyance deed: is conveyance of right of ownership of the flat to the allottee, after the payment and the documents are received from the allottee and possession is taken over by him/her. Conveyance Deed is executed in the cases of free hold allotments only. After taking over the possession of the flat, the allottee is required to intimate to the Dy. Director concerned along with a copy of the possession slip and clear the dues whatsoever viz service charges etc., before the date for execution of the conveyance deed is given. Stamp Duty is the duty paid by the allottee to the Collector of Stamps under the GNCTD, before execution of the conveyance Deed, as per the rates fixed by the Government from time to time and is to be borne by the allottee.
c) RTC Extracts: RTC MEAN RECORD OF RIGHTS, TENANCY AND CROPS.
This is a very important Revenue record as it contains all possible data relating to lands held by an individual or group of individuals such as, area, assessment, water rate, classification of soil, number of trees, nature of possession of the land, whether acquired by registered or unregistered document by succession, partition, mortgage, liabilities, tenancy and details of crops grown, land utilization, area under mixed crops, etc. It is thus a combined document furnishing details about Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops.
RTC Extract means is getting details from the assessment register.
d) Katha Certificate and Extracts : Khata is an account of a person who has property in the city. Khata is important when you apply for any license of building or for trade, applying for a loan from any banks or financial institution. It consists of all the details of property like name of owner, size of buildings, location of property and all other details that help to file property tax.
The Khata Certificate is given only to the owner of the property or to his family.
Khata Extract is getting details from the assessment register. The extract is required to get trade license, or to buy a particular property. It has the details of the property like the name, size of the property, use of the property (commercial purpose, residential), annual value, when assessed last.
e) The 7/12 extract: is an extract from the land register maintained by the revenue department of the government. The extract gives information of the survey number of the land, the name of the owner of the land and its cultivator, the area of the land, the type of cultivation – whether irrigated or rainfed the crops planted in the last cultivating season. It also records loans extended to the landowner given by government agencies, including the purpose – such as loans or subsidies for buying seeds, pesticides or fertilisers, for which the loan was given, the loans could be given to the owner or the cultivator. It one of the documents that provide evidence of the ownership of the land it represents. In rural areas the ownership of a particular plot of land can be established on the basis of the 7/12 extract. It is called as “Record of Rights” or “Record of Land Rights”.
f) Mutation Register Extracts: It is issued by the Village Accountant or Tahsildar. It contains the extract from the mutation register or inheritance certificate with details of the present and previous owners, the mode in which property was acquired, the extent of the land and the order stating that Khatha can be transferred in the name of present owner.
g) Record of Rights (ROR) and Index of Land Extract: It contains details of the land owners, extent of land etc.
h) Patta Book: contains information with regard to the payment of land revenue and other Government dues and information regarding cultivation.
i) Registered Relinquishment Deed: by this deed the co-owner of the property renounces their claim upon the property. At the time of purchasing such property, which might have been inherited by seller by any testament like Will or gift or was part of settlement between legal heirs of original owner, therefore it is mandatory to check and obtain the relinquishment deed, but make sure that this document is registered otherwise it have no legal value.
j) Will along with probate/Succession Certificate, Legal Heir Certificate, & Death Certificate: In case property was inherited by the Seller as per Will then it is always advisable to see whether the Will was registered or not, whether it is probated or not as Will is a legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property, which he desires to be carried into effect after his death. Therefore, always ask the Seller to provide the death certificate of the Testator along with the succession certificate and/or legal heir certificate.
k) Gift Deed: For the property which the Seller got as a gift, buyer is required to check whether the transfer of the property has been made voluntarily, without any exchange of money and it had been accepted by the Donee. A deed which is intended to gift an immovable property or relinquish one’s rights in an immovable property is a compulsorily registerable document as per the provisions of the Registration Act and thus the same will be required to be registered with the sub-registrar of assurances. Thus, as per the provisions of the Registration Act, an unregistered instrument does not affect any immovable property comprised therein.
2. General power of attorney: is a written authorization to represent or act on another’s behalf in private affairs, sale or purchase of the property, business, or some other legal matter. Therefore, it is required to be checked whether the person have the authority to transfer/alien the property on behalf of the owner or not. In case of an NRI selling his property in India through Power of Attorney to third person whom he give rights for selling the property on behalf of him, the most important thing is to ensure that the Power of Attorney is witnessed and is duly signed by an officer of the Indian Embassy.
It is always advisable to hold a registered GPA while registering an immovable property in order to give better title to the property.
3. Joint Development agreement (JDA): It is executed between the Landowner/s and a builder in which the landowner will contribute land and the builder will undertake development activity on it. Depending upon the land price, the joint development ratio is decided among the parties. In most situations, the builder will agree to allot a few flats to the landowner and will pay a token advance. In consideration the landowner will with a portion of undivided share (UDS) of land in favour of the builder or his nominee and will also allow the builder to construct and sell the agreed number of flats. The agreement should be examined if it is a joint-development. The ratio of the built up area between the Developer and the landowner should be understood.
4. Approved Building plan sanctioned by statutory authority: It is an issue of permission for the construction of buildings based on specific set of rules and Regulations. The approved building plan is obtained from the concerned Government authority. Any deviation from the approved plan can impact possession of the property.
5. Latest tax paid receipt from the date of registration update to till date (Property /municipal tax): Property taxes are first charge on property that is paid to government or municipality. So you have to check in government and municipal offices to ensure whether all tax has been paid as on date. You can also ask for latest tax receipt from the owner. In this way you can check whether any notices or requisitions are issued on the property or any tax are due on the property. While you are checking property tax receipt, there are two columns in it- one column contain the owner name and other column contain the taxpayer name. In some cases, the tax receipt is not with owner, in such cases; you should contact village office with the survey number of land and confirm the original owner.
6. Occupancy certificate: This is issued to the Developer by the concerned municipality/ corporation and is proof that there is no deviation from the approved plan.
7. NOC from electricity Department/Pollution control board/water works/ airport authority/ Sewerage Boards/ for installation and utilization of elevators/fire safety approvals etc: Before starting the construction work it is mandatory for the builder to obtain all the requisite NOC from all the key Government Departments ranging from Pollution Control Board to Fire& Safety etc. otherwise completion certificate will not be issued to the building.
8. Land conversion certificate: Land Conversion is a legal process by which permission is granted to the property owner who changes the use of the land from agriculture to non agriculture purpose. It is also called “CHANGE OF LAND USE”. The legal sanction/ conversion/ order/grant/permission is necessary to use the land for any other purpose.
9. Non Encumbrance Certificate: Before buying any property, it is important to confirm that the property does not have any legal dues on it as sometimes the builder or seller might have taken a loan by creating a charge or mortgaging the property in favour of any Bank or financial institution, therefore check the encumbrance certificate for the past thirteen years or could demand verify the 30 years encumbrance certificate from the sub registrar office where the deed has been registered.
10. Supplementary agreement/ rectification deed (if any): Sometimes some modification, alteration or changes are required in the Principal registered or unregistered documents, which can be done by executing the Supplementary agreement/ rectification deed, it is therefore always required to ask for the supplementary documents if any, in order to avoid any dispute in future.
11. Allotment letter from the builder/housing board/ co-operative society: In order to obtain the loan from the bank to purchase the property, Builder/Housing Society issues an Allotment Letter to the buyer which provides the description of the subject property being sold/ bought between the parties, the amount of money which buyer has to pay to the builder/housing society and also about the specifications of the Project on the whole. On the basis of this Allotment Letter, bank finances the property. Allotment letter is only issued to 1st owner by builder and subsequent owners have to demand the copy of original allotment letter from previous owner.
12. Sale agreement/ Construction agreement between builder and 1st owner: It is the unregistered agreement executed between the builder and 1st owner of the flat/ apartment before the registration of the sale deed. This agreement contain the liability of the Builder to construct the building according to the plans and specifications approved by the local authority along with date of possession, price to be paid by the purchaser and the intervals at which the instalments towards the full payment are to be made specifying the stage of construction, details regarding the common areas and facilities specifying the percentage of undivided interest in the common areas and facilities pertaining to the apartment agreed to be sold, a statement of the use for which the apartment is intended.
13. Copy of possession letter from the builder: It ensures that possession of the said building is being delivered to the purchaser on the effective date specified in the letter.
14. Payment receipts paid towards the builder
15. Demand letter from the vendor before disbursement: Demand letter is issued by builder to 1st owner, demanding payment due as per schedule agreed between builder & 1st owner.
16. Owner contribution receipt along with the bank statement from which you have paid your contribution to the vendor: It is required by the financial institution like bank at the time of providing loan in order to ascertain that buyer has paid his own contribution to seller.
17. NOC from the RWA/society/building association: Latest No Objection Certificate from the Residential Welfare Association or society/building shall be insisted mentioning Association does not have any objection on ownership transfer.
18. No due certificate from the building association: Latest No Dues Certificate from the Residential Welfare Association or society/building shall be insisted stating that no charge of any Bank or financial institution is recorded with them related to the flat and building association is the custodians of all the Original documents and approvals of the entire property.
19. Approved drawing/ floor plan and Layout plan of the building or approval plan of any extension and license of construction: Ask the seller/builder to provide the approved drawing/ floor plan and Layout plan of the building or approval plan of any extension and license of construction from the concerned authority, as it is mandatory for the builder to get the approval before starting the construction work. The development authority has a right to demolish the developmental works and restore the land to status quo ante if layout approval plan is not in place. The title to the site itself can be fairly safe (if documents are clear) but the development is unauthorized.
20. Detailed cost estimate/valuation report from chartered engineer/ architect (if applicable): It is done by bank before sanctioning any loan on the property.
21. Betterment charges paid receipt: Betterment charges are the fees to be deposited by the builder to the local authority, in order to provide the basic facilities to the resident of that society.
22. Auction sale confirmation letter from the local development authority: In case of purchase of the property in any auction held by Local development authority then this letter is mandatory.
23. Release certificate or No Objection letter: Many property owner/ builder take Loan/ charge/ mortgage by pledging their property. So check whether they have paid the entire amount due when you are going to buy that property. If they have paid entire due amount, the bank has issued them a “Release certificate”. Ask for the same, as this release certificate is necessary when one has to take any loan in future or ask the Seller to provide the NO OBJECTION LETTER from the said bank or financial institution. Such no objection letter shall clearly state the property, the name of the borrower, the borrower’s account number, the apartment, floor, area, car park etc., and shall be addressed to the Purchaser.
If the Builder states that they have not availed any loan or have not created any charge on the property, the same shall be stated in definite words in the agreement to be executed with the Seller.
24. Deed of declaration: In case of buying a property in a society A copy of the Deed of Declaration of the flat Owners association and the Bye Laws annexed to the same shall be called for and read to confirm that it confirms to the sale deed/title deed. It is also advisable to look for any additional costs in the form of transfer fee payable by the Transferee.
25. Latest electricity bill: It is necessary to ask for Latest Electricity Bill and Payment receipt from previous owner as Electricity bill is the another solid proof to establish the ownership of current owner and to check that Seller is not a defaulter and no dues are pending towards electricity department.
26. Measurement of Property: It is prudential to measure the land before registering any property. In this way you can ensure the measurements and borders of land are perfect and accurate. You should get done it with authorized surveyor as you will avoid many problems coming in future. For the sake of your knowledge you should take surveys sketch from survey department to ensure the accuracy.
If the site has been allotted by any statutory authority the receipts for payment made to the statutory authority, the allotment letter, possession certificate and the lease cum sale deed/sale deed issued by the statutory authority is required as part of title documents.
27. Completion certificate: Any building needs to be constructed as per approved plans without any deviations and violations. Obtaining the completion certificate ensures that the developer has constructed the building as per approved plan. After completing the construction, the builder through Architect shall intimate the concerned municipal authority. The Architect shall certify that the construction has been carried out as per approved plans without any deviations and violations and is in conformity with building bye-laws and guidelines for addition(s)/alteration(s) in flats. The intimation of completion shall have to be given within 3 years of submission of plans for addition(s) / alteration(s) to the concerned municipal authority. If no intimation regarding completion of construction is received within 3 years, the permission granted will automatically get revoked and withdrawn.
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