Registration of property is a step to transfer ownership of the property to the buyer

The process of ownership of any property is completed with the registration of the said property. It is an important step that gives ownership of the property. For property registration OC (Occupancy Certificate) is essential. You won’t be able to go for registry of your property until the developer gets OC from the local authority.

Sadhav Mishra, partner, SNG & Partners, said “Under the Indian context, when a property (value more than Rs. 100) is transferred/ sold/assigned, it is governed by the act called as The Registration Act, 1908 which governs the registration of an instrument relating to immovable property. The Act entails various provisions and sections which inter alia states the instrument that are compulsorily registrable as against instruments which are optional to be registered. ” It is mandatory to register the instrument/document relating to transfer of immovable property with the concerned jurisdiction of the Sub-Registrar of assurances in order to convey an absolute, clear, legal and marketable title over an immovable property. Section 23 of the Act provides that no document other than a will shall be accepted for registration unless presented for that purpose to the officer within four months from the date of execution. However, the same is subject to other provisions as stated in the Act which allows timeline beyond four months for registration by payment of penalty.

“Further, Section 49 of the Act clearly states that no document/s will be admissible as an evidence as in the Court of law unless registered. However, such unregistered documents can be relied upon as evidence only for collateral purposes,” Mishra adds.

It is important to note that sometimes the property is transferred within family by way of gift or release wherein the donor/ releasor releases/gifts his right in the property to the release / donee without receiving any monetary consideration purely out of love and affection thereby transferring the property. It is interesting to note that even if there is no monetary paid the same still is required to be registered compulsorily as it is a document whereby the title is getting transferred from one person to another.

Is OC mandatory for the registry? Why some properties can’t be registered?

The process of registration is simply and systematic which starts with the submission of the property documents at the concerned Sub-registrar’s office. It is to be noted that the property documents should be duly executed which means that the documents should be duly stamped and signed by both the parties and witnessed by two witnesses. For registration both the parties are required to be present either by self or represented by attorney along with their two witnesses to register the property. Once the necessary documents are submitted, the selling party needs to present to the Sub-Registrar the document of proof of ownership which could be Index II, copy of sale deed, share certificate issued by society or any other document that evidences ownership of the seller along with proof of payment of stamp duty to the sub-registrar. The Sub-registrar will then verify the documents presented with the proof of ownership of the seller. Once the Sub-registrar is satisfied with the document of ownership the registration process will be initiated. Sometimes, the purchaser takes the benefit/depreciation of the stamp duty in the event of sale of flat of an old building, in such case the Sub-registrar in order to check the veracity of the construction insist on the copy of occupancy certificate or municipal assessment bills.

“The OC is not a document which is required mandatorily for property registration as its not a document of title evidencing the ownership of the seller instead it is required only if the stamp duty benefit is being claimed on account of old construction. Further, the property registration of a transaction less than rupees hundred or for a lease less than twelve months is not mandatory required to be registered,” Mishra maintains. Further, the properties where it is not possible to establish the title of the seller on account of there not being any previous registered documents, the subsequent of such registration is not possible.

Ashish Narain Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Property Pistol, says, “Property registration is mandatory for a property purchaser for confirming his ownership. In a country like India, where you get options to invest in land, apartments, villas, bungalows and second homes among others, registration of property helps to bifurcate and diversify among them. A person is not only considered the legal owner of the property but also entitled to carry out any transaction regarding the property. The sale deed is not complete and valid without registration and stamp duty payment of the property. ”

The documents required are identity proofs of parties involved (Aadhaar card, Pan card), passport size photographs of both the parties, verified copy of the original sale deed, copy of No Objection Certificate (NOC) under the land ceiling act, power of authority in case the party is representing someone else, copy of latest property register card, etc.

Hence, to summarise registration of property is vital from the perspective of having an absolute and unfettered right over the property as an owner and in the event of any dispute the registered document can be presented before the Court as an evidence.

CHAIN OF DOCUMENTS

The new sale agreement/sale deed between the buyer and seller
The society share certificate
Electricity bills
Society no objection certificate for sale of property
Bank No objection certificate for sale of property if there is any mortgage on the property
Builder No objection certificate for sale if the property is an investor resale where the society has yet to be formed
Property tax bills to ensure that all the taxes are paid, and nothing is pending
Occupation certificate if the property has one
Building completion certificate if the property has one
Registration and Stamp duty challan
These are the minimum documents that are needed. The list is property specific also as Mumbai’s real estate market is always on a case by case basis