Buying a home is one of the most significant milestones in a person’s life; a dream-come-true feat, isn’t it! After all, you have spent a fortune on your property. However, the property isn’t legally yours until you have fulfilled the property registration obligations. The registration of a property entails that the buyer is the legal owner of the property and that the property transaction is legitimate. Without timely registration of the property, the homebuyer can get embroiled in legal tangles, face a huge penalty and won’t be able to transfer or sell his property in future. We have come up with an all-encompassing guide about property registration to clear your doubts and help you sail through the registration process.
What is the procedure for property registration?
For the record, registration of documents related to sale, transfer or lease of a Property is compulsory by law under Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908. The name of the person on the registration document tells the rightful owner of a property. If the documents are not registered by law, then the law will not provide any right over the property. Before the registration process, the home buyer has to pay stamp duty on or before the day the stamp duty process is executed. After the stamp duty is paid, the document needs to be registered under the Indian Registration Act, under the watchful eyes of a sub-registrar. The registrar must be within the jurisdiction of the locality where the property is located. The signatories for the buyer and the seller, have to be present during the registration process. If someone else represents both the parties, then they have to produce power of authority. Documents required for registration of property
- Proof of Identity such as Passport, Aadhar Card, Voter ID Card, PAN Card or Driving License has to be produced by both the buyer and the seller.
- The original property sale document and two photocopies of the original document.
- Proof of payment of stamp duty.
- Proof of payment of registration fee.
- Proof of payment made to seller
Steps involved in registration of property
- Verification of the title of the property: The title of the property is put under scrutiny to figure out whether the property is brought fresh from a developer or is it a secondary sale. The verification process becomes easier in case of the latter as the first owner had already registered the property.
- Estimation of property value: The value of the property has to be estimated for accurate payment of stamp duty. The stamp duty value will be calculated on the agreement value of the property or the property circle rate of the area, whichever is higher.
- Stamp Duty papers: For payment of stamp duty, non-judicial stamp papers have to be purchased from a licensed vendor or buy e-stamp papers online.
- Readying the sale deed: All the property details are printed on the stamp papers by the authorized attorney on behalf of the buyer.
- Payment of stamp duty and registration fees: The stamp duty has to be paid immediately after the stamp papers are ready. So are the registration fees, which needs to be done with before registration of the property.
- Visit the sub-registrar for registration: For registration of the documents, a prior appointment at the office of the sub-registrar is necessary. Take two witnesses while with you on the day of the registration and carry photographs and all necessary documents mentioned above.
- Completion of registration: Once all the documents are verified, the registration process is over. You will be handed the registered documents and the original documents by the sub-registrar. Copies of the documents will be kept by the sub-registrar for future reference.
What is the timeline and fees for the registration of documents? The property documents must be processed for registration within four months of the date of execution. If the property documents are signed abroad, then they must be registered within four months of arrival in India. The registration fee for property documents is 1% of the value of the property, with a maximum of 30,000/-, though charges vary from state to state.
FAQs
- Is property registration mandatory?
As per Sec 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908, all transactions involving sale, transfer or lease of any property for a value exceeding Rs 100 should be registered.
- What happens when you fail to register your property within the stipulated time period?
Not registering your property during the authorized time period, can attract huge penalties and make your property null and void in the eyes of the court of law. The buyer will be considered an unrecognized owner of the property
- What are the ways of acquiring immovable property in India? a)By way of inheritance b) Through purchase c)By way of will d) Grant by the government or court e) Through trust or gifts
