The registration of wills and gift deeds by owners of property has nearly doubled in Mumbai after the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the data of the Maharashtra Government. The industry feels that growing feelings pertaining to mortality amongst owners of property may have led them towards protecting the future interests of their loved ones and families.
The gift deed registration count stood at 11,912 in 2018 across Mumbai, and this decreased to 8,569 deeds in 2019. From January 2020 to the end of 2022, the registration counts have gone up each year, as per data provided by the Department of Registrations and Stamps (IGR) of the Maharashtra Government. From 2019, the gift deed count went up to 8,694 in 2020 and almost doubled in 2021 to touch 16,322, before achieving a count of 20,834 in 2022.
In 2023, till the month of March, 3,287 gift deeds were registered as per the Maharashtra IGR records that were collated by Square Yards. The Government of Maharashtra garnered Rs. 645 crore in revenues from the registration costs for 69, 627 gift deeds that were registered between January 2018 and March 2023. The number also increased considerably for will registrations after the pandemic. The figures for 2018 and 2019 were 7,246 and 8,234 wills respectively.
This went up to 9,591 in 2021 and 5,636 wills in 2020, along with 11,642 wills in 2022. Within the first three months of 2023, 3,091 will registrations took place. There were 45,440 wills registered from January 2018 to March 2023.
Gift deeds are legal documents where people voluntarily transfer ownership of immovable/movable properties to others. The donor is the one giving the gift, while the deed should be signed and registered at the local registry office in order to have validity. A will is a legal document recording the wishes of an individual regarding asset distribution post his/her demise. The will may be registered at the local registry office.
The Reasons Behind the Increase and other Factors
Experts feel that the higher number of deaths during the pandemic may be a major trigger for the jump in registration of wills and gift deeds. Anand Moorthy, the Co-Founder & CBO-Asset Management Services & Data Intelligence, Square Yards, stated that the sudden increase in deaths and health-linked uncertainties after COVID-19 has driven the increase in the count of individuals interested in leaving wills behind for safeguarding property and investments in order to avoid unwanted disputes post their demise. It is not just those with vast property portfolios, but even middle-class individuals who are thinking of registering wills for amicable property distribution amongst family members.
Legal experts are also of the opinion that the reduction in the rates of stamp duty led to an increase in gift deed registrations in the city. The stamp duty came down by 2-3% for gift deeds transferring properties to those who are not blood related. The fees are anyway nominal for registration of gift deeds for blood relatives. For will registrations, the fees are already low and there were no changes observed for the same.
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Published Date: April 23, 2023
