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How to get your property registered?

By Rishabh Chamoli | 2022-09-29

How to get your property registered?

While property registration is a buyers job, a seller plays a crucial part in the entire process, too. It is hence important to know the steps involved in transferring the legal ownership rights of your property to new buyer. The article details each and every step in the process of registering a property and the sellers role in it.

A person is deemed the legal owner of a property only after that person gets the property registered in his or her name. This process of registering a property requires the creation of a sale deed, which records the transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer. However, just drafting the sale deed is not enough.

To transfer the legal ownership and for the sale of the property to be considered valid, the sale deed must be registered in the office of the concerned Subregistrar of Assurances by paying the appropriate charges.
This process of registering property is quite complicated. Although most of the paperwork is usually done by the buyer, it would still be beneficial for you, the seller, to hire a lawyer experienced in property dealings for a smooth registration process.

Let us go step by step through the property registration process:

Step 1 Drafting the sale agreement
The sale agreement includes all the terms and conditions related to the sale, such as the amount of earnest money paid, the final selling price or sale consideration for the property and the timeline of that payment, among others. The buyers lawyer usually drafts this document.
Once written, the lawyer will send across the draft sale agreement to you for your inspection and confirmation. It is vital that you read through every sentence of the draft sale agreement to make sure that all the clauses are written as mutually agreed upon, and that there is nothing out of order.

Step 2 Registration of the sale agreement
Although the sale agreement is created on a non judicial stamp paper, it is vital to get it registered at the office of the Sub registrar of Assurances. In some states, such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the sale agreement will only be legally binding on the buyer if it is registered by paying the appropriate stamp duty and registration charges.
Accordingly, the buyers lawyer will get an appointment at the sub registrars office where you and the buyer will have to be present. Before signing the printed sale agreement, it is essential to re read it to ensure that no changes have been made since you last approved it.
The process to register a sale agreement is the same process used in registering a sale deed, which we shall address below.

Step 3 Creation of the sale deed
To continue the process, the buyers lawyer will begin to create the sale deed based on the information written in the sale agreement. It is vital to remember that the sale deed is a separate document from the sale agreement, and is a legal ownership proof as against the latter, which is only a promise to conduct a sale transaction in the future.
The buyers lawyer will then send you the draft sale deed, which you and your lawyer must go through and respond with a confirmation, or ask to make alterations or eliminations, as the case may be. After your confirmation, the buyer will calculate the stamp duty to be paid on the final sale consideration (property price) or the circle rate, whichever is higher. For example, if the final selling price of the property is Rs 40 lakh and the circle rate is Rs 30 lakh, then the stamp duty will be computed on the higher value, which is Rs 40 lakh.
The stamp duty varies by State and ranges between three to nine percent. Unless otherwise discussed, the buyer usually pays the stamp duty. By doing so, the buyer will receive a stamp paper worth the stamp duty amount paid. The sale deed (as confirmed by you) shall then be printed on it.

Step 4 Execution of the sale deed
As according to the decided payment timeline and the appointment date, you, the buyer and two witnesses shall reach the office of the Sub registrar of Assurances, within whose jurisdiction, the property to be sold is situated.
With regards to the witnesses, usually, the buyer brings one witness, and the seller brings along the other. It is advisable to choose a trusted family member or relative for the purpose. The buyers lawyer will be present, and you may choose to invite your lawyer as well.
The buyer will show you the printed sale deed and, you must re read it to ensure that it is precisely similar to the draft sale deed, which you had earlier approved. Post that, and as decided, the buyer will pay you the remaining amount for the property.
It will be prudent to take a Demand Draft (DD) since this mode of payment is much safer than accepting a regular cheque, which may or may not bounce or get accepted at a later date when you go to cash it at the bank. In case the buyer hands you a DD, verify it by calling up the buyers bank branch to ensure that the DD is credible.
Having received the full payment for your property, you may now sign the sale deed. You and the buyer have to sign every page of the sale deed. The two witnesses will sign on the last page.

Step 5 Registration of the sale deed
As per the appointment, you, your lawyer, the buyer, the buyers lawyer and the two witnesses have to go to the office unit of the subregistrar. He or she will then examine the documentation, which includes

Sale deed with all the signatures
Copy of the municipal tax bill
Copy of the latest property register card (you can obtain this from the City Survey Department)
Two passport size photographs yours, of the buyer and the two witnesses
Photo identity proof in the form of passport and Voter Identification (ID) card yours, of the buyer and the two witnesses
Copy of your PAN card and the buyer these shall be attached with the sale deed
The registrar, after being satisfied with the documents and confirming that the stamp duty has been duly paid, will ask you whether you have received the full payment from the buyer or not. On your affirmative reply, the sub registrar will then sign the sale deed.

Step 6 Payment of registration charges and process conclusion
After this, all parties will have to get their live photographs taken, give their signatures and their fingerprints. The buyer, at this point, has to pay the registration charges, which differs from State to State, but is usually capped at one percent of the sale consideration or, at Rs 30,000.

After the payment, the buyer will get a receipt for paying the registration charges. While the buyer keeps the original receipt with him or her, and you should also get a photocopy of that receipt for your reference.

The buyer will be able to get the original registered sale deed within one to three weeks by revisiting the sub registrars office. Make sure you get a photocopy of all the pages of the original registered sale deed for your reference.

In case you are not able to visit the sub registrars office, you can choose to have someone else act on your behalf by empowering him or her through a Power of Attorney (PoA). This document will also have to be furnished during the registration process.

Finally, you may think that the procedure is complete, and it is, to an extent. However, you must make sure that you get the name of the owner changed in the Government records. This process is called mutation.