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Sale and purchase, title verification and due diligence, agreements, registration and stamp duty, property disputes and redevelopment — for flats, buildings, land and commercial premises in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Property and real estate matters for buyers, sellers, owners, housing societies, landowners and developers.
Title is examined from the record rather than from the assurance of the person selling — the search at the Sub-Registrar, Index II for every registered document, the 7/12 extract and mutation entries or the property card, the sanctioned plan, the occupation certificate, and the society's or the promoter's own papers. What that examination shows is set out in writing, with the gaps named as plainly as the findings, before money moves and before a document is signed.
Speak to our teamThe provisions, the periods and the procedure, in order.
Last reviewed 23 September 2026
Transfer of Property Act 1882 — s. 54
Property law is the law of who owns a thing, what they may do with it, and how a transfer of it is proved. The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 governs sale, mortgage, lease, exchange and gift of immovable property, and Section 54 requires that a sale of tangible immovable property of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards be made only by a registered instrument.
In practice a matter takes one of three shapes: a transaction that is being put through, a title that has to be examined before someone parts with money, or a dispute over ownership, possession or a document already executed. The record is the same in all three — what is examined before a purchase is what is produced in a suit, which is why the examination is done at the first stage rather than the last.
In Mumbai and Navi Mumbai most residential property is held as a flat in a co-operative housing society, or as an apartment under the Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act, 1970. There the share certificate, the society's records and the sanctioned plan are read alongside the title deeds rather than in place of them, and the transfer is completed in the society's books as well as at the Sub-Registrar.
TP Act 1882; Registration Act 1908; Maharashtra Stamp Act 1958; RERA 2016
The Transfer of Property Act, 1882 governs the transfer itself; Sections 54 and 55 set out how a sale is made and what each side owes the other, including the seller's duty to disclose a material defect in the title that the buyer could not with ordinary care discover. The Registration Act, 1908 decides what must be registered and what follows if it is not. The Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 fixes the duty, with conveyance falling under Article 25 of Schedule I.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 applies to the sale of apartments and plots by a promoter and is administered in this State by MahaRERA. The Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 governs development permission and reservations; the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 governs revenue records, mutation and the use of land; and the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963 continues to govern flats sold before RERA and the conveyance that is owed to the society.
The authorities are the Sub-Registrar of Assurances for registration, the Tahsildar and the Collector for revenue records and land use, the planning authority — the municipal corporation, MMRDA or CIDCO — for development permission and occupation, MahaRERA for a registered project, and the District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies for a society and for deemed conveyance.
TP Act 1882 — ss. 54, 55; Income-tax Act 1961 — s. 194-IA
A transaction runs from an offer to an agreement, from the agreement to payment and possession, and from possession to the deed, its registration and the change in the record. Which document does the work depends on what is being transferred: land or an independent building is conveyed by a sale deed; a flat in a society passes by an agreement for sale followed by transfer of the shares in the society's books; a first sale by a promoter is made on the agreement for sale that RERA prescribes.
An agreement for sale of immovable property in Maharashtra is chargeable with duty as a conveyance under Article 25, so duty is ordinarily paid at the agreement stage and the later conveyance takes the set-off the Act allows. An agreement that records possession but is not registered does not transfer title and is not received in evidence of the transaction.
Where the consideration or the stamp duty value is fifty lakh rupees or more, the purchaser deducts tax at one per cent under Section 194-IA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and deposits it in the seller's name. Where the seller is a non-resident, tax is deducted under Section 195 instead, at a different rate and on a different footing, and that is settled before the payment schedule is agreed rather than after.
NRI legal servicesTP Act 1882 — s. 55(1)(a); MLRC 1966 — Record of Rights
A search at the Sub-Registrar of Assurances over the period the matter calls for — thirty years is the usual period for an ordinary transaction — shows what has been registered against the property, and Index II gives the particulars of each registered document. The chain of title is then read document by document, because a gap in the chain is what later becomes the dispute.
For land, the 7/12 extract and the mutation entries in the Record of Rights show how the holding has passed, and in a city survey area the property card does the same. An entry in the Record of Rights carries a presumption of correctness under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 until the contrary is shown, which makes a mutation that was never effected a live problem rather than a formality. For a flat, the chain of agreements, the share certificate, the society's records, the occupation certificate and the sanctioned plan are examined together.
Encumbrance is the other half of the exercise: a mortgage, a notice of lis pendens, an attachment, a charge for unpaid dues, a tenancy or licence, a reservation in the development plan, a restriction on transfer of agricultural land under Section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, or a condition in a lease from a public body. What the examination shows is set out in writing, and what it does not cover is stated as plainly as what it does.
RERA 2016 — s. 13; Maharashtra Stamp Act 1958
A document is drafted for the transaction it records rather than taken from a form. What it has to settle is the parties and their capacity, the property and its measured area, the consideration and how it is paid, what is being transferred and what is not, the date of possession, the representations each side gives, what happens on default, and how and where a dispute is to be decided.
A promoter may not accept more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment as an advance payment or application fee without first entering into a registered agreement for sale — Section 13 of RERA says so in terms — and the form of that agreement is prescribed by the State rules. A clause that takes away what the Act gives the allottee does not become good by being signed.
Leave and licence, lease, development agreement, power of attorney, gift, partition, family arrangement, release deed and agreement for sale each carry their own requirement of stamp and of registration, and that requirement is settled before execution rather than after. A power of attorney intended to pass an interest in property is not a substitute for a conveyance, whatever it is called.
Release deed registration in Navi MumbaiRegistration Act 1908 — ss. 17, 23, 25, 49; Maharashtra Stamp Act 1958 — Art. 25
Stamp duty is charged on the higher of the consideration and the value the Annual Statement of Rates — the ready reckoner — gives for that property. In Mumbai the duty on a conveyance is presently five per cent with a one per cent metro cess, six per cent in all; in the corporations where a local body tax also applies the total is presently seven per cent; the rate is lower outside corporation limits. Where the purchaser is a woman and the property is residential and held in her sole name, a concession of one per cent applies. Rates are notified and do change, so what is checked is the rate in force on the date of execution.
The registration fee is one per cent of the same value, subject to a maximum of thirty thousand rupees. A document that requires registration is presented within four months of execution under Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908. Under Section 25 a delay of up to four further months may be condoned on payment of a fine that may extend to ten times the registration fee; after that the document cannot be registered at all.
Section 17 lists what must be registered, including a non-testamentary instrument that creates or transfers a right in immovable property of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, and a lease from year to year or for a term exceeding one year. Section 49 states the consequence: an unregistered document that required registration does not affect the property and is not received as evidence of the transaction, save for the limited purposes the proviso allows. Duty short-paid is dealt with by adjudication under Section 31 or impounding under Section 33 of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958, and an instrument not duly stamped is not admitted in evidence under Section 34.
Limitation Act 1963 — Arts. 54, 58, 65; CPC 1908 — O. XXXIX
The common disputes are over title, over possession, over a boundary, over partition among co-owners, over specific performance of an agreement one side will not complete, over a mortgage, and over a tenancy or a licence that has outlived its term. Which court a matter goes to depends on the value and the subject, and in several matters — a co-operative society dispute, a complaint against a promoter, a revenue-record dispute — the forum is not the civil court at all.
Limitation decides more property disputes than any other rule. A suit for possession based on title is governed by Article 65 of the Limitation Act, 1963 and is brought within twelve years of the defendant's possession becoming adverse. A suit for specific performance is governed by Article 54 and is brought within three years of the date fixed for performance or of notice of refusal. A suit for a declaration is governed by Article 58 and is brought within three years of the right to sue accruing. A period that has run is not cured by the strength of the case.
Interim relief is often what is actually at stake: an injunction restraining a transfer or construction under Order XXXIX of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, appointment of a receiver, or a caveat. A notice of lis pendens registered against the property puts a later purchaser on notice under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882. Where the parties are willing, mediation and a recorded settlement dispose of a matter sooner than a trial, and the settlement is drawn so that it is itself enforceable.
MCS Act 1960 — s. 79A Directive of 4 July 2019; MOFA 1963 — s. 11
A society redevelopment runs on the Directive issued under Section 79A of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 on 4 July 2019, which replaced the 2009 Directive. It sets the steps: the requisition by members, the special general body meeting, appointment of the project management consultant, the feasibility report, tenders, selection of the developer by the general body with the consent of at least fifty-one per cent of the members, and registration of the development agreement.
A joint development between a landowner and a developer is a different transaction. What is shared, when it is shared, who bears which approval, what security the landowner holds and what happens on delay are settled in the development agreement, and the power of attorney given with it is limited to what that agreement provides rather than drawn at large.
Conveyance is the step most often left undone. Where a promoter has not conveyed the land and the building to the society, the society applies for deemed conveyance to the Competent Authority — the District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies — under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963, and the certificate that follows is lodged for registration without the promoter's signature.
RERA & redevelopmentMRTP Act 1966 — ss. 44, 45; MLRC 1966 — ss. 42A–42D; RERA 2016 — s. 3
Development requires permission from the planning authority under Sections 44 and 45 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, and building work in Greater Mumbai is carried out under the Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2034. The commencement certificate permits work to start and the occupation certificate permits the building to be occupied; a purchase in a building that has no occupation certificate is a decision taken with that consequence known rather than discovered afterwards.
Change of use from agricultural to non-agricultural was, until recently, a separate permission from the Collector in every case. Under Sections 42A to 42D of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 no such permission is required for land in an area covered by a sanctioned development plan or regional plan, and by the Government Resolution of 23 May 2023 a development permission obtained through the Building Plan Management System operates as the permission for non-agricultural use. Conversion tax and the non-agricultural assessment are still payable.
A project on more than five hundred square metres of land, or of more than eight apartments, cannot be advertised, marketed, booked or sold unless it is registered with MahaRERA under Section 3 of the Act, and the registration number is stated in every advertisement. What else a particular property needs — environmental clearance, CRZ, fire and height clearances, a no-objection from a lessor or a public body — depends on where it stands and what is proposed on it.
The same order is followed whether the matter is a purchase, a sale or a dispute.
Short answers on the points that decide most of these matters.
The chain of title deeds; a search at the Sub-Registrar of Assurances over the period the matter calls for, thirty years being usual; Index II for each registered document; the 7/12 extract and mutation entries, or the property card in a city survey area; the sanctioned plan, the commencement certificate and the occupation certificate; the MahaRERA registration where the project is under construction; and, for a flat, the chain of agreements, the share certificate, the society's no-objection certificate and proof that property tax and maintenance are paid. Encumbrance is checked separately — mortgage, attachment, notice of lis pendens, tenancy, and any reservation in the development plan.
An agreement for sale records that the parties will transfer the property on stated terms; a sale deed, or conveyance, transfers it. Under Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 a contract for sale does not by itself create any interest in the property. For stamp duty the distinction matters less in Maharashtra than elsewhere, because an agreement for sale of immovable property is chargeable as a conveyance under Article 25 of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 and duty is ordinarily paid at that stage. For a flat in a co-operative housing society the registered agreement for sale is commonly the operative document, followed by transfer of the shares in the society's books.
Duty is charged on the higher of the consideration and the ready reckoner value. In Mumbai a conveyance presently attracts five per cent duty plus a one per cent metro cess, six per cent in all; in corporations where a local body tax also applies the total is presently seven per cent; outside corporation limits the rate is lower. Where the purchaser is a woman and the property is residential and held in her sole name, a concession of one per cent applies. The registration fee is one per cent of the same value, subject to a maximum of thirty thousand rupees. These rates are notified and change from time to time, so the rate in force on the date of execution is what governs.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 regulates the sale of apartments and plots by a promoter and is administered in this State by MahaRERA. A project on more than five hundred square metres, or of more than eight apartments, must be registered under Section 3 before it is advertised or sold. Section 13 stops a promoter taking more than ten per cent of the cost as advance without a registered agreement for sale. Carpet area is defined in Section 2(k) as the net usable floor area, excluding the external walls, the service shafts and the exclusive balcony and open terrace, and the sale is made on that area. Section 18 provides for refund with interest, or interest for the period of delay, where possession is not given by the agreed date. RERA does not govern a resale between two flat owners.
Often, and the route depends on the dispute. A dispute between a member and a co-operative housing society goes to the Co-operative Court under Section 91 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 rather than the civil court; a complaint against a promoter in a registered project goes to MahaRERA; a dispute over a revenue entry goes to the Tahsildar or the Collector; and where the agreement contains an arbitration clause, to arbitration. Mediation and a recorded settlement are available in most matters, and the settlement is drawn so that it is itself enforceable. Where limitation is close to running out, the suit is filed to protect the period even while talks continue.
Where a promoter has not conveyed the land and the building to the co-operative housing society within the period the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963 allows, the society may apply to the Competent Authority — the District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies — for a certificate of deemed conveyance, which is then lodged for registration without the promoter's signature. It matters because a society without conveyance does not own the land it stands on, and that affects redevelopment, the building's own approvals and each member's title.
A document requiring registration is presented within four months of the date of execution under Section 23 of the Registration Act, 1908. Under Section 25 a delay of up to four further months may be condoned on payment of a fine that may extend to ten times the registration fee. After eight months it cannot be registered. Under Section 49 an unregistered document that required registration does not affect the immovable property and is not received as evidence of the transaction, save for the limited purposes the proviso to that section allows.
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