The title of a property is an ownership certificate. When we transfer the property from the original owner to someone else, there is a change of ownership. The property gets a new owner, and hence the title needs to be changed. The New owner’s name gets substituted for the ex-owner.
The transfer of property involves the transfer of a bundle of rights. The new owner gets the right to sell, mortgage, lien, or gift the property. Therefore, there are specific rules to be followed for the transfer of property title in law. Adherence to these rules is a must to ensure that the transfer is valid and legal.
In India, the procedure for the legal transfer of property title is not easy. It is time-consuming, requires proper documentation and payment of appropriate fees/charges to the concerned authorities.
It is advisable to hire property lawyers in India or take top law firms’ services to complete the transfer of property title as per law to avoid legal battles later. The transfer of property is complete if the legal procedure has been followed.
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The procedure of transfer
Transfer of property takes place in several ways. How a person acquires the title becomes vital to decide the right way of transfer of property title. A person can obtain the property in many ways like:
- Inheritance
- Will
- Gift
- Sale deed
- Any other kind of transfer
Inheritance:
Inheritance means transferring property to the deceased’s legal heirs by Will or by applying laws of succession.
If the property is ancestral, the property devolves upon the legal heirs as per the succession laws. Similarly, if the property is self-acquired and there is no Will made for it, the succession laws apply.
In such cases, the legal heirs apply to the concerned department/authority to transfer the property title to their names. They submit the application in the requisite format, a copy of the previous owner’s death certificate and title deed (deceased).
In case there are multiple heirs, they can mutually agree to surrender their share in favour of one heir, and they can represent the authorities accordingly. A relinquishment deed or a no objection from the rest of the legal heirs is required. The rules may require an indemnity bond also in such cases.
Inheritance of property is not sufficient. The legal transfer of property title is a must so that the owner (heir who has inherited the property) gets all the rights over the property. It is essential to know that one inherits the rights and the liabilities of the property.
Will:
When the deceased has left a Will for the property’s devolution, the beneficiary submits a copy of the Will and death certificate to the concerned authority. If the Will is in the name of a single legal heir, other heirs can file an objection and challenge the Will. The property devolves as per the Court’s decision.
A probated Will does not face such problems. It is always better to write a Will and get it probated as it makes the legal transfer of property title a bit easier.
Sale Deed/Gift Deed:
If the property is acquired through a sale deed or a gift deed, the title’s legal transfer takes place once the deed is registered as per law. Thus the parties approach the Registrar to get the transaction registered and complete all the formalities of the process for the property title’s legal transfer.
In general, the documents required are:
- Death certificate if a property is acquired after the death of the owner – (inheritance or Will)
- Birth certificate of the applicant to know the relationship with the ex-owner in some instances
- Succession certificate – for moveable assets
- The property tax paid receipts
- The title deed of the ex-owner
- Sale deed, Gift deed, or any transfer deed showing that the property has been transferred
- Share certificate of the Society in case the property is a flat in a Society
- No Objection certificate or Relinquishment Deed as the case may be
- Application form in the requisite format
- Receipt of fees paid
The process involves filing an application and proper documents and requisite fees to the concerned department/authority. The property lawyers in India and property law firms are there to assist the applicant in the legal transfer of property title to his name.
Whenever there is a legal transfer of title of a property, the fact of changed ownership must be recorded in the public records.