From the current areas- freehold & leasehold property, to the issue on his mind- Title Insurance, Witness Bureau in a Candid Chat with Devesh Singh, Director (Lands), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the man behind the small steps taken to bring about big changes in Delhi.
With DDA, Devesh has worked in areas relating to allotment of institutional and industrial lands, conversion of leased properties, enforcement of development norms and land management. His success is the result of his educational background which is a combination of technical and management skills. Devesh Singh has worked with the Government and premium public sector organizations for more than 25 years. He has been involved in the development and financing of industries as Industries Officer in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and as Deputy General Manager in Delhi Financial Corporation.
Freehold Property means a property which is in the absolute ownership of a person i.e. the person has right to possess, right to enjoy and right to dispose of the property. Whereas leasehold property means a property in which the owner of the property has, in consideration of price either paid or promised, transferred a right to enjoy the property for a certain time, or in perpetuity, in favour of another person. The owner is called “lessor” and the person in whose favour the lease is executed is called the “lessee”. Governmental Bodies or Agencies usually dispose off immovable properties e.g. residential, industrial or commercial plots, residential dwelling units, commercial shops or industrial buildings etc. by way of granting leasehold rights in the property. Once the lease is expired by efflux of time or otherwise, the lessee’s right to remain in the leasehold property is extinguished.
No. A leasehold property cannot be gifted unless its tenure is changed into freehold. A leasehold property always remains property of the lessor. However, the “Leasehold Rights” can be gifted with the prior permission of the lessor.
Yes, once converted, the property goes out of the lease administration jurisdiction of the lessor and the lessee becomes the owner. The lessee gets unrestricted powers to deal with the property as per his own requirement, like he can sell, gift or transfer the property as per his free will, subject to law being in force.
By mutation, name of the legal owner of the property is brought on the official records. Mutation of the property can be done on the basis of the sale deed, registered will, gift deed, relinquishment deed or other legally recognized property transfer documents. The mutation of property is possible on the basis of an “Unregistered Will” too as in India the registration of testamentary document is not mandatory.
No, a document registering a property is a registered document of assurances and not of title. If the representation as to the title is proved to be wrong, the purchaser loses the property to the rightful owner despite the assurances. He can only seek damages for breach of covenant of title by resorting to costly litigation.
Title insurance involves the issuance of an insurance policy promising that if the state of title is other than as represented on the face of the policy and the insured suffers losses as a result of the difference, the insurer will reimburse the insured for that loss and any related legal expenses, upto the face amount of the policy. Title insurance can substantially reduce litigation and ease the burden of courts.
Yes, title can be verified by him through inspection of the record maintained in the office of concerned Sub-registrar where the title deed stands registered by paying the requisite fee. Such verifications serve as safeguard against potential losses due to fraud, misrepresentation or defects in title. Mutation records of concerned municipal agency or revenue authority may also be checked. However, under Indian laws, there is no express provision to issue a title certificate.
The stamp duty is payable on the value of the property indicated in the transfer document but the value can not be less than the circle rates fixed by the State Government in this regard.
The sale of property constitutes transfer of ownership and signifies vesting of all the rights i.e. right to possess, right to enjoy and right to dispose of in favour of the purchaser. The transfer of property technically speaking cannot be concluded by the registration of power of attorney alone unless the power of attorney is coupled by agreement to sell, will, transfer of possession etc. If the power of attorney is actuated by monetary consideration and it signifies the interest of the attorney and is coupled with other documents as stated above, then it may be considered as sale.
Firstly, the Board of Directors should have passed a Resolution for sale of the property and should have approved the draft title deed. The Board of Directors need to have, by a resolution, authorised somebody on behalf of the company to execute sale of the property of the company. A power of attorney can also be insisted in favour of the person who is executing sale on behalf of the company alongwith the certified true copies of all the documents mentioned herein. Lastly, it should also be verified that the shareholders of the company in its extra ordinary general meeting have approved disposal of the property of the company.
The corporate bodies cannot use residential property as office space. However, in certain cities, the municipal laws or the Master Plan development control norms do permit a part of residential premises to be used for specified commercial or office purposes.
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