A Bangalore Buyer's Guide to Reading the Sale Deed, Part by Part
A buyer cannot undo a registered sale deed alone, so the time to read it is before registration day. An error found later needs a second deed, further charges and a seller willing to help. This guide follows a deed in the order it is written, for people buying either a new or a resale home in Bangalore.
Six Parts, Six Questions
Most deeds follow one pattern, and each stage answers a single question.
- Parties: who is selling, and who is buying?
- Recitals: how did the seller come to own the property?
- Schedules: what, precisely, is being transferred?
- Consideration: what was the price, and how was it paid?
- Covenants: what does the seller guarantee?
- Closing: what are the duty, fees and formalities?
Get the final draft about a week before the appointment. A lawyer can read it unhurried, and corrections do not have to be rushed.
Why the Deed, Not the Agreement
An agreement for sale is a promise to sell in the future. Any sale worth Rs. 100 or more has to be made by a registered instrument, which is the demand of section 54 in the 1882 Act on transfer of property. Ownership therefore arrives only when the deed is signed and then registered, under the Registration Act, 1908.
The deed must be lodged for registration inside four months from the date of signing. Kaveri 2.0, the state's online platform, takes the details beforehand.
The Parties
Read each name, age, address and ID number. Even a one-letter difference from identity papers or older deeds can hold up the khata or alarm the lender. Every owner on record signs as seller. For an inherited property, the legal heirs sign as well, or give up their claim by a registered release.
When someone signs on another person's behalf, the authority itself needs proof. Where a power of attorney is used, it must be registered, still in force and meant for this very property. A company shows a board resolution, while a firm shows its partnership authority. Where the project is a joint development, both landowner and developer put their names to the deed, or the developer signs on a power registered by the landowner.
The Recitals
This is the story of title, told from the earliest deed. Every link in the chain, be it a purchase, a gift, a family division or an inheritance, appears with its number, date and registering office. A flat's story goes on to the land transaction, the plan sanction and construction.
Check the narrative against the papers you hold. These are the conversion order, plan sanction and occupancy certificate, along with the mother deed and the link deeds. A missing link, or a reference to a paper nobody can produce, is a reason to pause.
The Schedules
The schedules put the property into the language of the law. An apartment deed deals with the land first, naming its site or survey number, locality, khata, extent and all four boundaries. Next comes the buyer's portion of the land, stated in sq ft and in per cent, and last the flat itself.
The flat's entry lists its number, floor and block, its carpet and super built-up areas, and its parking. Compare each figure with the agreement, then with the plan that was sanctioned and with the khata. Carpet area should equal both the agreement figure and the RERA declaration, and each parking slot should carry its own number and level.
If the purchase is a plot, walk its boundaries. The length of each side should fit the approved layout and what the ground shows.
The Price and Its Payment
The consideration clause states the price and records that the seller has received it. Each payment should be listed by date, amount, bank and reference. The part funded by the home loan is included, and the entries must total the price.
The state levies duty on the guidance value where that is higher than the price. A figure lower than the real price puts both parties at risk of tax action and penalty, and it leaves the buyer with a poor cost record when the home is sold again. With a price of Rs. 50 Lakhs or above, the buyer deducts 1% TDS and files Form 141, which the deed usually notes.
The Seller's Guarantees
Some seller duties are implied by section 55 of that Act, but a careful deed lists them. They cover ownership, freedom from claims, payment of dues, possession and what the seller will do later.
Ownership means the seller holds absolute title and may sell. Freedom from claims means no mortgage, charge, litigation, acquisition notice or tenant, except a named loan that the seller is repaying. On dues, the seller pays property tax, electricity, water and maintenance up to the sale. On possession, the buyer receives the property vacant on the deed's date.
The indemnity is the weightiest guarantee, a promise to make good any loss from a defect in title. It should cover claims from the seller's relatives and from former owners, and no cap should empty it of value. The seller should also agree to sign any later paper that title or khata needs, and to give the original title deeds to the purchaser or to the bank. If a loan is open on a resale, note the bank's release of the originals in the deed or in a separate letter.
If the Flat Is New
Lay the developer's deed beside the agreement that was filed with the regulator. Section 17 of the 2016 RERA law calls for a registered conveyance to the allottee. The undivided title in the common areas must go to the association of allottees as well. The deed should cite the occupancy certificate with its number and date.
Question any clause that the agreement did not have. Examples include a right to add floors, private use of terraces and open areas, or a surrender of the five-year liability for defects. Ask for it to be dropped, or explained in writing.
Duty, Registration and Afterwards
Duty depends on value: Rs. 20 Lakhs or less pays 2%, the next band up to Rs. 45 Lakhs pays 3%, and anything dearer pays 5%. With cess and surcharge added on the duty, the top slab is 5.6%. Registration is charged separately at 2%. Our EMI calculator folds these figures into the cash needed upfront.
Both parties attend the registration office with original ID, and photographs and thumb impressions are taken there. Reading the printed deed again before signing each page pays off, because last-moment edits cause mistakes. The deed returns stamped with its registration details.
Next, take delivery of the deed, or confirm that the bank holds it, and apply for the khata to be transferred to the buyer. An encumbrance certificate taken some weeks on should show the sale. Keep certified copies with the earlier title papers, and for homes we market in Bangalore, our team can look over a developer's draft if asked through the contact page.
