Vikas Soni
In the absence of an original title deed, an individual would face multiple hurdles in making any transactions relating to the property, sell it or take a loan against the property, not to mention the various legal complications that will follow.
A title deed is critical to claiming the ownership of any property, be it a house or plot of land. It is essential for property owners to have the original title deeds in their possession. The loss of property ownership documents can have serious consequences.
In the absence of an original title deed, an individual would face multiple hurdles in making any transactions relating to the property, sell it or take a loan against the property, not to mention the various legal complications that will follow.
If one does end up losing the original title deed, the following remedial steps should be taken immediately.
Report the loss to the nearest police station immediately and ensure that a non-cognizable report (NCR) or first information report (FIR) is lodged/registered there. A copy of such NCR/FIR must be retained by the owner and kept in safe custody for all future references. These days, an online complaint can also be made instead of the person having to physically visit the police station.
In case of robbery or theft of the documents, the police would try to trace the documents or lodge an FIR against the culprits. But if the police fail to trace your lost title deed, they are duty-bound to issue a non-traceable certificate, which is generally known as NCR certificate recognising such untraced/genuine loss. The NCR is a recording of an untraceable report by the police officer concerned in the general diary maintained at every police station. This is a document that would now be instrumental in getting you the duplicate sale deed as also the reason for preventing any misuse or fraud.
It is to be noted that NCR/FIR can be lodged at the nearest police station where such loss took place or where the person having lost the title deed resides, anywhere in the country, irrespective of the location of the property.
Once the FIR/NCR is lodged, you must get a notice published in two newspapers, one in English and the other in a vernacular language, giving the entire details of the property, documents lost, and your contact details so that if someone were to find the missing papers, they could return it to the rightful owner.
The owner must claim ownership by way of this notice addressed to the public informing such loss and inviting any member of the public to raise any claim over the property within a period of 15 days from the date of such publication. For the said publication, a lawyer’s letter addressed to the publisher is required, duly supported by a notarised affidavit explaining such loss to be executed by the owner of the title deed and the reason for publishing the said notice.
The expenses for publishing this notice may vary, based on the newspaper. This could cost around ₹3,500, while the legal fee payable to the lawyer could be around ₹5,000.
Once the 15-day notice period is over, you must visit the office of the sub-registrar concerned and apply for a duplicate/certified copy giving entire details of the property, lost documents, a copy of NCR/FIR and a copy of the notice published in the newspapers, besides the lawyer’s certificate regarding validity of publication and a notarised affidavit (to be executed on ₹10 non judicial stamp paper) explaining the reason for making such an application. From the sub-registrar’s office, you will get the certified copy of the sale deed (i.e. a duplicate sale deed) in 7 to 10 working days.
Take note that the certified copy of the title deed can only be obtained of that document which is duly registered and has endorsement/stamping by the sub-registrar. The said certified copy is a legal valid document and is enforceable in the eyes of the law, whereas an unregistered document establishing title to the immovable property is not enforceable.
A certified copy is a duplicate copy of the original document. Once certified by the competent authority (sub-registrar concerned ) it becomes an authentic document which is as good as the original title document in case of misplaced or loss of the original title deed. The said certified copy becomes a legal document for any transaction or transfer of property by any means such as sale, partition, mortgage etc.
Vikas Soni is an advocate and senior advisor at MVKini LawFirm, Advocate and Solicitors
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