Maharashtra: Property cards to become principal document of ownership

Soon, owners of flats and commercial units will get property cards that will grant them firm records of their ownership rights.

Maharashtra has around 56 lakh property cards (in urban areas) and about 2.50 crore 7/12 extracts (rural land records), which are records of horizontal properties. There is no firm register of the vertical properties like flats, buildings or commercial complexes that have been created on these lands. This leads to lack of firm records of ownership.

The project will prevent property-related frauds where one flat or commercial unit is sold or mortgaged to multiple buyers or financial institutions and ensure liquidity through easier transactions.

"The state government is considering vertical property rules," S Chockalingam, Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records told DNA. He added that the commissionerate had sent a proposal to the state government to formulate the 'Maharashtra Land Revenue Record of Rights and Registers for Apartments and Buildings rules,' under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (MLRC), 1966, which was expected to be approved soon.

"No government department maintains ownership records of vertical properties. Municipal bodies have records for taxation purposes, and these are not ownership records…there is no such record for flats. The proof of ownership has to be proved through a chain of documents like the agreement with the builder or society records," he explained.

The present property cards or 7/12 extracts will become the principal documents of ownership. "The apartment stands on some land, which has a property card (in urban areas). For every flat or apartment on that land, there will be a supplementary property card. These cards will be issued together as they cannot exist in isolation," said Chockalingam.

He said the proposal would lead to benefits like government departments and buyers having firm ownership records and protecting the rights of other property owners. "After these rules are approved, we will launch a pilot project, one in urban and the other in the rural areas. Public notices will be issued, asking people to apply with proof for these ownership documents. Once these claims are collected, objections will be called before finalising these claims," added Chockalingam.

Records

• At present, the land records have registers only for horizontal properties and not for the constructions on these lands, which may have multiple structures
• Under the new rules, holders of flats and commercial establishments will get property cards