Maharashtra set to be first to map out vertical property rules

Maharashtra became the first state to adopt a system whereby owners of flats or commercial structures will be given individual property cards. The decision to implement this system got approval from the state cabinet.

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The state Cabinet gave the ambitious project a go-ahead and sanctioned the draft rules in this regard. Following the Cabinet nod, the state’s Revenue Department will now put the draft rules – the Maharashtra Land Revenue Record of Rights and Registers for Apartments and Building Rules (2019) – in public domain for suggestions and objections.

“Maharashtra will become India’s first state to formulate vertical property rules”, said state’s Settlement Commissioner S Chockalingam. At present, there is no firm register establishing the ownership right of vertical properties like flats, residential or commercial buildings.

While the state Revenue Department maintains a record of land rights, it does not capture firm records of ownerships of apartments or units that stand on it. “The proof of ownership has to be established through a chain of documents establishing how the ownership has changed hands,” added Chockalingam.

Once the new rules are implemented, the current property cards, or 7/12 extract (a property document where there are no city survey numbers), will become the principal document of ownership, while the property card of the apartment will act as the supplementary document. Revenue Department officials said the new record was a push towards cleaner property titles, which would make buying and selling of apartments less risk prone.

Chockalingam said that it would also make availing loans from banking institutions less cumbersome. “In the absence of the firm record of the apartment’s ownership, banks today insist on the supplying of the chain of documents for a title search. Once the supplementary property cards are issued, these additional documents won’t be necessary,” he said.