Advocateselvakumar

concession on affordable housing

Monday, 11 April 2016

QUERRIES ON PROPERTY MATTERS

QUARRIES ON PROPERTY MATTERS

Certain hidden facts like pending cases, prior agreements, government notifications of the property cannot be traced out easily by verification of the documents. How can these hidden factors be uncovered, and what should a purchaser do to protect himself against these hidden factors?

Rajan Kalyan, JP Nagar, Bangalore

Generally seller hands over the copies of the property documents to the purchaser to examine the title. Such documents contain only title documents, which may be cross-checked in the sub registrar’s Office. But they do not disclose any pending litigations, prior agreements which are not registered and government notifications. As such, the Purchaser should be very cautious and make arrangements for thorough search of records at the concerned jurisdictional Courts to rule out the possibility of any pending cases and also in offices of Urban Development Authorities such as : BDA, BMRDA, KIADB, KHB, High way and other planning authorities etc., to rule out the acquisition notifications, if any.

Further, it would be difficult to verify any existing prior agreements or arrangements which are not registered. As such, proper enquiries with owner of the property, and also with neighbours may be helpful. It would always be better to register the sale agreement and get the property registered at the earliest. Above all, Paper publication of the intention of the Purchaser to buy particular property would help the purchaser to a certain extent.

What is Paper publication? How does it benefit the purchaser

Shenoy, Rajajinagar, Bangalore

Though the Paper Publication may not be a statutory requirement, yet the idea of getting a notice published in the widely circulated newspaper in the locality, is to elicit the information from the general public that a bona fide purchaser is intending to purchase the property from its owner. Besides this, the paper notification also invites objections from various interested persons with documentary evidence in support of their claim within the specific period.

Even after issuance of such paper notification, a person said to have his claim to the property does not lose his rights just because he could not disclose his rights in response to such paper notification within the given time.

I am not able to understand the difference between Khatha Certificate and Khatha extract. Would you please enlighten me on this ? Could you also brief me about the importance of Encumbrance Certificate ?

Veeresh, Uttarahalli

Khatha is a revenue record maintained by the municipal authorities in respect of a property standing in the name of a particular person for purposes of assessment and collection of property tax. As it is a secondary document in the absence of primary documents like Sale Deed, Gift Deed, Partition Deed, Release Deed, Will, Grant etc., however it does not establish the title in its totality.

Khatha Certificate is a Certificate issued by the Municipal authority Office confirming that the Khatha of a particular property stands in the name of a particular person/s.

Khatha Extract is an Extract of the tax assessment register maintained at Municipal Office giving complete details of the property like: Area of the site, building, property tax levied, cess and total tax payable, name of the previous and present owner of the property, etc.

Encumbrance Certificate is issued by Sub Registrar Offices for a specific period as required by the applicant. It contain the details of the property like: Sy. No. House No. boundaries, and encumbrances on such property like: Sale, Gift, transfer, mortgage, if any, which are registered at the said sub registrar’s office. However, the Encumbrance Certificate do not reflect the encumbrance transactions of deeds which are not registered.

What is the procedure for Khatha transfer and how do we know that the Khatha transfer Certificate is genuine and original

Sreenivasa Prasad, Jayanagar, Bangalore

Transfer of Khatha of property to your name is to be done by the concerned jurisdictional revenue authority under whose jurisdiction the property is situated. For this purpose, you have to apply for transfer of khatha in a duly filled Khatha Transfer application duly signed by both the Seller as well as Purchaser i.e., yourself, and enclose a copy of the registered Sale Deed, latest tax paid receipt and up to date encumbrance certificate along with the necessary fee.

Thereafter, the authorities do acknowledge receipt of the application and indicate the date by which the process will be completed; however, the entire process is to be required to be completed within 45 days. Meanwhile, the authorities may also call for certain additional information / document etc., if felt necessary for verification and confirmation. Thereafter, the Khatha of the property would be transferred into your name and an endorsement will be issued in your name to this effect. Thereafter, tax paid receipts on such property would be issued in your name, which show that the said property stands in your name.

As regards ascertaining whether the Khatha Certificate issued is genuine and original or not, the Khatha Certificate is usually issued by the concerned jurisdictional Corporation Office and as such you may directly visit such office and obtain the same to confirm its genuineness and originality.

Do the financial institutions permit the transfer of loan from one institution to other and what is the fee charged for such transfer and whether it would be better to transfer from one institution to other ?

Sadashiva murthy, Hosakote

Financial Institutions allow the transfer of loan from one institution to another even though they don’t want their existing loan accounts to be taken over by other institutions. However, such institution which allow transfer of loan account may charge foreclosure charges for such transaction in order to minimize such transfer of loan accounts. It is left to the customer as to when to transfer the loan from one institution to another taking into consideration various factors of which the major point is to look into the rate of interest besides other benefits which he would get from other institution on such transfer. After obtaining in-principle approval from the taking over institution or bank, such transfer of loan account is possible.

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Property Law

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Saturday, 9 April 2016

Bombay High Court dismissed builders’ plea for concession on affordable housing

Bombay High Court dismissed builders’ plea for

The Bombay High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed by a few developers seeking concession in rules that require all builders to construct 20 percent additional small sized apartments in their plots on all projects that are bigger than 4,000 square meters. The judges held that the government’s decision was correct.

The division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah was hearing petitions filed by DB Realty and few other developers, which said that it was not possible to provide 20 percent affordable housing in all projects and it would hinder many construction projects and so this policy should be scrapped.

It was submitted by the petitioners that restriction on the land owner’s right to develop and construct on his land is arbitrary and constitutes an unreasonable restriction on the petitioner’s right given in the Constitution of India.

The Judges, however held, we are not satisfied with arguments put before by the developers and disposed of the petitions without granting any relief to them.

The draft notice of the inclusive housing policy made it mandatory for all owners to develop plots of 30 to 50 square metres to hand over to Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for economically weaker sections and low income groups.

E-Commerce giants to absorb big Real estate this year

In 2014, Jabong and Snapdeal made large office space transactions, too. They are expected to continue to do so this year. While Jabong picked up 120,000 Sq.ft. in Gurgaon, Snapdeal absorbed 115,000 Sq.ft. in Delhi last year. This year, Jabong is taking a new and larger rented office.

Though the American e-commerce major Amazon refused to discuss the specifics of its office expansion plans, it is believed to be looking at a large office space of more than one million Sq.ft. in Bengaluru this year. The Company already have campuses in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, besides Offices in 15 Indian cities. The Amazon spokes person said that “We are growing at a fase pace and you can expect our real estate foot print to grow this year”.

Estimates suggest the total warehouse space uptake could more than be double in 2015 to 4 million square feet. Besides the likes of Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong and Snapdeal, those like UrbanLadder, PepperFry, Quikr and FabFurnish are also looking at taking up more office space as their business grow.

In Bengaluru, the absorption by e-commerce firms rose to 622,811 Sq.ft. from 453,495 Sq.ft., a year earlier.

Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata office space absorption by e-commerce firms grew significantly. Warehouse space take up may double to 4 million Sq.ft. in 2015. Added to this, the growth in number of employees and consumers fuelling realty boom.

DLF to sell 50% stakes in 4 projects to PE firms

REALTY major DLF plans to divest around 50 percent stake each in four new housing projects to private equity firms for over Rs.3,000 Crores.

India’s largest real estate firm expects to close some of the deals by June and would utilize the funds to improve its cash-flows that have been affected due to slow down in housing demand.http://advocateselvakumar.com/legal_topic.php?id=37

The Chief Financial Officer of DLF said that they are looking for private equity in 4 green field housing projects in Delhi-NCR and South India and also said that the discussions with few Private equity players have already started.

Property Developers and Builders

conveyancing

Property Registration

Thursday, 7 April 2016

STRUCTURAL STABILITY

All buildings have to serve two important functions. They have to carry the loads (structural requirement) and provide livable environment to the occupants to enable them to be comfortable in the use of the building (functional requirement).

The building has to carry its own weight and external occupancy loads and those caused by the environment such as those caused due to wind or earthquake. The elements that bear these loads and transmit them to the foundation are termed as “structural elements”. A good performance of the structural elements such as beams and columns is of vital importance from the safety and stability points of view. Hence, they are designed and constructed with prescribed safety margins as per requirements specified in the Bureau of Indian Standard specifications. Their failure will cause cracking, yielding of steel and even ultimate collapse of the building.

The serviceability of a building depends on the good performance of the structural and the functional elements such as flooring, doors and windows, glass panels and partition walls. The functional elements are generally not intended to carry structural loads. Their failure to perform will only affect the use of the building and not its strength or stability. Their good performance is also equally important.

In a metropolitan city such as Chennai, most apartment buildings are made of reinforced concrete frames. In this type of construction, the structural elements comprise beams and columns which carry the loads. The partition walls and infill walls in these buildings are treated as non-structural and hence are not generally designed and constructed to carry structural loads. In such buildings, for good performance it is necessary to detail the junction structural and non-structural members with proper care. The deformation of the structural members under load should not be restricted by non-structural partitions or in-fills.

For good performance of both beams and partitions, a proper sequence of construction is essential. First building the infill or partition and that casting the concrete beam on top will make the dead weight of the concrete beam load the partition which is not correct. The partition is not supposed to carry the weight of the beam. Moreover, when the additional live load comes on the floor the deflection of the beam will crack the brick infill or partition.

To avoid this problem, first the frame should be completed. This should be followed by the erection of partitions and in-fills. Care should be taken to see that a structural gap exists between the frame and the in-fill. For functional convenience this gap can be filled by inert flexible material such as thermocol or pith.

Under no circumstance a structural member should be cut or chased or damaged in any way for any purpose including for taking services like electrical conduits, concealed wiring etc. This will weaken the element and may cause its collapse leading to the collapse of the whole building. However the services may be taken through the non-structural partitions or infills.

Bearing walls

This type of construction is undertaken in semi-urban and rural areas. All the main walls carry loads and also serve to provide functional requirement. In these buildings, though the partition walls do not carry structural loads, they cannot be either built or demolished without due consideration for overall stability of the building. Some times their weight may be required to provide stability against overturning failure. The main walls invariably provide the structural stability and carry loads. Hence, they cannot be damaged or dismantled for carrying conduits for electricity, etc.

Bearing wall buildings though safe for vertical loads are weak under lateral loads. They are vulnerable for failure under out of plane bending during lateral loading. Therefore, to make the building act as one integral unit, they should be constructed with continuous plinth and continuous lintel beams. No brick pillar should be less than 600 mm in width. All openings should be reinforced on all sides. These simple precautions will ensure good performance of bearing wall buildings under lateral loads caused by wind or earthquakes.

Construction defects

In many sites the brick wall is first raised and then used as shuttering to cast the column or beam adjoining it. This will make the column or beam weak because the pores in brickwork will absorb the moisture from wet concrete making the w/c ration in the beam and column uncertain. The weakness will manifest in the cover concrete of the beam or column, leading to early onset of corrosion in the rebars.

The cracking in the walls of the buildings are many times attributed to following wrong constructions practices. It is important to pay attention to the details at the site of construction to ensure long and trouble free service of the infrastructure created. A conscious distinction should be made between the structural and non-structural items in a building and their requirements and performance. These defects when permitted during construction are difficult and costly to rectify later.

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Advocate S Selvakumar

Bangalore Advocate

property lawyers in Bangalore

Builder failed to refund the money back to the Buyer

Wednesday, 6 April 2016

CONSUMER FORUM

Subject:

A claim for Builder’s failure to refund money to a Buyer for non-possession of a flat is also a Consumer dispute.

Backdrop:

Sometimes, Consumer for opine that a claim for refund of an amount paid to a Builder on cancellation of a flat’s booking is not a Consumer dispute but a monetary claim which can only be adjudicated by a Civil Court. This interpretation is not correct. When a Flat Purchaser seeks a refund due to delay in construction or failure to deliver possession, the claim has a direct nexus with deficiency in service, also, the failure to refund constitutes an unfair trade practice.

The Maharashtra State Commission has given a verdict holding a Builder liable to refund the amount on booking cancellation due to the flat’s non-allotment.

Case Study:

Nallepalli Chandramouli had booked a flat with Trimurti Developers & Builders. According to the agreement dated April 20, 2005 a flat with a built-up area of 1,100 sq ft was to be allotted in Palm Towers Co-operative Housing Society for Rs. 19.8 Lakh.

Chandramouli paid the entire amount but, the Builder did not give possession as the flat had been sold to a third party earlier. The Builder kept dragging the matter, seeking time to buy the flat again and hard over possession to Chandramouli. After nearly six-and-a-half years, the Builder admitted inability to give possession. As real estate prices had escalated in the intervening period, the Builder agreed to pay Chandramouli Rs. 30 lakh in three installments, towards a refund. A Memorandum of Understating (MoU) was executed on September 5, 2011 and the first installment of Rs.10 lakh was paid at that time. But, the two pending installments of Rs. 10 Lakh each, due on October 15, 2011 and December 25, 2011, were not paid despite persistent follow up and a Legal notice.

Ultimately, Chandramouli along with the Consumer Welfare Association filed a complaint before the Maharashtra State Commission on April 19, 2012 against Trimurti Developers & Builders and its partner Rajendra D Mahale.

The Commission issued a notice but the Builders did not appear before the Commission nor file their reply; so the matter proceeded to ex-parte. In a Judgement, the State Commission held that the Builder was liable to pay the amount according to the MoU. Holding the failure service, the Commission directed the Builder to refund the balance of Rs 20 Lakh with interest at 15% per annum from December 25, 2011 onwards till the date of its actual payment, to Chandramouli. The Builder was also ordered to pay Rs. 25,000 as costs.

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Advocate Selvakumar

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FDI

Company Law

Sunday, 3 April 2016

Develop your Courtyard

DEVELOP YOUR COURT YARD

Courtyards have begun to get better attention these days as more and more luxury cars are being parked on the porches. People today spend on their courtyard nearly as much as they do on their home floor. If the first impression is the best impression, then it is the courtyard that a visitor notices before he or she takes note of the elegance of your home. It will not be an exaggeration to say that interlocked precast concrete paving blocks have become the order of the day in designing courtyards.

There was a time when people blindly concreted their courtyards in a misplaced zest for keeping their porticos clean and free of sand and dust. But it did not take long for them to realize that concrete did not allow rain water to go into the earth. Then came different types of tiles for experiment. But their propensity for fungus formation did not give them a lasting impression in the minds of people. The interlocking blocks were introduced a few years ago as a solution to the worries of people about keeping their courtyards not only neat and tidy but hard and sturdy as well.

These blocks have several advantages over conventional paving methods. They can be paved quickly; their sturdiness is rarely called in question; they come in any shape and design of choice; they emit less heat; they are relatively cost effective; and, above all, they let water go down. But the paving has to be done according to specifications. The ground surface should also be given a slope, along with leaving enough gaps in the blocks. For best performance interlocking blocks should be paved on even and hard surfaces after spreading a two inch layer of sand or quarry powder.

Baby metal is the best material to spread on the ground before paving the blocs because baby metal sucks in water more easily than quarry powder. Of late, there has been an increase in awareness among people about the importance of not losing rainwater. We should think carefully before deciding what to do with our courtyards.

The sturdiness of the blocks depends on the quality of their production. Blocks made with hydraulic pressing have been found sturdier than those made with conventional methods.

In States like Tamil Nadu, people use bright colours such as yellow or orange for courtyards. Designer blocks are the latest in interlocking pavement. Interlocking blocks of fairly good quality cost Rs.25 per square foot. For designer blocks, the cost will be Rs.47. The disadvantages of interlocking blocks are that they become slippery if not cared for and their colours fade gradually. But fungus does not spread in interlocking blocks as in other pavements. The colour fading, he says, takes place only in cases of heavy use. There have been several cases where unscientific paving without leaving gaps led to water clogging because of people's ignorance about the interlocking blocks and their paving method.

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Advocate Selvakumar

Senior Advocates

Property Law

Intellectual Properties

NRI Matters

FDI

Saturday, 2 April 2016

NEED FOR KHATHA TRANSEFR OF PROPERTY

Legal

S. Selvakumar, Advocate

Immovable property can be transferred by way of Sale, Will, Gift, Release, Settlement, Partition Deed, and Exchange or otherwise. After such a transfer, it is necessary to make entries in the revenue records on production of the relevant documents to the concerned Revenue Authority.

Immediately upon registration of the conveyance document with the concerned Sub-Registrar, you will not get absolute ownership details in their records in respect of the property. Upon verification of the documents made available to them for transfer of Khatha in your name along with the prescribed fees, the concerned Revenue Authorities will make necessary entries in their records indicating the ownership of the properties in your name. Copies of these documents are supplied to you upon payments of prescribed charges. You will also have to pay property tax to the concerned Authority regularly.

Types of Khatha

These documents are called in different names at different places such as; Khatha Certificate, Khatha Extract, Khatha Endorsement, Phani, Chitti or Adangal. It may be noted that the Title Deed is the document through which a person derives a title or ownership of the property and Khatha Certificate and Khatha Extract only authenticate such ownership. They are supporting documents to the Title deed.

The records maintained by the Revenue Authority shall contain details of property such as size of the plot, location, built up area and so on with a view to arrive at the exact quantum of property tax payable by you as per norms prescribed. These documents are also used for identification of the person, who is primarily liable for payment of property tax. Property tax is a charge arrived at upon consideration of the size and usage of the property and all the property Owners are duty bound to pay Property Tax regularly.

The Khatha Certificate is one of the essential documents required to be produced for obtaining building license, trade license or for obtaining loans from Banks and other Financial Institutions. Even if you want to sell your property, you will have to produce compulsorily copies of the revenue records viz., Khatha Certificate, Khatha Extract and the latest tax paid receipt at the time of Registration of Sale Deed in the Jurisdictional Sub-Registrar’s Office, Khatha Extract would give an account of assessment of a property for payment of property tax.

Applying for Khatha

Only property Owners can apply for Khatha Certificate upon payment of up-to-date property tax and the prescribed fee. However, the Khatha Extract can be applied by anybody, upon payment of requisite fees per property for one extract. The Khatha Certificate and extract can be applied at the Office of the Jurisdictional Asst. Revenue Offices or at any computerised counter established by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.

Holder Khatha

Whenever, the title documents are not furnished to the concerned Revenue Authority and the property with super structure is in possession of an Occupant, the property will be assessed to property tax registering khatedhar as ‘Holder’ to protect the interests of the Corporation Revenue. This Holder Khatha will be regularised on the production of Title Deeds and on payment of improvement charges. General Power of Attorney (GPA) Holders of a property with super structure thereon can also apply for Khatha in their name, where the Khatha will be registered as ‘Holder’ and taxes will be collected from such GPA Holders.

New Khatha Registration

Applications for Khatha Registration may be filed in Asst. Revenue Office along with documents mentioned in the Sarala Khatha Scheme Book. Documents inter alia include Sale Deed, Mother Deed, Encumbrance Certificate, National Savings Certificate and sketch showing the site details, along with the mandatory fees of two percent of Stamp Duty paid on the Conveyance Deed and betterment charges, wherever applicable.

Bifurcation and Clubbing of Khatha

When a property is divided into two or more parts, there is bifurcation and when there is merger of one or more properties together there is clubbing. A modified Khatha has to be obtained in both the cases.

Transfer of Khatha

Khatha can be got transferred from the Vendor’s name to the Purchaser’s name upon the Registration of Conveyance Deed by following the prescribed procedure. Applications for Khatha Transfer may be filed in Asst. Revenue Officer’s Office along with the documents mentioned in the Sarala Khatha Scheme Book. The Sarala Khatha Scheme Book gives all the details about the services of the Revenue Department, documents to be filed, fees to be paid, schedule of time for the services and also the rates for assessment of property tax under the self-assessment scheme. Documents to be enclosed to the application are the same as for new Khatha Registration along with up-to-date tax paid receipts. Purchaser of such property is liable to pay 2 percent of Stamp Duty as Khatha Transfer Fees.

Payment of Property Tax

Property tax can be paid in two annual installments. The property for the first half year will have to be paid within 60 days from the date of commencement of the assessment year. The second installment has to be paid within 60 days from the date of commencement of the second half of the assessment year. Payment of property tax beyond 60 days as mentioned above will attract penal interest.

R.T.C.

RTC means “Records of Right, Tenancy & Crops for inspection”. RTC relates to Khatha of agricultural properties and it is otherwise called as “Pahani”. It is a very important document for agricultural land. RTC is issued by the Village Accountant under Rules 40, 42, 58 & 70 of Karnataka Land Revenue Rules, 1966. RTC is a very important document to trace title of agricultural property. It contains the following details:

1. Survey Number,

2. Hissa Number/Sub Number,

3. Total extent of Land & Kharab Land,

4. Revenue Details,

5. Kind of Soil,

6. Patta,

7. No: of Trees,

8. Total extension cultivated through irrigation,

9. Owner of possession in the land (column),

10. Kind of possession,

11. Other Rights & Miscellaneous,

12. Cultivation & tenancy details &

13. Use of land & kinds of crops.

RTC column serial Nos. 12 & 13 contain total 16 sub columns. It shows cultivator of the land, year and tenancy details, kind of crops, details of water of growth of crops, details of water resources, average production of crops/acre and other details.

Mutation Extract

Mutation is understood in the Revenue Department as a Transfer of Right. Mutation is made by the Village Accountant in the Register of Mutation. Mutation is issued in Form No: 11 under Rule 46 of Karnataka Land Revenue Rules, 1966. It contains 7 columns as detailed below:

i. Sl. No. shows mutation no: and year,

ii. No: of reference to preliminary record or Taluk Office or Sub-Registrar or other Office,

iii. Nature of Rights,

iv. Survey no: and sub-division of details,

v. Order details to the enquiry Officers,

vi. Date of entry in the Preliminary Record or Record of Right &

vii. Date of issue of notice to the concerned parties.

Village Panchayath Khatha Form No: 9

The Gram Panchayath will issue Khatha in Form No: 9 under Rule 35 of Karnataka Panchayath Raj Rule, 1995. It contains the following details:

a. Property no: and details,

b. Owner of the land and

c. Total extent of the property with boundaries and annual tax.

Form No: 10

It is a demand register of assessment of the annual year. The Gram Panchayath will issue Form No. 10 under Rule 35 of Karnataka Panchayath Raj Rule, 1995. It contains the following details:

• Property no:

• Owner’s name and tax fixation for the assessment year &

• The details of the tax (i.e., sanitary, education, health, library, property tax, electricity tax and water tax).

• Instead of Form 9 & Form 10, Form 1 & Form No: 12 are now issued which contain similar details in respect of properties situated in the Village Panchayath area.

• It is advisable that for peaceful possession and enjoyment of your property with an absolute, clear and marketable title, you have to get the Khatha transferred in your name immediately upon purchase.

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Advocate S Selvakumar

Bangalore Advocate

property lawyers in Bangalore