Are you planning to buy or invest in a property? Then, you must check for the property’s legal status to avoid legal complications and fraudulent activities. If you ignore this step, you might face serious legal and financial risks. This will cause financial loss and make you fall for long-term legal battles, disturbing your peace of mind.
Read Brick & Bolt‘s blog to understand the importance of property legal verification, the steps involved and the major red flags
What is Property Legal Verification?
Property legal verification is the process of thoroughly examining all legal documents and records related to a property to confirm its legal status before purchase, sale, lease, or mortgage. This involves verifying the title deed to ensure the seller’s ownership, checking encumbrance certificates to confirm the property is free from legal or financial liabilities, and validating property tax receipts and building plan approvals for compliance with local regulations. Legal verification protects buyers and investors from fraud, disputes, or hidden liabilities, ensuring a secure transaction and safeguarding investments. Consulting a legal expert is recommended for a comprehensive review.
Why is Property Legal Verification Important?
- Avoid Legal Disputes: Proper property verification can help prevent future legal problems related to property and financial losses.
- Ensure Clear Ownership: If the property title proves clear, you can reduce the risk of buying a property with legal issues, such as disputed ownership or pending litigation.
- Avoids Property Fraud: Property fraud is a very common issue during the sale or purchase of a property. Without verifying legal status, buyers may become victims of fraudulent property dealings. By checking property ownership with the help of a title search, an encumbrance certificate online can help reduce fraud risks.
- Prevents Financial Interest: By checking property verification, you can ensure that you are investing in a property with a mortgage or with unpaid dues. Getting peace of mind that the property can be legally transferred without hidden costs.
- Ensures Property Tax Compliance: Property tax records verification helps to ensure that all dues are cleared. This prevents any surprise financial burdens after the property transfer. Unpaid property tax can lead to liens on the property or complications in registration.
- Compliance with Local Municipal Laws: This verification process will help you to check whether the property is in compliance with local municipal laws or not, avoiding future disputes.
Key Documents Required for Property Legal Verification
To make sure you are buying a property lawfully, you need to verify the following documents to confirm the property’s legal status:
- Mother Deed: The mother deed document helps you check the complete history of ownership and the transfer of rights from the actual owner. It specifies who holds the title to the land from the beginning.
- Sale Deed and Agreement: The sale deed acts as proof of transfer of ownership from one party to another. It validates the transfer and confirms the present owner’s legal claim.
- Property Tax Receipts: Make sure to check property tax receipts. They will help you understand whether the property taxes are paid up to date or not. It also ensures that the property is legally registered with the local municipal authority. The receipts record the amount of property tax paid for a specific period and provide proof of ownership.
- Land Record (Patta/Record of Rights): As the government provides this document, it confirms the ownership status of the property. Also, you can check the classification of land, such as agricultural or residential, and any existing liabilities. It’s essential for validating the legal claim to the land.
- Approved Building Plan: If you are purchasing a freehold property, you need to check the building plan for the structure that was built on that site. This will help you to make sure that the structure is built legally.
- Khata Certificate & Extract: The Khata certificate is a revenue document confirming the property’s tax assessment. It includes essential details like the property identification number, owner name, and assessment details.
- Power of Attorney (if applicable): A power of attorney document allows a third party to act in lieu of the property owner in legal and financial matters. A power of attorney (POA) holder can sell property for the principal, as it gives specific powers to the attorney-in-fact, such as selling, leasing, or managing the property. Make sure that the document is legally valid, conducted on stamp paper, and registered with the appropriate authority.
Step-wise Process to Check Property Ownership and its Legal Status
Being an Indian, you can easily verify the property ownership by following these steps:
Verify the Seller’s Identity
You can check the seller’s identity through government-issued identity proofs like Aadhaar or PAN card to ensure the person selling the property is the rightful owner and authorised to transact.
Visit the sub-registrar’s Office
If you are checking property ownership through the offline process, you need to visit the nearby sub-registrar’s office for the property you intend to buy. As these offices register land transactions and maintain records, they can give necessary documents like Record of Rights, encumbrance certificate (EC), Tenancy, and Crops (RTC), mutation extracts, and survey maps.
Review the above Essential Documents
Review all essential documents that are recorded above to confirm the property’s legal status. You can take help from a legal expert or property lawyer to review the documents obtained and assess the property’s legal status. A lawyer can identify any loopholes or discrepancies that may pose risks to the transaction.
Physical Verification
Make sure to visit the property personally for a physical inspection to verify its existence, boundaries, and structural condition. Check whether any unauthorised constructions or deviations are going on from approved plans.
Engage with Neighbours and Locals
Communicate with neighbours and local residents to get insights about the property, its history, and any associated potential problems or disputes.
How to Check Property Ownership Online?
To check the property ownership of a property that you are about to purchase through the online process, you need to follow these common steps across various state portals, with some differences:
1. Visit the Official State Land Records Portal
In India, various state maintains an official portal dedicated to land and property records. You need to identify and navigate to the website that is relevant to the property’s location to start the verification process.
2. Access the Land Records Section
After identifying the portal, select the section usually labeled “Land Records,” “View Property Details,” “Know Your Property,” or “Property Search.”
3. Enter Required Details
You need to enter the necessary information to perform the search. Typical requirements include the property’s district, tehsil/mandal, village, survey or plot number (Khasra number), Khata number or account number, and sometimes the owner’s name as registered in the records.
4. Verification and Results
Upon entering the data accurately, the portal displays property details, including ownership information, area, mutation status, and other records like property tax payment status.
Note:
- Encumbrance Certificates (ECs): ECs are not universally available online across all states. Only a few states (such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka) provide ECs fully online. In most other states, ECs must be obtained from the sub-registrar office or through separate registration portals.
- Property Tax Information: These records may not be available on all land record portals. They are usually maintained by municipal authorities and may require separate access, according to the state or city.
5. Download or Print Documents
Maximum portals give the option to download or print the land records and related documents. These hard copies will be useful for legal verification, future transactions, and dispute resolution.
6. Cross-verification
Given administrative complexities, users are strongly encouraged to cross-verify ownership details with mutation records, sale deed registration details, and encumbrance certificates obtained either online (where available) or from local offices to ensure authenticity.
| State | Official Portal(s) & Website | Required Details | Process Highlights |
| Uttar Pradesh | UP Bhulekh (http://upbhulekh.gov.in), IGRSUP (https://igrsup.gov.in) | Property details (District, Tehsil, Village the property belongs to)Khasra/Khata NumberOwner Name | Provides Khatauni (Record of Rights), mutation status, sale deed registration (via IGRSUP), and certified copies of deeds; free access to land records. Encumbrance certificates are not issued online in UP, but certified copies of registered documents are available. |
| Maharashtra | MahaBhulekh (https://bhulekh.mahabhumi.gov.in) IGR Maharashtra (https://igrmaharashtra.gov.in) | Survey Number, Owner Name, Property Address | Access to 7/12 extract, property card, mutation records, and certified copies of registered documents; sale deed verification and online stamp duty payment/registration via IGR Maharashtra. Encumbrance certificates are not issued online in Maharashtra, but certified copies of deeds are available. |
| Delhi | DORIS (Delhi Online Registration Information System) (https://dlrc.delhi.gov.in) | District, Subdivision, Village, Khasra Number, Owner Name | E-search for registered documents, certified copies, property registration, stamp duty calculation; mutation and property tax info are available through municipal portals, not DORIS. Encumbrance certificates are not issued online in Delhi. |
| Karnataka | Kaveri Online Registration (https://kaverionline.karnataka.gov.in), Bhoomi (https://landrecords.karnataka.gov.in) | Property Registration Number, Survey Number, Owner Name | Integrated registration and property verification; encumbrance certificate (EC) availability; online payment of stamp duties; Bhoomi for land records, Kaveri for registration and EC |
| West Bengal | Banglarbhumi (https://banglarbhumi.gov.in), wbregistration.gov.in | District, Block, Mouza, Khatian Number, Plot Number | Records include ownership, land use, mutation, property value; access to deed registration and certified copies online. Encumbrance certificates are not issued online in West Bengal, but certified copies of deeds are available. |
| Telangana | Dharani (https://dharani.telangana.gov.in) | Survey/Plot Number, Owner Name, Property Details | Integrated land registry, mutation, and EC portal; uses GIS-based mapping. |
| Tamil Nadu | TNREGINET (https://eservices.tn.gov.in) | Patta Number, Survey Number, Owner Details | Provides ownership details, land records, tax receipts, and encumbrance certificates. |
| Andhra Pradesh | MeeBhoomi (https://meebhoomi.ap.gov.in) | Document Number, District, Village, Aadhaar Number, Owner Name | Access to Adangal and 1B records, mutation details, and ownership verification. ECs are available via the Registration Department portal (not MeeBhoomi). |
| Gujarat | AnyRoR (https://anyror.gujarat.gov.in) | Survey Number, Owner Name | Land records, ownership details available online. ECs are available via the IGR Gujarat portal, not AnyRoR. |
| Punjab | Punjab Land Record Society (http://plrs.org.in) | Property Details, Owner Name | Digital access to Jamabandi, mutation, and ownership records; searchable by name or plot. Encumbrance certificates are not issued online in Punjab, but certified copies of deeds are available. |
Red Flags to Watch Out For During Property Verification
You need to be conscious while checking the property’s ownership and legality by considering the following red flags:
Discrepancies or Unclear Ownership in Property Title Documents
If you observe an unclear title or discrepancies in title documents, it could mean unresolved ownership disputes. Ensure that the title document reflects the current owner and no third party holds any claim to the property.
If the property is under joint ownership, ensure all owners have consented to the sale. Lack of consent from one of the joint owners can give rise to disputes and legal complications.
Missing or Incomplete Sale Deed
It can be legally invalid if the sale deed is not registered under the local sub-registrar’s office. You may risk losing the property in case of legal challenges.
If the sale deed is incomplete or has vague clauses, this can lead to disputes later.
Occupancy Certificate (OC) Missing or Unavailable
An occupancy certificate (OC) certifies that the building is compliant with approved plans and is ready for occupation. If you do not find an OC, this could mean the builder has not adhered to safety regulations or zoning laws. This could lead to the risk of fines or even structural demolition orders.
Pending Legal Cases
If the property is involved in ongoing legal cases, stay away from that property to avoid risky investments
Property verification is a complex yet possible process in India through state-specific online portals. With this essential process, you can ensure you are not falling into unwanted fraudulent activity and avoid real estate scams. As a buyer, you should spend considerable time and energy verifying the property details and getting professional support. Careful checking during verification helps protect the buyer’s money and gives peace of mind in the long run.
Hemali Patel