There are many legal hassles waiting for those who go for buying properties of their choices. Kerala Property lawLegal aspects of buying property in Kerala

Verification of the documents -

1. Tax receipt

Both House tax paid to Panchayat/ Muncipality and Land tax paid to Village office have to be checked and verified. A probe based on the property tax has to carried out in the village office. The information regarding the court acquisitions and unregistered leasing of the property will be available there. You have to ensure that the name of the heir has been added in the column asking the name of the holder of the Pattayam. If there is a building, make sure that the possession right of it has been added in the records of Panchayat/Muncipality/Corporation office. The block no, re revenue survey no, area, address of the owner etc in the tax receipt have to be checked in the thandapper register and the Computer in the Village office. If there is a computer error, conducting the pokkuvaravu will be troublesome. Check whether the property you want to buy is mentioned as House, stream, Road, Land or Outside land in the records of Village office. Remember, if you buy property mentioned as stream, road, agricultural land, or outside land, you can’t construct house .Also, you have to verify with the village office whether the land is included in the ceiling case or not. Also, find out in which zone (Residential zone/ Industrial zone/ Agricultural zone) the land is placed. This can be known from the Town planning office or Development authority office.

2. Title Deed

Verifying the Title deed is an important part while going for buying the property. Original Title has to be checked. Make sure that you get the copy of the same and keep it. The copy of the prior deed is also needed. All these documents have to be examined by a competent person who knows better about the legal side of the Registration.

3. Property Measurements

Property should be measured by an authorized person in Revenue department or a licensed Surveyor. A sketch of the property showing the measurement should be kept. The property needs to be measured based on the sketch from Revenue or Survey department. It is good if the owner of the property and owners of the adjacent properties are present while taking the measurement of the property.

4. Liability certificate

Ensure that there is no liability on the property by taking the Liability Certicate from the registrar office by applying for it with the required fees in the required Performa. Normally, Liability Certificate is taken for a period of not less than 13 years. If there is any pending liability on the property, secretary/ president of the financial institution has to register and sign on the ozhimuri adharam showing the non liability on the property. Then only the property can be considered devoid of liability. If the property is having any court cases pending, the copy of the court order showing the omission should be filed in the Village office and Sub registrar office once the litigations is over.

5. Other things to be taken care of

Sale agreement needs to be written only after confirming there are no legal hassles or liabilities. It will be very difficult to get back the advance if you withdraw from the business after having got into a sale agreement. The Identity cards of both parties have to be seen by each other in order to avoid the pseudo personification.

6. Registration

Title deed should be written by a reliable document writer. Photos of both parties should be submitted at the time of registeration.Two witnesses should sign on the written document saying that they know the seller. At the time of registration also, two witnesses should sign on the document before the Registrar. There is no need of buyer being present at the time of registration. If he is an NRI, he needs to put the signature and thump impression on the document and send it across. Identity cards of both seller and buyer should be produced at the time of registration. They have to divulge all the details of other properties they own. Paying the amount of the property through Bank is legally good. The copies of PAN card and identity card of both parties have to be produced in the registrar office if the total price of the property exceeds 5 lakhs. If they don’t have PAN card , special declaration should be given. Buyer will get a document after the registration showing the details of the registration.

7. Plan approval to possession certificate
To get the plan approval, you have to approach the Panchayat/Munciplaity/Corporation office with the application form in the prescribed format. Three copies of the plan, copy of the title deed, possession certificate, land tax receipt etc should be attached with the application form. The original Title has to be shown in the office. Panchayath office accepts plans attested by licensed Engineer/ supervisor only. After the verification, it will give the go ahead for starting the construction. Normally the permission will be given within 30 days from the date of submission of application. The construction should be completed within three years after getting the permission. The duration can be extended after remitting 10 % of the earlier remitted fees. Application for getting the number for the building has to be moved after the construction is over. Completion certificate and the the plan should be produced with the application form. After this, the concerned officials will visit the property to ascertain the tax and provide the number. Possession certificate will be issued after after applying for it with the required fees.

8. House tax in Village office

One time house tax needs to be paid in village office once the construction of the house is over. It is not applicable for a 100 sq.ft house. The tax is rs.750 for houses in panchayath area having the area 100 sq.ft to 150 sq.ft. It is rs.1350 in special grade panchayath/ municipality area. Rs. 2025 is the fees in corporation area. The fees for houses having area 150 sq.ft to 200 sq.ft vary between Rs.1500-4050 and for 200-250 sq.ft it is between Rs.3000-8100.

9. Luxury tax
Luxury tax is to be paid for a house having 3000 sq.ft area in the village area. Rs.2000 is the luxury tax for a year.

10. Electricity connection
There are two types of connections-Commercial and residential connections. To get the electricity connection, you have to move the concerned office with the application with all the required documents like Identity card, possession certificate, approved plan/permit, wiring plan etc. Rs. 125 is the fees for those who are below povertry line. Rs. 300/ Kw is to be paid as per the connected load for those who are above poverty line. The connection is issued on a priority basis. OYC is to be paid to get the speedy connection. Rs.1500 is the amount to be paid if the connected load is 5 to 10 kw. It is rs.9900 for connected load 10-25 kw. If an electric post is needed additional amount has to be paid. If the request for electric connection is moved not by the owner, authorization letter of the owner saying that he is interested to give the connection to the house has to be produced.

11. Water connection

You can take water connection during the construction period or after the completion of the work is over. If the connection is needed for the construction phase, you can apply for the casual connection that is valid for one year. Casual connection can be converted to domestic connection after the completion of the houase.The application for water connection is available at Water authority sub divisional office. You need to submit the application form with the copies of building permit, ration card and house plan. After this, the Asst Engineer will visit the location and give the temporary permit for the water connection. The owner of the house has to sign on an agreement on the Rs.50 stamp paper and should submit in the office. With this he has to give the water meter also. The office will accept deposit and the required fees. After this the work order will be given to the applicant. Based on this, he can engage one plumber and get works done. The work has to be completed within six months after getting the work order that is the stipulation. The completion certificate availed from the plumber has to be submitted in the office. The water connection will be issued ultimately by the concerned officials after checking the plumbing works. A special application has to be submitted in order to transfer casual connection to domestic connection. Permanent domestic connection is being issued only when the the house gets the building number from the panchayath office. The deposit amount will be reimbursed once the casual connection is transferred to permanent domestic connection.