How to protect yourself from property disputes in India?

Property dispute as the name suggests is a legal disagreement related to property in India. These disputes have clogged the judicial system of the country and around 66% of the total cases are property litigation. Cupidity is a great leveller so wars over wealth take place across every level. Legislative factors are responsible for the high level of land-related disputes, and the judiciary is responsible for its pendency. Dispute pertaining to a real-estate, often arise through claims from co-owners, legal heirs, wrong representation by the seller, disputes over easement rights, improper description of the property in the title deed, etc.

KINDS OF PROPERTY DISPUTES

FALSE DOCUMENTATION- Such a dispute arises when a person forges a document or the will in order to deprive the other shareholder of their share in the property. Also, the defaulters take advantage of the forged documentation in order to prove fake ownership over the property.

MISUSE OF POWER OF ATTORNEY- In many cases, out of trust, people give a non-restrictive Power of attorney to their relatives or friends and this result in misrepresentation and betrayal by the Power Of Attorney holder. The holder of POA gets the property transferred in their name and gives a proof of utter mistrust..

IMPERSONATION- In these cases, a person impersonates himself as the owner of the property and misallocate the property and stake a claim on what belongs to somebody else.

LANDLORD - TENANT MISCOMMUNICATION- When there is no proper lease agreement and no clear communication between the tenants and the landlord then there might arise issues over who is responsible for what part of the property repairs or issues relating to the eviction.

ISSUANCE OF OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE- Due to delay in issuance of occupancy certificates, a buyer cannot move into his purchased house. The delay is a result of flout in certain norms by the builder. The builder also at times might shelve the project and later might not want to continue.

HOW TO AVOID PROPERTY DISPUTE AND REDUCE RISKS INVOLVED

1. Property verification & Title check: When a person purchases a property, proper verification and perusal of the title documents must be conducted. The verification must be of the documents for at least 30 years. The investigation of the documents and the verification is generally conducted by the lawyers and the lawyers’ help in checking if the property is legally clear. In case a property is to be acquired from a Non-Resident Indian, the purchaser must be aware of the Tax deduction before paying him the full and final amount.

2. Mutation of name check: While purchasing an inherited property it must be ensured that the name of the beneficiary is mutated in the revenue record or the relevant government records, depending upon the kind of property it is. In order to avoid such disputes, a lawyer can ensure that the property was transferred with required proof of inheritance which can be a will, a succession certificate or any proof of mutual understanding. Furthermore, verification of the property must be made if the property to be purchased is ancestral property or self-acquired property, there are several hidden claims which may subsequently arise in the former case, where the legal heirs are not disclosed, identified, or are not traceable at a given point.

3. Lease deed agreement: To avoid landlord-tenant clashes, a proper lease deed must be prepared and should include detailed description and division of the responsibility relating to the property. Also should include the time frame if any within which the landlord wants the property back to avoid eviction issues. In case of sale of the property, it must be ensured that the date on the stamp paper or any other detail matches with the transfer of title documents.   

CONCLUSION

Land disputes have existed from the colonial times when the British imposed a notion that the land that existed belonged to State and this concept was resisted by the people who were dispossessed of their legal property rights resulting in various land and property disputes. Over time, administrative and judicial failures have also resulted in piling up of cases.  Therefore working towards settling land conflicts, in the light of the above recommendation and various policies is essential to resolve the upcoming land issues.

The author of this blog is Adv. Shimpy Armaan Sharma having an experience of 16+ years in handling property related matters from her experience she wants to share this beneficial information for the individuals having any issues with respect to property disputes.