BENGALURU: Many homebuyers are often eager to have the builder register the sale deed at a sub-registrar office promptly. They typically prioritise this step over ensuring that the builder has submitted the occupancy certificate and khata certificate of the respective flat to the sub-registrar. Their primary concern is to expedite the registration process and take possession of the flat as soon as possible.
The builder must submit the occupancy certificate and khata certificate to the sub-registrar while registering the sale deed. Without a khata certificate, homebuyers may encounter numerous future complications, as the land on which the apartment complex stands could remain under the jurisdiction of village panchayats or the revenue department.
Even after the sale to the builder and the subsequent construction of the apartment complex, the records may still reflect the original landowner as the rightful owner.
This discrepancy arises from the failure to transfer the land records to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) following the DC conversion process, which converts agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes, effectively making it urban land under the BBMP’s jurisdiction.
It falls within the responsibility of the sub-registrar to verify whether the apartment complex is situated on agricultural or non-agricultural land and whether the flat possesses a khata certificate and occupancy certificate.
However, many sub-registrars neglect to thoroughly review all the necessary documents during the sale deed registration process, often due to reasons best understood by the intermediaries prevalent in many sub-registrar offices.
Recently, the District Registrar of Basavanagudi wrote a letter on April 15 to the sub-registrar of Banashankari, instructing them to provide a detailed report on the complaint lodged against them by Karnataka Home Buyers’ Forum Sanchalak, Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar.
“You have to send a detailed report within three days on the complaint of registering sale deeds of flats that have no khata certificate and occupancy certificate,’’ the District Registrar stated in the letter.
For any homebuyer, obtaining an occupancy certificate is crucial before moving into a flat to mitigate the risk of lawful eviction and demolition. The khata certificate contains vital information such as the type of property, size, location, number of floors, and the number of flats.
Stressing that the sub-registrar must ensure the issuance of both the occupancy certificate and khata certificate by the competent authority, Karnataka Home Buyers’ Forum Sanchalak, Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, emphasised that the sub-registrar must verify the presence of both land khata and flat khata before registering the sale deed. “Home buyers’ rights are not protected due to the dereliction of duty of the sub-registrars.
Home buyers who register the sale deeds without khata and occupancy certificates will suffer later. It is always better to take measures to ensure occupancy certificates and khata are in place before registering flats. We expect the government officials to follow the law while discharging their duties,’’ he said.
Highlighting the necessity of having occupancy and khata certificates at the time of registering the sale deed, retired Naval veteran Commander Surendra emphasised that the delay in transferring land records from local bodies to the BBMP is due to a lack of coordination.
“Once the agricultural land gets DC approval, it will become urban land. The landowner pays the fees for the conversion of the land and gets approval, but the village panchayat office fails to send the land details to the BBMP. The details of the land have to be sent to the BBMP as soon as the agricultural or revenue land is converted into non-agricultural land,’’ the Commander explained.
