The documents relating to a property include title
deed, mother deed, encumbrance certificate, khata, property tax payment receipts, building plan etc.These documents may be original or may be extracts
or Photostat copies. Some of these documents are in the nature of evidencing
payments, authorization, permission, approval etc.More often than not,you may
be noticing advertisements in news papers regarding the loss of property documents
with a lucrative offer to suitably reward the finder upon return of the same.
Reasons
for non - availability of property.
The reasons for non-availability of documents may be
many. The following are few such instances:
a) The original title deeds might have been kept
in the office and got mixed up with other documents. In this case, even though
the original title deed is not lost, it is owing to the fact that the documents
are not traceable even after search, the necessity to take further steps for protecting
his interest by the owner does arise.
b) The original title deed might have been lost,
stolen or might have come into wrong hands. In such cases, there is every
possibility of a fraudulent transaction being effected by making use of the
original title deed by the possessor of such a document unless the real owner
acts swiftly to protect his interest over the documents.
c) There may be some cases wherein a person has
mortgaged his property by deposit of title deeds as security for the loan
obtained by him. On the basis of a certified copy of the title deed, he may
sell his property without redeeming the mortgage. In such circumstances, the
innocent purchaser will not get title over the property since the mortgagee has
a first charge.
d) The property documents presented for registration in the Sub-Registrar's office are to be collected within a
reasonable time but not later than two years since the documents remain
uncollected in the Sub-Registrar's office can be weeded out after the lapse of
two years period. In case a person who failed to collect the property document
within a period of two years and the said document is weeded out, then the said
person at the most can get a letter from the Sub- Registrar's Office confirming
the submission of the document for registration and the same has been weeded
out as per rules since it was not collected from the office within the
stipulated period.
Partition
Deed
In a partition of the family properties,if a particular
property falls to the share of more than one person, then all them cannot have
the original title deed of such property in their custody.Therefore, as a precaution
it shall be clearly mentioned in the partition deed that the original deed
shall remain with a particular individual who shall declare and under- take to
produce the original deed for verification whenever requisitioned by other sharers
of the property. For use and custody of persons who do not get possession of
the original title deed, they can obtain duplicate copy of the document at the
time of registration.
Deed and Documents
To know the implications of the loss of property
documents, it is better to understand as to what is meant by a deed and what is
the difference between a deed and a document.A deed is a written document or instrument
under which the right over a property is transferred from the transferor to the
transferee. It may be noted that all deeds are documents but all documents are
not deeds.The word "deed" has a wider meaning.It is to be properly executed,
signed and delivered. Normally, it is registered.Examples of deed would include
sale deed, settlement deed, exchange deed, partition deed, gift deed, release deed,
etc.Examples of documents other than deeds would include photographs, maps, building
plans, writings on various materials and substances, khata, encumbrance certificate,
tax paid receipt, unsigned records, certificates, etc.
Effect of loss of documents
Loss of original title deeds may lead to a lot of
complications, affect or impede free dealings with the property causing great
anxiety, stress and trepidation for the person who has lost these documents.Loss
of title deed reduces the strength of ownership title of the owner.The intending
purchaser or the mortgagee may suspect the genuineness of the title of the
vendor or mortgagor.The moot question is 'why do they suspect?' and the answer
to this is that the deposit of title deeds does not require registration. By
mere depositing the title deeds, a person can create mortgage of the property
to avail loan from banks and the financial institutions. The period of redemption
of mortgage is 30 years.
Suppose a person purchases a property for a valuable sale
consideration ignoring that the vendor does not have original title deed and
suppose at some earlier stage the property has been mortgaged by deposit of the
title document by its owner,then irrespective of the fact the purchaser has
purchased the property for valuable consideration he will not get rightful
ownership over the property but, the mortgagee has a first charge over the
property though ownership is changed. In most of the cases, lending banks do refuse
to grant loan in the absence of original title deed and the intending purchaser
may back out of the transaction in the absence of the original title deed.
It is obvious that in most of the cases people would
become nervous when they lose their property documents since they have a
feeling that their title over the property is lost for ever with the loss of property
documents and thereby they conclude that they have lost their right to deal
with property any longer. It is the loss of the original deeds such as sale deed,
gift deed, will, mortgage deed etc., that will have impact since by virtue of these
documents, the finder of the document may misuse the same.But, loss of document
does not deprive the owner of his ownership over the property, if necessary precautions
are taken well in time.Loss of the original title deed requires urgent action.
Loss of documents such as encumbrance certificate, Khata certificate,
tax paid receipt etc., does not have serious implications since it is possible to
make up the loss of these documents by applying and getting certificates afresh
from the concerned authority.
Steps to be taken
In most of the cases, with a careful timely action and
planning, it is possible to protect interest and title in the best possible
manner.A sincere effort also should be made to trace out the lost document and
to rebuild the records. It may be noted that if a registered document is lost, then
a certified copy on the same could be obtained from the office of the concerned Sub-Registrar.
Normally, in all cases of loss of property documents, it is
the foremost duty of the owner of the property to notify the loss of property documents
to the public and the concerned authorities without delay.The common practice followed
is to notify the loss of the original deed in two leading and widely circulated
news papers, one in English language and the other in vernacular language requesting
the finder of such documents to deliver back the said document which will be suitably
rewarded.Lodging a police complaint and obtaining acknowledgment from the police
also is considered as evidence for the loss of document.
To avoid complications by virtue of loss of property documents,
the owner of the property should act swiftly and take appropriate action to protect
his right, title and ownership over the property.
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