Landowning has been one of the most prominent occupations in this country, owing to the many articles and provisions made in our constitution for it. Article 19 of the Indian Constitution gives every citizen the right to acquire, hold and dispose of the property. A possession certificate or a land possession certificate is to legalise and certify your possession of a property. It officially declares the transfer of property from one person to the other and gives all property rights to the buyer. Without this certificate, the buyer does not have any right or authority over the property.
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A possession certificate for land acknowledges your possession of the real estate. A possession certificate from the builder is to legalise the transaction between the builder of the property to the buyer. The main aim of a possession certificate is to officiate and legally hand over the property from one person to another while transferring all the property rights.
Importance Of A Possession Certificate
A possession certificate is the first document among many others that the buyer needs to demand from the seller. The property will not be considered that of the buyer until the certificate is issued, and hence he will not have any rights to the property. Each state has different rules and procedures to follow to procure the certificate, but on average, it takes around 30 days to receive the certificate. It is essential to understand each state’s regulations to get a possession certificate.
Occupancy Certificate
An occupancy certificate is vital for builders. It certifies that the building is built under the norms and is fit for occupancy. While a possession certificate for a house is necessary, it is also essential for one to check the occupancy certificate before buying a house from a builder. The builder can obtain an occupancy certificate from the local municipality. Some banks also check the occupation certificate before granting home loans.
Read: Structure Stability Certificate: Ensuring Building Safety
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Owing to the importance of possessing an occupancy certificate, the Supreme court has passed a judgement on possession without an occupancy certificate under the Consumer Protection Act. The Supreme court under the Consumer Protection act 1986 has said that it is essential for a builder to obtain an occupancy certificate, and the buyers have the right to demand high compensation charges if failed to do so.
Difference Between a Possession Certificate and an Occupancy Certificate
A possession certificate is just a certificate to hand over the property to the buyer officially. This does not necessarily have to include a builder; it can be from a person selling his property to another person buying it. Contrary to that, an occupancy certificate has to be presented by the builder to the person buying a house. It is a certificate acknowledging that the building/house has been constructed according to the norms and is fit.
Conditional Possession Letter
There are a lot of chances that the buyer is not satisfied with the property even after possession. In the case of the purchase of a house, this can happen if there are leakages or erosion of walls or pending repair work etc. During such a case, the buyer can write a letter to the builder giving feedback and asking him to do the necessary work. If the builder fails to do so, he can be presented with the conditional possession letter in court.
How To Get A Land Possession Certificate?
The possession certificate application form can be acquired from the Tahsildar office in rural areas and the Revenue Divisional Officer in urban areas. The following steps will break down the procedure to get a possession certificate.
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Step 1: Get the application form to apply for the possession certificate from the Tahsildar office or the Revenue Divisional Officer, depending on your area of residence.
Step 2: Fill out your personal details and your property details. Make sure to recheck all the details, and in case of any confusion, talk to the local authorities.
Step 3: Attach the required documents to the application form.
Documents required:
● Two passport-size photographs
● Income certificate and income details
● Ration card
● Aadhar card
● Proof of ownership of property
● Building completion notice as given by the architect or engineer
● Photographs of the property
Step 4: Submit the form to the relevant office. After submission, make sure to collect the acknowledgement letter and application number. You can view your possession certificate status with this number on the digital portal.
Step 5: A technical officer will visit and inspect your property.
Step 6: Higher officials and the city planner will review the report made by the technical officer. You will receive a notification about when you will receive the certificate.
You will receive a notification about the issuing of the certificate. You can either digitally download it or go to the respected office to collect it. To download the possession certificate online, you need to login into the e-district portal.
A Sample Possession Certificate Format
Possession Letter
I, —————————–, do hereby declare:
1) That I am the owner and in possession of property bearing number —————————-with the freehold rights of the land thereto and competent to handover the possession of the property. I have already executed the title documents of the said property in favour of the person now taking possession from me according to the same.
Read: Land Survey Number: Verify Land Ownership Details Easily
2) That I have sold and transferred the property thereto to Sh.————————————-
That I have delivered the actual physical vacant possession of the property thereto to the above-named purchaser on the spot and I have received the entire full and final consideration amount from the above-named purchaser.
Possession handed over by
Possession was taken over by
Place:
Date:
How To Apply for a Possession Certificate Online?
If you do not want to go to the office and fill out the form manually, there is also an option of filling out the application form for a possession certificate online. For this, you first need to register on meeseva online. The following steps enumerate how to register on meeseva and apply for the certificate consequently.
- Visit the meeseva website.
- Click on Login
- Choose citizen
- Click on new user
- Fill out your personal details
- Once you press enter, you will get a onetime password on the registered mobile number.
- Enter that password and click on submit to confirm your registration.
After creating an account on meeseva, you need to follow the steps below to apply for the possession certificate.
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- Go to the meeseva website and log into your account.
- Click on Revenue
- Click on Possession Certificate
- Fill in your personal details as well as the details of your property.
- Upload scanned copies of the documents. Make sure you upload them in the prescribed format only.
- You will be redirected to a payment page.
- Make the payment to get your possession certificate. The amount differs from one state to another.
- Once the payment is processed, you will receive an acknowledgement receipt and the certificate delivery date. You will also receive an SMS of the same.
How To Check the Possession Certificate Status?
There are two ways of checking the status.
1. Go to the e-district website of your state, click on transaction history, enter your application number, and the application status will appear.
2. The second way to track the status is through the meeseva website itself. Login to your account, and on the homepage itself, there will be an option to track application status. Enter your application number there, and you will be able to track the status.
As seen in the information mentioned in the article, obtaining a possession certificate is a vital step in any transaction regarding real estate. It makes the transaction legal and official. Make sure you do the needful and get your possession certificate.Many people often come across difficulties in getting a possession certificate
Documents required to obtain a possession certificate
To get a possession certificate you need to submit the following documents.
- ID proof of the applicant
- Ration Card
- Copy of Encumbrance Certificate
- Copy of the Registered lease and the sale deed agreement.
You will receive an acknowledgement receipt after the submission of the documents.
You can download the possession certificate from the Land Reforms website.
Frequently Asked Questions About Possession Certificate
Q. What is a Possession Certificate?
Answer – A possession certificate is a document that legalises a person or person’s ownership of a property.
Q. Who issues a possession certificate and what is its purpose?
Answer – It is the Government that issues a possession certificate and the purpose of the certificate is to substantiate and clarify who are the legal owners of a property. In case of any legal battle over a property’s ownership, a possession certificate may become very important to claim the current owners of the property.
Q. What is the difference between possession and non-attachment certificates?
Answer – Unlike a possession certificate that proves who are the owners of the property, a non-attachment certificate is to prove that the property does not have any federal liens attached to it.
Q, What is the possession certificate validity?
Answer – The standard validity of a possession certificate is 7 days.
Q. Is a possession certificate the same as an occupancy certificate?
Answer – No, a possession certificate is to prove the owners of the property, whereas, an occupancy certificate is to prove that the real estate project is complete.
