Title Deed

Title means the legal right to own and transfer a property. A title deed is the document that carries that right: a registered sale deed, gift deed, partition deed, settlement deed or a will with probate where needed. When people say a property has “clear title”, they mean the owner’s right can be traced through a clean chain of such documents, with no loans, disputes or missing links.

When you buy a flat, you buy from the builder, but the builder’s right comes from the landowner, and the landowner’s from earlier owners. If any link is weak, your ownership is weak too. That is why banks run their own legal check before a home loan, and why a lawyer’s title report is worth paying for even when the bank has done one.

In an apartment, you also get an undivided share of the land the building stands on, held with the other owners. Your sale deed should state it, usually in square feet.

• The mother deed and every transfer since, in order.
• An encumbrance certificate for the same period.
• Land records and the conversion order for non-farm use.
• The joint development or sale agreement between landowner and builder.
• Any power of attorney used to sign, and whether it is valid.
• Court or revenue cases on the survey number.