Duplicate / Certified Copy of Sale Deed

A sale deed can help you stay protected from getting duped. A sale deed is one of the most valuable legal documents in the purchase or sale of a property. The value of the sale deed will differ from state to state in the country and as prescribed by the Stamp Act of the respective State. A sale deed has almost all the details required to carry out the purchase or sale of a property. Most importantly the sale deed would require the seller to certify that the property under sale is free from any encumbrance and without any lien.

The sale deed is registered at the jurisdictional sub-registrar’s office. Apart from the buyer and seller of the property under sale the witnesses should also be present at the time of registration. It would also clearly mention the exact date on which the seller would hand over to the buyer the original property related documents and the date of subsequent possession of the property under sale.

Applying for duplicate sale deed

Often houses which are 30-40 years old may not have proper registration. If the sale or purchase deed is misplaced, an indemnity bond needs to be furnished by the seller. If the sale deed is lost, you can obtain a duplicate certified copy from the concerned sub registrar’s office. Following steps help you to get your duplicate sale deed.

• Lodge police complaint: File an FIR (First Information Report) reporting the missing of the document. Once the information has been recorded by the police, it must be signed by the person giving the information. It is important to know that an FIR will not be considered a valid document unless it has been stamped by the Duty Officer with the stamp of the police station along with his signature and a serial number allotted to the report. If the document is not traceable, the complainant should obtain a non-traceable certificate from the Police.

• Notify in Newspaper: Advertise the loss of your documents in a prominent newspaper, and call upon all claimants to lodge claims, if any, within a reasonable time. This is usually issued by an advocate in English and local dailies. If no claims are received, the Advocate issues a Certificate to that effect.

• Prepare an Affidavit: Affidavit for lost documents is a written declaration which is accompanied by an oath or affirmation indicating that the contents of the affidavit are true. Prepare an affidavit giving details of your property, FIR details and details of ad notified in newspaper. It is advisable to get a solicitor or notary to help you to prepare your affidavit.

• Get your Duplicate sale deed: Visit the sub-registrars office where the flat was registered. Apply for the copy by paying the prescribed charges and enclose required documents. Obtain a ‘copy of the document’ from the concerned registrar office. Thereafter, certified copies of the title deeds are used as substitute for the original.

• A letter written requesting the copy needs to be submitted, along with the relevant Application Form 22.

• The application Form 22 needs to be filled with all the relevant details. The form itself can be downloaded from the department's website or alternately can be got from the sub-registrar’s office.

• The documents that need to be attached to the application include your identity proof, police complaint and other old documents proving that the land is owned by you. This could include documents like ration card, adhaar card, passport, electricity bill or water bill or any official document that proves you resided and paid for the property.

• The sub-registrar’s department charges a nominal fee for the first 10 pages of the copy. Each subsequent page is charged separately on a per page basis.
  

• It is absolutely essential to keep all the papers: the police complaint, the newspaper notice and the copy of the deal together.

• In case, you have lost documents like the Khata Certificate (relevant in Bangalore), then you need to apply to the revenue officer; again with proof of identity and of owning and paying for the property.

• In case, it is an apartment you could ask the builder to provide you the copies of allotment, receipts, letters and other legal documents.

• There is a waiting period before legal documents or their copies are given. This is primarily to ensure greater security to both the government agency and the owner when it comes to important documents like these.