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In the case of immovable property, mandatory registration of property purchase and sale documents are essential ensuring proof of ownership, fraud prevention and assurance of title.Under The Indian Registration Act, there is legislation for property registration in India known as the law of registration of documents that makes it a mandatory requirement to register key documents for the recording of evidence, fraud prevention and assured title transfer. Property Documents Necessitating Mandatory RegistrationRegistration of property or property registration in India in accordance with Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, is mandatory in case of transactions involving immovable property sale for an amount in excess of Rs. 100. What this essentially means is that all immovable property sale transactions must be registered since a mere Rs. 100 cannot possibly be the purchase price of immovable property. Furthermore, a gift of immovable property, as well as lease for a period in excess of 12 months are essentially transactions that require registration.In special circumstances, if any of the parties to the transaction is unable to be physically present at the sub registrar's office, then, in that case, any of its officers may be deputed by the sub-registrar for acceptance of the registration documents at the buyer’s residence. Included in ‘immovable property’ are land, buildings and any attached rights to these classes of properties.Procedure and Documents Required for Registration of PropertyAs registration of property documents are mandatory it's worth knowing what the procedure for registration of property entails. Firstly, the documents have to be submitted to the office of the Sub-Registrar of Assurances within the jurisdiction of the location of the transferrable property by the property lawyer. Thereafter both the authorized signatories of the seller and the purchaser, need to be physically present with their proof of identities including Aadhar card, PAN card or any other government authority issued ID proof along with two witnesses, for the purpose of registration of property documents.All designated authorized signatories ought to produce the power of authority if in case they are representing someone on their behalf.  If however, in the case of a company the company is one of the parties in the agreement, the company representatives ought to have all necessary documents with them including the letter of authority, and along with that a copy of the company board’s resolution granting authority to execute the registration. The designated authorized signatory ought to show the property card to the sub-registrar and in addition to that all original documents and proof that stamp duty has indeed been paid. Prior to registration of property documents, verification would be done by the sub-registrar as to whether or not the required stamp duty for the property has been paid, according to the ready reckoner for stamp duty.  Any deficit in the stamp duty would result in the registrar declining registration of property documents. Time Limit and Fees to be Paid for Property Registration All documents that need mandatory registration ought to be presented by the property lawyer no later than 4 months from their execution date along with the prescribed fee. In the case of expiry of the time limit, an application can be made to the sub-registrar to condone the delay, and that with an extension of time of another 4 months the registration of property documents would be submitted to the sub-registrar within that time. The registrar may consent to register documents that missed the registration deadline for a hefty fine of up to ten times the actual registration fee. For the registration of property documents, the fee is 1% of the property’s value, capped at Rs 30,000.Previously, presenting registration of property documents for registration of property would result in returning the documents to the sender after six months. Nonetheless, with the sub registrar's offices being computerized, the documents with the registration number and proof that the registrar has indeed completed the registration are first scanned and then returned to the sender on the very same day.Consequences of Non-registration of PropertyIf the property purchase agreement remains unregistered then it could be very risky for the buyer of the property. Since it’s mandatory for all documents to be registered but if they remain unregistered then those unregistered documents cannot be presented as proof in a lawsuit.  

Before the advent of RERA (Real Estate Regulation Act) there was utmost difficulty that was faced by consumers for various reasons which include delayed delivery and change in project layout amongst many others is estimated to be eased by the enactment of this Act. The basic reason behind this ease is the penalty clauses that are there in this Act which is there for non-performance or deficiency in services. The unreliable builders will now have the fear and threat that their actions are being watched out and they shall not be allowed to roam freely post doing unlawful acts or by not delivering services up to the mark as now there is an Enactment which is having strict compliances and for every non-compliance the penalties and fines are hefty in nature. It has also benefited the builders as now they can approach the Regulator in case of any issues with the buyer etc.   The RERA bill was introduced in the year 2013 and finally the bill got approved in march last year. Although it is a Central Law but the implementation will be dependent on State Governments. Most of the states have approved the Act and thus RERA is now almost full fledgy in force and is benefiting both the buyers and the consumers. Each state will have to mandatorily setup Regulatory bodies which will serve as Appellate Tribunals to solve the dispute between builders and buyers within a specified time period of 120 days.   The mass effect of the Act is to safeguard the buyers/consumers and to save them from the clutches of the builders and also on various other aspects as to have a transparency on construction cost, making registration compulsory for certain builders etc. RERA has made it compulsory for the builder to invest a minimum of the 70% of the amount received from a buyer in a separate bank account in order to meet the construction of the project and the large effect of this would be that now the builders cannot demand money from buyers by keeping the construction at halt because of lack of funds. The registration of builders with Regulator for commercial and residential real estate projects in cases where the land is above 500 sq mtrs or the apartment number is eight or above will ensure strict compliance for them and in case of non-compliance from their side they cannot roam freely likewise till date because it has strict regulations and the basic emphasis is on the project completion in time. The most awaited development was the pricing which previously was based on super built up area  is now on carpet area which is clearly defined to include usable spaces like kitchen and toilets. Among the other benefits to buyers / consumers some include the timeline for repairing the structural defects being increased from 2 years to 5 years, on going projects are also included under RERA, compulsory to update the progress on the website of RERA to ensure greater transparency etc.   The builders have been regulated very strictly as they will be strictly penalised if there is any discrimination to sell the flats because of religion or caste issues etc, selling or handing over the ownership can be done only after obtaining the necessary clearances and no deviation will be accepted. The developments in relation to the pricing of the houses on carpet area instead of super-built up has brought in a lot of relief and has eradicated the huge difference in pricing.   The RERA has made it compulsory for all property brokers to register so that a track can be there and it will also ensure transparency. The registration will happen in the respective states of the brokers and with the registration it is propelled to sieve out the small time players and to consolidate the major ones.   Thus overall the enactment and implementation of RERA has brought a massive and much needed change in the real estate lobby by compulsory registration, opening of different bank accounts for different projects etc. The overall impact will lead to greater transparency, making the buyer and seller stand in a single place by removing the extra benefit that was only taken by the builders and middle men and leaving the consumers/buyers in dark. The Act has also empowered the builders that now they can also raise issues about buyers who do not pay their dues in time. Therefore to sum up it is a mix bag with regulatory procedures and developments for the builders as well as the buyers.