Builder Floor vs Society Flat: Papers to Check Before You Buy

For a builder floor and a society flat alike, the paper that matters most is a registered sale deed backed by a clean chain of earlier deeds. The difference is what else you check: with a builder floor, what the deed says about your share of the land, the roof and parking; with a society flat, the society's NOC, its maintenance dues and its transfer rules.

Our 8-document checklist covers the builder floor papers one by one. This guide is about where the two kinds of home differ, so you know which questions to ask for the one you are looking at.

• 8 documents to check for a builder floor

Common to both: a registered sale deed, not a GPA

In Suraj Lamps and Industries vs State of Haryana (2011), the Supreme Court held that a General Power of Attorney, an agreement to sell or a will does not transfer ownership of immovable property. Only a registered sale deed (conveyance deed) does. Many older Delhi properties changed hands on GPA papers, so ask for the registered deed in the seller's name and the deeds before it. If any link in the chain is only a GPA, have a lawyer check it before you pay anything.

Common to both: encumbrance, property tax and mutation

A search at the sub-registrar's office shows whether the property is mortgaged or has a loan or claim against it. Recent MCD property tax receipts show there are no arrears. Mutation, the change of owner's name in MCD records, does not prove ownership on its own, but the seller's name should already appear there, and you should apply for mutation in your own name after registry.

Builder floor: what the deed says about your floor

A builder floor is one floor of a low-rise building plus an undivided share of the land under it. Read the sale deed for three things: the land share that comes with your floor, whether roof or terrace rights are yours or stay with the builder or the top floor, and which parking space is yours. If the roof and parking are only promised verbally, they are not yours. Get them written into the deed.

Builder floor: sanctioned plan and completion

Ask for the building plan sanctioned by the MCD and compare it with the building in front of you: the number of floors, the floor area and the parking. Where a completion or occupancy certificate has been issued, ask for a copy; if it has not, ask why, and check with your lawyer and your bank whether that affects the loan.

Society flat: the society's NOC and transfer papers

In a cooperative group housing society, the flat is tied to membership of the society. Ask for the society's no-objection certificate for the sale, the share certificate or membership record in the seller's name, and the society's rules on transfer and any transfer fee. For DDA and other flats first allotted on leasehold, check that the flat has been converted to freehold and that a conveyance deed exists.

Society flat: maintenance dues and the RWA

Ask the society or RWA office for a no-dues letter covering maintenance, sinking fund and any special charges for repairs or lifts. Unpaid dues usually follow the flat, not the seller. Ask too whether any large repair or levy has been approved but not yet billed.

Completion and occupancy: which one applies

For a society flat in a completed building, the completion or occupancy certificate is normally issued for the whole building, so one copy covers every flat. For a builder floor, the certificate is issued for that one building, so check it for the exact property you are buying.

Bank approval is a second check, not a substitute

A large society may already be approved by several banks, which makes a loan quicker. A builder floor is usually checked by the bank property by property: its lawyer reads the title chain and sanctioned plan, and its valuer visits. Either way, a bank's approval helps, but it does not replace your own lawyer's reading of the papers.

• Home loans for builder floors

Quick comparison

Both: registered sale deed and title chain, encumbrance search, property tax receipts, mutation. Builder floor only: land share, roof or terrace rights and parking written in the deed, sanctioned plan for that building, completion or occupancy certificate for that building. Society flat only: society NOC, share or membership certificate, maintenance no-dues, freehold conversion where the flat started as leasehold.

See the papers for a G3 home

Every G3 home for sale is a registered freehold builder floor with a lift. Book a site visit at Dwarka Mor and the team will show you the deed, the plan and what is written about parking for the floor you like.

• Flats near Dwarka Mor metro
• Flats under ₹60 lakh
• Stamp duty and registration costs