WHAT IS DEEMED CONVEYANCE ?

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A Co-Operative Housing Society is the owner of the Land & Building & individual member enjoys the ownership right of the Flat/ Shop based on the Share Certificate issued by the Co- Operative Housing Society. A vast majority of Co-Operative Housing Societies do not have the Conveyance in their favor & hence are not the owners of their Land & Building. In this situation, even though each member of the Co- Operative Housing Society has paid full consideration and is in possession of the Flat/ Shop allotted, he does not enjoy the benefits of title ownership of the Flat/ Shop. In case of Co- Operative Housing Societies formed long back, many of the buildings are in dilapidated condition and their repairs are not economically viable. The best solution available for these Co-Operative Housing Societies is to go ahead with Redevelopment. The non- availability of the Conveyance & therefore free/ marketable Title affects the Redevelopment Process badly.

The Promoter (Builder/ Developer) is legally required to convey the land and the building within 4 months of formation to the society or any legal body of the flat purchasers.[1] However, it has been the experience that many promoters (Builders/Developers) have not conveyed the land and building to the legal bodies. Therefore, the government has amended the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963 (MOFA) and provided for the deemed conveyance in favor of the legal bodies. Under the provision, deemed conveyance means after the expiry of 4 months of formation of the legal body, the land and building is deemed to have been conveyed to the legal body, and to bring the same in the revenue record, a Competent Authority has been designated who will hear the parties on the basis of applications received from the aggrieved party and transfers the title in favor of the legal body by passing the necessary order and deemed conveyance certificate and appoint an authorized officer to execute the conveyance deed in favor of the society and execute on behalf of non co-operative builder or the landowner. Getting the title of land and building by adopting the above procedure is known as deemed conveyance.

So, deemed conveyance means that the land and building is deemed to have been conveyed to the housing society or any legal body of the flat purchasers, if the promoter fails to convey the land and the building to them, within the stipulated time. To obtain a deemed conveyance, the aggrieved party has to file an application with the competent authority with all the necessary documents.

In case of deemed conveyance, the builder/ land owner or their legal heirs are not co-operating, therefore, the aggrieved parties appear before the Designated Competent Authority, who hears all the parties and passes the necessary order of conveyance. Deemed Conveyance is obtained as a legal remedy against the defaulter builder/ landowner who dosen’t want to part with the land and the building in favor of the society.

Maharashtra Government Resolution dated 22nd June 2018

As per the GR issued on 22 June 2018, by the state cooperation department, it has been made mandatory for the registrar of cooperative societies to register documents of the applicants within a day. Besides, as per the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015, the DC should be issued within six months. If an official fails to provide and approve it within the prescribed period, then he or she will be penalised between Rs500 and Rs5,000.

The legal conditions for filing a Deemed Conveyance?

Apart from the documents, there are certain legal requirements that your co-operative housing society must adhere to such as:

• At least 60% of apartments in your housing society must be sold.
• A co-operative society of flat owners must be formed for at least 3-4 months.
• The society committee must establish communication with the builder. And the builder should make an unfulfilled promise of conveyance, or should directly refuse to do the same.

The papers required for doing Deemed Conveyance:

Stage 1 – Submission of the following documents to the District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies, affixing a court fee stamp of Rs. 2,000 on the application:

• Application Form 7
• Draft of conveyance
• True copy of the Society Registration Certificate
• Copy of resolution passed in Annual General Meeting or Special Body Meeting.
• Property Card extract or 7/12 extract, which provides evidence of the ownership of the property.
• List of members in prescribed format.
• Copy of the legal notice and Public notice in 2 newspapers, of which one shall be in local language, issued to the original owner or developer for doing conveyance, including details of correspondence address, telephone number etc. of the original owner or developer.
• Construction Commencement (CC) and Occupation Certificate (OC). If not available, then an undertaking in the prescribed format.
• Copy of last sale agreement and Index-II for each member as issued by the Sub-Registrar of Assurance.
• Copy of the Development Agreement between landowner and builder.

Stage 2 – If Builder has submitted a reply, then a formal hearing is held. If there is no response to the notice, then review the details of Stamp duty paid and registered agreement copies of all individual flats/ shops. Hearing, Adjudication, and Passing of Order is by Joint District Registrar and Collector of Stamps. There is no appeal against the Deemed Conveyance order passed by the competent Authority. Then draft deemed conveyance must be registered at the Sub-Registrar’s office.

Like regular Conveyance, even on Deemed Conveyance, the stamp duty will be only Rs.100/-, if all the flat owners have paid the stamp duty and registration of their respective flats on the last transaction for each flat. In case some flat owners have not paid the stamp duty or have escaped the duty, the same will have to be paid after obtaining the deemed conveyance, at the time of registration of the Deemed Conveyance deed by the legal bodies and the same can be recovered from such flat owners.

Stage 3 – To apply for society’s name in the property card or 7/12 to the City Survey Officer or Circle Officer/ Talati. If society did not have an OC while applying for deemed conveyance, the society must obtain an OC from local Municipal authority, after the deemed conveyance is obtained.

Conveyance can be rejected on the following grounds:

1. Incomplete documents

2. Occupation Certificate (OC)

3. Dispute on open space between 2 builders

4. FSI (Floor Space Index)

5. Lis Pendens: Same matter is pending before any court.

What are the problems of not having a Conveyance Deed/Deemed Conveyance?

• One of the major glaring problems is that even though residents have purchased apartments & homes in the society, the society is still not the legal owner of the land & buildings.
• If there is an unfortunate event such as the collapse of a building or damage to property due to various reasons, the housing society cannot reconstruct or develop new amenities without the permission of the builder.
• The builder could mortgage the housing society’s property since he is the legal owner holding the title & rights of the land.
• The developer or builder could also transfer your housing society’s FSI & TDR to his other projects for commercial benefits. Thereby depriving your housing society of your legal rights.
• The builder could also make an additional profit by selling open spaces that belong to your housing society such as gardens, terraces, parking spaces, etc.
• Unfortunately, in most cases, the builder often asks for a huge amount from society if the conveyance is asked after a long time.
• Another huge problem is that the builder might end up selling the entire development rights to a third party which results in the housing society incurring great losses.

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[1] Section 11 of Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act, 1963