Encumbrance certificate or most popularly known as EC is one of the most critical document for property purchase. In my post on Checklist of Property Documents i briefly discussed about EC but considering the importance of same, it deserves a separate post. Encumbrance Certificate certify that there are no dues on property both Mortgage and Legal & the title of the property is clear and marketable. It contain all the transactions in respect of the said property. Encumbrance is basically a Charge / Liability / Lien which is created on the property, which is held as a collateral or security against the debt that is not cleared / paid as on date. It contain records of last 13 / 30 years. If the property has come up recently then EC of relevant period will be issued. Usually EC is issued from the beginning of FY in which builder received commencement certificate. For example, if you builder received commencement certificate on 5th Nov, 2005 then EC of your flat/property will be issued from 1st April, 2005 to till date.
You can apply for Encumbrance Certificate in sub registrar’s office under whose jurisdiction the property is registered. This office is directly under control of the Inspector of Registration of Properties, operated by the state government. Buyers / Home Loan Provider ask for Encumbrance certificate before property transaction, so that the buyer / Home Loan Provider can check all the past transactions & mortgage status of the property.
Encumbrance certificate is normally issued for 13 years but it is always advisable to insist for 30 years (if available) Encumbrance certificate to track all the link documents i.e. chain of property transactions. Encumbrance certificate is issued in two different forms.
(a) Form 15 : It will contain details of transactions like Sale, Gift, Lease, Mortgage, Relinquishment, Partition, Inheritance , Release etc during the specific period for which the Encumbrance certificate is issued.
(b) Form 16: It is also known as “nil encumbrance certificate”. Nil Encumbrance certificate is issued when there is no transaction recorded during the period for which the Encumbrance certificate is issued. In short, 13 year Nil Encumbrance certificate implies that current owner is holding the property from last 13 years and there is no registered transaction during this period. .
How to apply for Encumbrance Certificate
You can apply for Encumbrance Certificate by filling Form 22 with Rs 2 non judicial stamp affixed. You need to attach address proof to avoid any misuse like driving license, passport etc. On Form 22 you also need to mention
(a) The period for which you require EC.
(b) Property details like Area of Property, Survey No, Address etc
(c) Purpose for which EC is required
(d) Ownership details
The fees is charged depending on no of years for which the EC is issued. Standard Encumbrance Certificate is issued for 13 years or 30 years but as i mentioned it can be issued for X no of years also depending on when the commencement certificate is issued to the builder.
You will receive Encumbrance Certificate within 1 to 3 weeks time. The person who accepts the application will let you know when you can collect the same. I received it next day but it was an exception as i shared my visiting card with sub-registrar :)
Encumbrance Certificate is not the Final word
Though Encumbrance Certificate is one of the key document to establish ownership and mortgage status of the property but its not the FINAL WORD. Let’s check some of the common loopholes or process gaps
1. Equitable Mortgage Deed is not registered: Normally a lien is put on any property when the property is mortgaged. Encumbrance Certificate is only way to check whether property is mortgaged or not. In many cases, lender do not report mortgage to sub-registrar office and lien is not put on the property. This risk you will always carry. All the original documents are with banks but not registered with sub-registrar office
Maharashtra Govt has taken a lead in this regard and amended Registration Act, 1908. It amended section 17 which provided list of documents which are compulsory for registration. Equitable Mortgage Deed is added in the list. The definition included is crystal clear to ensure compliance. Definition is “The agreement relating to the Deposit of title deeds, where such deposit has been made by way of security for the repayment of a loan or existing or further debts”
To further plug the loophole i.e. in many cases Equitable Mortgage Deed is not executed & registered to save stamp duty. A new section is introduced which makes it mandatory to file Notice of Intimation of Mortgage by way of Deposit of Title Deed with Sub-Registrar office.
These steps of Maharashtra Govt will fix 2 most common frauds in real estate i.e. availing multiple loans from banks on same property or selling the property which is already mortgaged. For the convenience of general public Registration of Agreement and filling of Notice of Intimation can be filed online in Maharashtra.
2. Property Transfer through Sale Agreement / GPA / Will Transfer before 11th Oct, 2011:
On 11th Oct, 2011 Honorable Supreme Court of India passed historical judgement that In the absence of duly stamped and registered “Deed of Conveyance” also known as Sale Deed, No Right, Title, or Interest in any immovable property could be transferred. In short, all property transactions have to be registered in sub-registrar office. Encumbrance Certificate cannot validate any Property Transfer through Sale Agreement / GPA / Will Transfer which were executed before 11th Oct, 2011.
3. Latest Encumbrance Certificate: In many cases, i observed that clients produced old EC. Please note that EC is as good as Breaking News i.e. Latest News as it happens. If i pull out EC today and sell my property tomorrow then today’s EC will not have any relevance. Therefore you might have observed that while availing Home Loan, Banks demand EC multiple times i.e. at every stage. It is being done to avoid any probability of fraud though it cannot be completely avoided.
4. Private Deals: In small cities, towns or villages people enter into a mortgage arrangement i.e. sort of loan against property. Person A availed loan of 5 lakh and mortgaged his house to Person B through mutual agreement. Now Person A will sell his house without knowledge of Person B and Person B will file civil suit. Such transactions are also not recorded in Sub-Registrar office thus not captured in EC. I have observed that professional money lenders have started registering such mortgage agreements and lien is put on the property at Sub-Registrar office. In order to avoid such situations, it is advisable to insist on indemnity clause in Deed of Conveyance or Sale Deed.
Hope you liked the post. You can share your comments, queries and feedback through following comments section
Copyright © Nitin Bhatia. All Rights Reserved.
Good one again. Just as I observed, if you bribe 100/- more (in addition to EC fees), you get EC in 1 or 2 hours of applying atleast in Bangalore.
Incredible India:-(
I agree… even id proof / address proof is also not required :)
Dear Nitin ji
I have bought a property from Lodha Casa rio project and yet to receive its possession.I took a loan from IDBI bank and have completed the pre payment and closed my bank account.
Do I need to get an EC as well?
regards
Apoorv
Encumbrance Certificate can be pulled out at the time of registration or after registration.
But is it required ?
Before registration of property, Encumbrance certificate of land is required.
Hi Nitin, thanks for this useful post. Can you clarify if a title search report from a lawyer is distinct from EC?
Title search report and encumbrance certificate are different.
Can you provide the form of application for EC in Maharashtra. I am advocate from Amravati and EC from SRO is not known to Sub Registrar.
The application form is provided by SRO only. There is no standard format
4. Private Deals: In small cities, towns or villages
people enter into a mortgage arrangement i.e. sort of loan against
property. Person A availed loan of 5 lakh and mortgaged his house to
Person B through mutual agreement. Now Person A will sell his house
without knowledge of Person B and Person B will file civil suit.
The above situation, civil suit will capture in EC once after / before selling the properties. But original deed of the property held with Person A and hand over to purchaser of the property. In that case who is final claim of the property and legal rights.
Though it depends on case to case basis but normally Person B will have 1st right on the property.
Hi,
I am planning to buy a ready to occupy flat, in which 80% of the flats are already occupied. I got the EC for my flat from the builder. Is it also required to get and check the EC for the entire project?
Without property registration how come EC is issued for your flat. EC is issued by sub registrar office only for property registered in sub registrar office.
Its a NIL EC actually
It must of the land on which the project is constructed. A EC is issued for a flat only after its registration.
Hi Nitin, I am applying for a top-up loan from HDFC for getting the interiors done. The Khata of the flat has not yet been transferred in my name. It is still in the landowner’s name from whom I had purchased the flat, and I am told that the transfer can be done only in March while the property tax is paid. My first question is – is this information correct? Do I have to wait until the next tax cycle to get the Khata transferred? The second point is as follows. Since I don’t have the Khata in my name, the agent tells me that I need to fill in a Khata indemnity form (issued by HDFC). I have searched everywhere on the net but could not find information on this. Could you please enlighten me on this subject? Thanks in advance.
Khata can be transferred any time during the year. Information shared with you is not correct. Khata Indemnity form is basically a declaration that as and when you will get the khata, you will submit the copy to HDFC. Sometimes it also contain clause that bank has right to terminate the home loan if khata is denied. Banks and HFC’s don’t lend to non-Khata A properties.
Hi Nitin,
I have buying a resale property based in Bangalore. The property is B khata. Since I am purchasing it through home loan, the seller has agreed to do A khata as banks provide loans only for A KHATA. I checked with few people and they all said Khata has been stopped in 2008. Seller says he is going to bribe and do the Katha. Could you please confirm if this is possible.
Seller is asking 3lakh as token advance. Can you please confirm I can proceed or I should wait for him to show me Katha before paying any token advance.
Appreciate your immediate response.
Thanks
Khata A is issued by BBMP. It’s a wrong info that it is stopped after 2008. You should pay token money only after the seller obtain Khata A in his name.
Thank you for your reply Nitin, your response was of great help !!!
How to transfer b khatha to A khatha…..in Bangalore
It depends on case to case basis. Secondly, for an apartment first you need to obtain master khata. You need to check with local BBMP office.
I went BBMP office… There said in April I’ll done….
I m construction new house from old building… New house will get new number or it I will old house number…
House no will remain same.
I m buying new property in Bangalore.. b khatha property there any problem…what I want take perfect file…what file I want ask…
What perfect file there for property…
I will not buy B Khata property. Banks have stopped approving loans on B Khata property.
I bought a land in Beangaluru in 1999 and constructed a house in 2000. The purchase of land and construction are in different years. Now I plan to sell the house. How to assess the original purchase value for calculating Capital gain tax. Should I get any property valuation on any cut off year done first and calculate CGT based on that?
You can add construction cost as cost of improvement. Please check following link for more details
https://www.nitinbhatia.in/personal-finance/capital-gain/
Thanks a lot
Thank you very much
Thank you very much
If property person died.. What to do?
Property should be transferred to legal heir of the deceased. It should be done based on a WILL or succession certificate.
Hi Nitin,
I came across this situation while registring my new flat in registry office in bangalore. While entering data in the system they entered wrong flat no and khata no though the details were correct in my sale deed. I asked them to correct it. I could not verify as they did not give EC because server was down and many people were waiting. So I was wondering that in case details are wrongly entered then how to get it corrected. Is it a teditious task ?
If it is the mistake of employee of sub registrar office then they will correct. You need not worry. Pull out EC to check the same and submit written application in case of error.
Will there be separate EC for flat and the land on which it’s built?
Once the flat is constructed and registered then there is No separate EC for land.
Sir when this ec system is started
It depends on state to state but EC is normally available for 13 years and in some states for 30 years.
Sir actually my dad purchased one land in 2001 and my dad sold that land two years back and it passesed to 3more persons now the present person (owner ) started construction of house and one person is came and saying he is owner of that land, we have registration certificate he also had, we asked to the person who sold land to my dad, he is saying it might be happened, he saying he is checked ec at that time and registration is on that person only please advise me what is my legal position,
You may check EC to check the registration/ownership flow.
Im buying a ready to occupy flat. The buyer has given me the latest EC. The Ec seems to be only for the UDS(land). How do i know whether the Ec is for flat ?? (the flat number is not mentioned in the EC)
He has given wrong EC. If the flat is registered then you should demand EC for flat.
Plz Sir EC Certificate Agri Farm Ka Kis Office Se Milega …………………………
Sub registrar office.
hi
sir we have our parental property of around 3 acres….in that some dimension is acquired by village panchayat…remaining land is farming land…so i want to know exactly what area of our land is acquired by panchayat and when….????so what r the copies i need to extract and from where?
You will get all the details from panchayat office. You can physically measure the remaining land to check area acquired by village panchayat.
Thank you heart fully for the reply sir….
i have another doubt regarding our land survey …we have applied for government surveying of our land just a year back on 23/05/2016 but till now they didnot came for measuring our land….till now they were told that ur RTC is went for correction…but today i went there and askedthem darely why just the correction requires 1 year….what u people are making till today….they are telling a new story that ur land don’t have aakarbandh….so we have to rebuild it….even for that also they are asking me fees of 1500 without receipt…my qn is even 5 years back our land get surveyedby the same people with aakarbandh…..but now how could it get missed…for that why I should pay bribe????
You should file an application under RTI seeking all the details. You will receive reply within 30 days.
Hello Sir,
I have a question to your kind attention and response. We have a civil dispute over an agricultural land, which we won. The Pani and khata got converted into my father’s name.
However, when I applied for EC for 10 years, the EC reads no changes, which mean that there has been no transaction.
Please note that this property is ancestral, and came to us as ancestral property through honorable court decision.
Since we have won the case and got the Khata transferred, how do we register our name (my father’s name) in the EC?
Please respond.
Regards,
Khan
You can submit copy of court order with local sub-registrar / tehsil / Panchayat office and request them to transfer the ownership based on court order.
Thank you sir for your kind response.
i have a sale deed in which the pid no is different from the ec i have obtained from subregvstrar office which has a different pid for the same property in bangalore. what should i do. go back to the sub registrar
Please PID No mentioned in the khata A and Property tax receipt for variance. May be a typo error in Sale Deed.
Hi,
I have a question. in 2010 I bought a site in the B’lore rural district. After that I left India and till now didn’t pay the property tax and also didn’t get the EC.
Is is possible some one can occupy that site and can they resell it without original documents? And what is procedure to get the EC without going there (B’lore)?
You have not mentioned whether you registered the property in your name or not. There is always a possibility of illegal occupation especially in rural areas. EC is issued by sub-registrar office. Some websites provide online service and apply for EC on behalf of applicant.
Yes the site is registered on my name only. Can you please provide me the sites that offer EC through online?
-Mahdav
You may search online and you will get couple of suggestions. I do not endorse or provide any reference to readers.
Sir, I have khata against my flat in Chickbanwara, Bangalore-90. Now I want to go for e-Khata. Can you please let me know the formalities. Also please let me know for getting EC
For e-khata you may approach BBMP. EC will be issued by sub-registrar office.
thank you sir,
Will they issue EC immediately ?
You can collect after 1 week. If you know someone then it can be issued immediately.
Hi sir, I have questions we have site in Bangalore, I need to make katha for the site, but I don’t have EC .whether EC compulsory for katha let me know sir. If required ec need to know how to apply for EC Thanks Suresh
EC is not compulsory for Khata. You need copy of sale deed for Khata. You can get EC from sub-registrar office.
sir,
Will transfer of khata after the death of the owner be reflected in the encumberance certificate
or in other words how to know the authenticity of khata transfer in bangalore
Encumbrance Certificate has no direct connection with Khata. You may approach BBMP to check the authenticity of Khata.
If I approach BBMP and give the details of Suvey number and copies of khata of the property, will they check and let us know that the property is free of any encroachments etc. Planning to go for an apartment which is near a storm water drain and lake.
Shortly BBMP will release comprehensive list of properties encroaching Storm Water Drain. You may wait for few days.
Hi Sir,
I am planning to purchase an apartment and the Land owner provided me the recent EC for the specific unit. where as I found there is a mismatch of the sqft are from the EC to the agreement. When I enquired them they told it was wrongly provided by him while taking EC so he will take another EC with modified area. My question is, are the area measurement for a specific unit is entered by the applicant at time of applying the EC or it was existing on the sub registrar office data ?
The EC is issued based on the existing records with the sub registrar office.
1. That is correct. You need details of last sale deed executed.
2. You need to check the same from sub registrar office. As per my understanding you can get up to max 30 years of encumbrance certificate.
Hello Sir, My father is one among 6 owners of a property given by his father.There are 6 portions in the building . All the other owners are willing to sell the house without my father’s consent.One middlemen is willing to buy the land for a lesser price my father does not want to sell his fathers property.All the other 5 owners are willing to sell.We are getting threatening calls from 5 owners and the buyer.In such case Can the Sale be made without my father’s Signature & Grand children Signature.Please advise on the legal measure to be taken.Please share your mobile number for an appointment.
The property cannot be sold without your father’s consent. To book phone consultation, please check following link
https://www.nitinbhatia.in/telephonic-consultation/
Hai Sir,
My grand father died. He have own property in his name. can i apply loan sir?
You have not mentioned whether he left any WILL or not.
Hello Sir,
Is non encumbrance certificate and search report are same things? or they are different?
Thanks
Atul J
Both are different. Encumbrance certificate is part of title search report.
Ok..thank you sir for your answer… i need to provide non encumbrance certificate in my office to get advance from my pf under 19A-Property buying. so can you please tell me from where i can get this non encumbrance certificate?
in last week i visited thane sub registrar office but they don’t even know this term “non encumbrance certificate”. Also i checked with agents outside sub registrar office but they don’t know from where we can get this.
Request you to please guide me to get this certificate.
Encumbrance certificate is issued by sub-registrar office.
Hi Sir,
My father-in-law’s brothers mutually agreed and divided the land between themselves which they got from their father, the document is notarized with some witnesses. Now two brother’s are no more and their family members (wife, children) were added 7/12 extract which says each brother will get 25% of land. But while land division, my father-in-law was given rock land bit more than others and rest of the brothers took well agricultural land. Now the rock land got demand due to road side and his brother’s family members are creating problems and not agreeing to do the land registration as divided/decided earlier.
Please help us to resolve the issue with some legal procedure and also confirm whether EC will help us in this matter. Kindly help us to get the land registered on our father-in-law’s name. Any benefitted solution will be appreciated.
Thanks
You need not worry. All the family members have to honor the signed agreement. If the agreement is not honored then your father in law can approach court of law
Hi sir,
Which office provides encumbrance certificate in bangalore? and what is charge for getting khata certificate. our builder ran away and we didn’t even get possession certificate. i may need to sell my property and i just have a sale deed attested by the bank and agreement from builders.
Sub registrar office issue encumbrance certificate. Khata charges depend on whether khata is already issued and you just need a copy of same or khata was never issued for your building.
what is the validity time of encumbrance certificate?
No. It is as on date. If there is a change of ownership immediately after pulling out encumbrance certificate then old one has no value as such.
Hey sir,
Want to know what is the validity period for EC.
I mean in my bank inspection.. auditor ask us to take fresh NIL EC from all those borrowers who has dere loan earliar then 12 years,..
So want to ask ..after 12 years validity of EC get expired ???
There is no validity. It is the ownership status of the property as on date.If the property is sold tomorrow then the EC will change.
Sir, In EC (RR) & (RE) (MR) & (ME) stands. Please clarify
I cannot comment without going through the same. You may also clarify from sub registrar office.
Todays EC shows our name. Some unknown person claims double registration happened and when we have observed the EC, we found some linkage missing around 1999. Is there a chance to buy the property without our notice.
The probability of fraud was high then in 1999. It is possible.
Hello Sir, yesterday I Purchased flat and done Registration, for disbursement I need to take all sets of original docs to bank for the Loan amt check. I want to know the process, which documents should I take from axis bank while submitting original sets of documents for home loan disbursement. is their any Mortage documents letter?
You may ask for Acknowledgement on their letter head with details of all the original documents submitted.
I have registered a property, through bank loan, Sub register office person says, documents are ready to collect, but when i verified in online for EC status, my name is not got updated. How many days will it take to link my name in current EC?
The EC is updated immediately at the time of registration.
Hi Nitin,
My property is 32 years old. How do i check if my property is registered as we do not have any transaction or loan against the property and my name does not show in the EC certificate due to the same.
Thank you
It seems it is not registered in your name.
Dear Mr. Nitin
I am in need of non encumbrance certificate for my 2 properties, it is for my immigration purpose. Please let me know where to get this earliest possible.
If you can help me with any property consultant / broker , I will be thankful to you
regards
singh
Email : gurvinder999@gmail.com
You may submit application with the local sub registrar office. You should get it within 3-7 days. You may check with the agents outside local sub registrar office.
Dear Mr. Nitin,
Thank you for taking your time to reply to our questions.
After long struggle, I have converted my property by paying the improvement charges and other taxes. Will it have any reflection on the EC? Should i get an EC and verify it?
As i understand you regularized the deviations. Please confirm.
I have got the Katha Certificate in my hand, will it reflect in the EC of the land. There is no building in the land yet.