Documents Needed to Sell Property in Karnataka: A Seller's Checklist

The title deed is the registered document through which you became the owner: usually a sale deed, but it may be a gift, partition or settlement deed, or a sale deed from a development authority. Keep the original ready. The buyer's lawyer will want to see it, and it is usually handed over to the buyer when the sale completes.

Just as important are the earlier deeds that show how the property reached you, often called the chain of title or the parent (mother) deeds. The buyer's lawyer will trace ownership back over many years, and a missing link, such as a deed nobody can find or an earlier transfer that was never registered, is a frequent cause of delay. If you don't have an earlier deed, you can usually get a certified copy from the sub-registrar office where it was registered.

Some situations need extra papers:

• Inherited property. You will need documents showing how it passed to you, such as a death certificate, a will or partition deed, or legal heir papers, and every heir with a share will usually need to join the sale. Our guide to inherited property transfer in Karnataka covers this in detail.
• Joint ownership. Every co-owner named on the deed must sign the sale deed or authorise someone through a valid power of attorney.
• A site allotted by a development authority. Check that the allotment has been completed with a final sale deed in your name and its conditions met; confirm with the authority before you agree a sale.

The Encumbrance Certificate (EC) lists the registered transactions and charges recorded against your property over a chosen period: sales, mortgages, releases and so on. Buyers use it to confirm that you are the last recorded owner and that nothing registered against the property is still outstanding.

Get a fresh EC running right up to the present, not the copy from when you bought. In Karnataka you can apply online through the Kaveri system or at the sub-registrar office. Ask the buyer's lawyer how many years they want it to cover.

A Form 16 EC means no encumbrance was found for the period. A Form 15 EC lists the transactions that were found. A Form 15 is not bad news in itself, since it will show your own purchase, for example, but every entry on it should be explained by a document in your file. If an old loan appears, the buyer will expect to see the matching release.

Read your EC before the buyer does. If it shows anything you don't recognise, speak to a property lawyer straight away. Our guide to the Encumbrance Certificate in Karnataka explains how to apply and how to read one.

The khata, increasingly the e-Khata, is the municipal record that identifies your property and the person responsible for its property tax. Within city limits, that record is kept by Mysuru City Corporation. The buyer will want to see that the khata is in your name, that its details match the title deed, and that tax is paid up to date.

Before you list:

• Check the khata is in your name; if it is still in a late parent's or previous owner's name, get it transferred first.
• Pay any pending property tax and keep the receipts for recent years together.
• Compare the owner's name, site number and measurements with your deed. Small mismatches cause big delays.
• Find out whether the property has an e-Khata and whether it is in order, since registration increasingly depends on it.

If the property has a B-Khata, or the record has other problems, tell buyers upfront and ask a lawyer whether it can be put right before the sale. Our guide to e-Khata in Mysuru explains the record and why buyers care about it.

Buyers, and especially their banks, want proof that the property was lawfully laid out and, if built on, lawfully constructed.

For a plot or site, keep the approved layout plan and the papers showing your site is part of it. In and around Mysuru, that usually means approval by MUDA, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or by the planning authority for the area. If the land was once agricultural, include the conversion order and the related land records.

For a house, villa or flat, you will also need:

• The approved building plan issued by the local authority, showing what you were permitted to build. The buyer's engineer or bank valuer may compare it with what actually stands on the site.
• The completion or occupancy certificate, which the authority issues after construction to confirm the building was completed as approved and is fit to occupy. Some older houses were never issued one; if yours wasn't, say so upfront and ask a lawyer how it affects the sale and the buyer's loan.
• For a flat, the documents from your original purchase and a no-dues or no-objection letter from the owners' association.

If construction went beyond the approved plan, don't hide it; it will usually be spotted. Ask a lawyer whether it can be regularised and how to disclose it.

If you ever took a loan against the property, the buyer will want proof that it has been fully repaid and that the lender no longer has any claim. Sellers often overlook this, because the loan was closed years ago and the letters went into a drawer.

• A loan closure or no-dues letter from the bank or housing finance company, confirming the loan is fully repaid.
• Your original documents back from the lender. Lenders usually hold original title deeds as security; check you have received every one listed when the loan was taken.
• A release of the mortgage. Where the mortgage was registered, a registered release shows the charge has been cleared, and it will appear on your EC. Ask the lender, too, to confirm that it has cleared its charge from CERSAI, the central registry where lenders record security interests.

If the loan is still running, you can still sell. Agree with your bank how it will be closed at the time of sale, get a written statement of the amount due, and arrange for part of the buyer's payment to clear it so the bank releases your originals. Both lawyers should know the plan in advance.

NOCs (no-objection certificates) may also be needed: from an apartment owners' association or housing society, from a family member with a claim, or from the authority that allotted the site if its conditions require consent. Ask your lawyer which apply to you.

Identity and PAN. Every seller named on the deed needs identity proof and a PAN (Permanent Account Number), which goes into the sale deed. It also matters for the buyer's tax deduction: on sales of ₹50 lakh or more by a resident seller, the buyer deducts 1% TDS against your PAN. If you are an NRI, a different and larger deduction applies; see our guide for NRIs selling property in India. Check that your name is spelled the same way on your ID, PAN and deed, or keep papers ready that explain the difference.

Power of attorney. If you or a co-owner can't attend registration, someone can sign under a power of attorney (POA). For a sale, it should specifically authorise selling this property, be properly stamped, and be registered where the rules require. A POA signed abroad has extra formalities. Buyers' lawyers and banks examine POAs closely, and an ordinary POA generally ends if the person who gave it dies. Our guide to power of attorney in property deals explains how to do it properly.

Utility bills. Keep recent electricity and water bills, paid to date, along with any connection papers. Buyers check them, and at handover you will want final meter readings so the connections can move to the new owner.

Once you have gathered everything, organise it: originals in one safe folder, and a complete set of clear scanned copies you can share with a serious buyer's lawyer. Then read the set as a buyer would. Do the names, site numbers and measurements match across the deed, khata, tax receipts and approvals? Does every entry on the EC have a matching document? Is anything missing from the chain? Fix what you can before listing, and be ready to explain what you can't. A buyer's own checks go wider still; our buyer's property documents checklist shows what they will be looking for.

After registration, keep your own file: a copy of the registered sale deed, the buyer's TDS certificate, a copy of your own purchase deed with its stamp duty receipts, and bills for any improvements. Your chartered accountant will need them to work out capital gains.

Siddaganga Real Estate has spent over twelve years helping families and investors in Mysuru buy and sell plots, sites and houses, including sorting out documents, e-Khata and registration. If you are planning to sell, you can tell us about your property and have the paperwork looked over before a buyer sees it.