Stamp Duty and Registration Charges for flats in Kerala, property registration Fees
The Kerala land registration stamp duty charges is quite expensive at nearly 15% of the value of the property. The Stamp duty for property registration in Kerala for flats are at the same rates, but for new flats being built by a builder you need to pay the Kerala stamp duty charges for only your share of the land.
Registration of flats or villas in the office of the Kerala District Registrar Office is a must to get the title deeds of a flat or villa in your name. The Stamp duty for registration of property in Kerala mostly involves the purchase of expensive Kerala Stamp Paper on which the sale deed is written. The Stamp duty for registering the flat or villa in your name are extra charges over and above the actual cost of flat or villa you pay the builder.
Registration of new flat in Kerala
Stamp duty and registration charges for new flats in Kerala are cheaper than the resale of an existing flat. When buying a new flat in Kerala directly from the builder, then you save a lot of money by saving on the stamp duty and registration charges for new flats in Kerala. The deal with the builder is in two parts. First he sells you a share in the land in proportion to the area of the flat you are buying. Then he enters into a contract with you to build a flat for you. This is called the building contract, and there are no registration charges for this simple building contract. You only have to pay the stamp duty and registration charges for the value your share of the land.
The part selling of the land on which the apartment building with your flat stands is like this. When you buy a new flat being built in an apartment building in Kerala, you are part owner of the land on which the apartment building stands. To register your part ownership of this land, you only need to pay Kerala land registration stamp duty for the value of your share of the land. We explain by an example below.
Assume there is 50 cents of land in the new apartment block and there are 25 flats in the building, then your share of the land will be one twenty-fifth of 50 cents = 2 cents of land (1 Acre= 100 cents). Your right to the land on which the building stands is one by twenty fifth undivided share of the land. The land value in Kerala is quite high, and on an average you can say in a good location the price will be about Rs.10 lakhs per cent. So the value of your share of 2 cents land area will be 20 lakhs and 15% of 20 lakhs will be 3 lakhs.
So you will have to pay 3 lakhs as land registration fee of Kerala Government. The builder will charge you extra to buy stamp paper and he will get the documents to your property registered in the Government Register office and hand over the title deed to your share of the land written on the Kerala Government high value stamp papers. You need not be present or go personally in the Register office in Kerala when you are buying a property from a builder in Kerala.
The registered title deed is a stamp paper document registered in the Kerala Government Register office which the builder hands over to you as your legal ownership document. Be sure to know when you are finalising the price of a flat, how much the land registration fee would be and get it in writing from the builder. There is also a one time tax payable to the Government of Kerala and you should specifically ask the builder how much that will be.
Undivided share of land meaning
When you buy a flat in Kerala you are part owner of the land on which the apartment building stands on. From the above example, there are 25 flats in the building, you become 1/25th owner of the land. Legally none of the 25 owners can ever claim to portion of the land since it is an undivided share (UDS) of land. The legal wording for this is "and the same shall remain alienable but undivided and impart-able. All the joint owners of the property have equal rights to all the common areas in such a way that is not exclusive or advantageous to any one or group of persons."
Registration charges for resale flat in Kerala
When you want to sell a flat in an already built apartment block or an already constructed Villa, to register the transfer of ownership in Kerala, you will have to pay Kerala registration fees for the whole sale value of the apartment or Villa. When it is a resale of an already built property, apartment flat or villa, as per Kerala Property Registration Rules, Stamp duty and Registration fees becomes due on the total sale value of the flat or villa, the land and building costs included.
Make sure of your Car parking rights
One of the problems faced by new flat owners is the right of parking their cars inside the premises of the apartment building. Make sure what your rights are and whether you will be allotted car parking space in the building compound. Note that the builder has no rights to charge you extra for uncovered parking, for covered parking he does.
Common Areas in Apartment buildings
The Common areas in the building premises are for the enjoyment of all the owners of the flats in the building. All the joint owners of the property have equal rights to all the common areas in such a way that it is not exclusive or advantageous to any one or group of persons. The owners of all the flats usually have to make an Association and elect officers to it. The building owners association has the rights to set rules and regulations about the usage of the common facilities.
