Property Ownership in Kerala – 9 must have documents

Buying a property is never an easy task. The naive first-time investor will have several questions in his/her mind. Questions that doesn’t seem to have straight forward answers. However, all these doubts and apprehensions are not really unfounded. There are many paperwork that should be done prior to and after buying a land. If not done with utmost caution, property deals may turn into a nightmare. You may end up losing your hard earned money and sleep over a careless decision you took.

Not to worry! Here, we introduce some of the basic paperwork that you have to be familiar with, before purchasing a property in Kerala. These documents will go a long way in ascertaining your property ownership in Kerala.

1. Land Tax Receipt

Land Tax Receipt is the fundamental document to ascertain property ownership in Kerala. It includes the Thandaper number and the name & address of the owner. Thandaper is the number an individual/ group of individuals possess when they own a property in the corresponding Village Office. Land Tax Receipt also contain other details like the block number, re-survey number, extent of the property etc. 

Procedure to acquire Land Tax Receipt

If you are buying a property in Kerala, the first step is to change the property ownership to your name. This process is called mutation. It is only after the process of mutation that you can get the Land Tax Receipt in your name. This could be either with a new or an existing Thandaper number of yours. Land Tax Receipts are issued from the village office.

Earlier, the system of procuring the Land Tax Receipt was offline. You could pay the land tax and get the receipts only from the village office concerned. Now, a person can register in https://www.revenue.kerala.gov.in/ and pay their own land tax online. However in order to avail this facility, you should have paid and acquired the online copy of Land Tax Receipt from the village office at least once. This is because all the land tax data were stored as hard-copies and your land data won’t be in the online revenue database before you make the first online payment.

Please note that unlike the Possession Certificate or the Encumbrance Certificate, the Land Tax Receipt is not a certificate and therefore will not be re-issued. It is just a proof that you have paid the Land Tax for the property against your Thandaper number and personal details for a particular financial year.

Please note that land tax receipt is a one time payable document. Whatever purpose you use it for, make a copy of it and proceed. You have to renew the Land Tax Receipt every financial year. 

Land Tax Slabs in Kerala

	From 1-Apr-1998 to 31-Mar-2012	From 1-Apr-2012 to 29-Sep-2014	From 30-Sep-2014 to 31-Mar-2018	From 1-Apr-2018 to Present
Corporation	< 2 Ares – Rs 2/Are > 2 Ares – Rs 4/Are	< 2 Ares – Rs 4/Are > 2 Ares – Rs 8/Are	< 2 Ares – Rs 4/Are > 2 Ares and < 2 hectares- Rs 8/Are > 2 Hectares – Rs 1600 + Rs 20/Are	< 1.62 Ares – Rs 10/Are > 1.62 Ares – Rs 20/Are
Municipality	< 6 Ares – Re 1/Are > 6 Ares – Rs 2/Are	< 6 Ares – Rs 2/Are > 6 Ares – Rs 4/Are	< 3 Ares – Rs 2/Are > 3 Ares and < 2 hectares- Rs 4/Are > 2 Hectares – Rs 800 + Rs 10/Are	< 2.43 Ares – Rs 5/Are > 2.43 Ares – Rs 10/Are
Panchayat	< 20 Ares – 50 paise/Are > 20 Ares – Re 1/Are	< 20 Ares – Re 1/Are > 20 Ares – Rs 2/Are	< 8 Ares – Re 1/Are > 8 Ares and < 2 hectares- Rs 2/Are > 2 Hectares – Rs 400 + Rs 5/Are	< 8.1 Ares – Rs 2.5/Are > 8.1 Ares – Rs 5/Are

2. Possession certificate, Possession  & Non Attachment Certificate

At times, the property that you intend to buy may be mortgaged by the previous owner. In such cases, if the owner of the property defaults, the creditor could take possession of the mortgaged property. The creditor could either be an individual or the Government. Legal action by the creditor could end up in “attachment”of the mortgaged property.

“Attachment” is the legal process of designating a property to be transferred to a creditor; for any debts pending. Similarly, the process of attaching a property for any outstanding debts due to the Government is known as Attachment for Revenue Recovery. 

As a property buyer, you need to ensure that the property you intend to buy is not under attachment. the Possession Certificate comes in handy here. Mostly banks and municipalities will ask you to submit the Possession Certificates for the purpose of providing loans and for sanctioning permits respectively.

The Possession Certificate conveys that the property for which you applied for is not under attachment for revenue recovery. In case the property is under revenue recovery, you will not get the Possession Certificate.

Procedure to acquire Possession Certificate

You should make the application for a Possession certificate at the village office. You can also make the application online via Akshaya Centers. The purpose of application should be specified at the time of applying.

The validity of this certificate is determined by the authority which demanded the certificate (bank, municipality etc.)

3. Location Sketch & Location Certificate

Location sketch is the sketch indicating the location of the property. You need to apply for the Location Sketch at the Village Office by paying a fees of Rs 200/-. The purpose of the Location Sketch is to accurately identify the property. It will include a rough planar view of the plot, its boundaries, extent, survey numbers etc. The officers from the village office will visit the property before issuing the sketch.

Location sketches will not have plot dimensions; while Location Certificates will have plot dimensions.

4. Encumbrance Certificate

Encumbrance Certificate contains all the liabilities on a property over a period of time for which the certificate applied. It is a mandatory document in every land related money transaction like mortgage, land sale etc. It is also important for ensuring title ownership and obtaining finance for real estate purposes.

Procedure to acquire Encumbrance Certificate

You can apply for an Encumbrance Certificate online at http://www.keralaregistration.gov.in/pearlpublic/index.php. Offline application can also be made directly to the Sub Registrar Office at which the property is located. The fee for generating an encumbrance certificate depends on the period for which the search is done. Most financing agencies or any one who demands an encumbrance certificate will ask not more than 30 years of encumbrance from the date of application.

5. Thandaper Register

Thandaper Register contains all the Thandapers in a village jurisdiction. Any new thandaper created through a sale is stored in this register. Thus, the Thandaper Register includes every thandaper number, area of the property owned by a thandaper holder, type of land, survey number, deed number through which you owned the land etc.  Mutation done on a property will be reflected on the thandaper register. The Thandaper Register is also called Pokkuvaravu register.

Procedure to acquire Thandaper Register Information

In some cases, there could be conflicts in the details of the land in different documents. Mistakes or mismatches in survey number are examples of a few conflicts that could possibly arise. In such cases, you can get the accurate information by getting a copy of the Thandaper Register in the Village Office. In order to obtain the Thandaper Register information, you should submit a letter of application to the Village Officer.

This document is also obtained for getting information regarding the type of land for the purpose of conversion. Conversion is the process of changing the type of land from wet to dry for any of your purpose like construction or development of land. The type of land mentioned in Thandaper Register and BTR will be considered for proceeding the conversion application.

6. Valuation Certificate

The Government of Kerala has fixed certain base value for property based on criteria like type of road, importance of plot, road access, nature of land etc. This value is known as the Fair Value or Guideline value and is the minimum price for which the property transaction should take place. The Government revises the Fair Value from time to time as and when there is marked increase in market value.

Valuation certificate is applied for knowing the market value of a property as per Government records. Now, fair values of the lands across Kerala are available online in https://igr.kerala.gov.in/. You can easily obtain the Fair Value of your property online by providing the property survey number, block number, Taluk, Village and Revenue Divisional Office[RDO] under which your property belongs. 

If you feel that the fair value in the Revenue Records in incorrect, you can file an appeal before the District Collector. If you can’t find your land fair value online, you can request for the same before the RDO.

7. Legal Heirship Certificate 

Legal Heirship Certificate is obtained to prove that legal the applicant/ applicants are legally eligible for getting rights of the deceased person. This certificate is required for getting a will in action or for performing mutation of a property which is still in the name of the deceased.

Legal Heirship certificate is obtained from the Village Office. You need to submit the death certificate of the person and supporting documents like ration card, ID cards of the heirs alongwith an application for Legal Heirship Certificate in white paper. Village officers can ask for more supporting documents if required. Further, 2 witnesses near the residence of the deceased, ideally above the age of 60 must give their statement regarding the genuinity of the heirs. It may take about 15 days to get the certificate.

Learn more about buying property from Legal Heirs

8. Basic Tax Register (BTR)

BTR was created at the time of Re – Survey. It contains the details of land at the time of Re- Survey. The details of the land provided in the BTR will be correct. There may be clerical mistakes in the documents created after the BTR. Therefore, BTR can be used to rectify mistakes in the land documents. An application form requesting the right to information to get the BTR must be given for the survey no.s required. Kindly note that changes in the ownership after resurvey won’t be reflected in the BTR. Since, it is given according to the Right to Information Act, it may take 30 working days to get the BTR.

9. Field Measurement Book (FMB)

FMB is the sketch prepared at the time of Re – Survey. It contains the measurements and drawings of the Re survey no.s. Mutations done after the Re Survey won’t be reflected in the FMB. As the aforesaid documents this is also taken by requesting according to the right to information act. An application is submitted to the village officer, for the survey number for which the FMB is required. The time for getting the FMB is 30 working days.

Turn your Property Ownership in Kerala a pleasant experience with Transform

These documents that we have listed above are the most relevant ones that you may come across in a property transaction in Kerala. However, there are a few other documents which may not not as relevant as these in a land transaction procedure. For most standard land transactions, the documents listed above will suffice to prove your property ownership in Kerala.

If you have any query with regards to any of the documents which are or aren’t mentioned above, you may feel free to call us or drop in at out office. We would be more than happy to help!

You may face troubles in the procedures for a land sale registration, mutation or any land related activities. Transform Property Consulting can help you get the land you desire and get the related documentation for property ownership in Kerala done.

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