Land Laws in India have also had a journey of their own, beginning from the land acquisition bill during the British period, to the repealment of farm laws; the land laws have seen India transforming into a new age and better India.
The following acts have been a part of major land reforms in the nation -
1. Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.
2. Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
3. Registration Act, 1908.
4. Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.
5. Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999.
6. Bombay Stamp Act, 1958.
1. REAL ESTATE (REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT)ACT , 2016 –
RERA stands for Real Estate Regulatory Authority came into existence as per the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 which aims to protect the home purchasers and also boosts the real estate investments. RERA was established to enhance accountability and transparency with respect to housing transactions and real estate. RERA has been established in different states, such as RERA Karnataka, RERA Punjab, RERA West Bengal, RERA Delhi, etc.
Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority-
The Act has made it mandatory for promoters to register their real estate project to sell, advertise, market, book or purchase it under the conduct of the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
Through this initiative, the RERA Maharashtra shall encourage promotion and growth of a transparent, healthy, competitive and efficient real estate sector. It shall also strive to protect the interest of promoters, buyers, and real estate agents.
The RERA Registration process has to be completed digitally on https://maharerait.mahaonline.gov.in/
2. TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT, 1882-
Transfer of Property Act, 1882 is a general law related to transfer of property. It generally deals with immovable property only. The basic objective of the Act is to formulate rules, regulations , and procedures for transfer of property.
Transfer of property is defined under Section 5 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.It refers to an act done by a living person conveying property to one or more person or by himself or by one or more living persons in the present or the future. Living persons here includes a company, an association, or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not.
The transfer of property may take place by two different ways-
1. By the act of parties.
2. By the operation of law.
The act is applicable on transfers in the form of sale, lease, mortgage, exchange, gift or actionable claims. This Act does not cover inheritance, wills, forfeiture, insolvency, or sale through the execution of a decree. According to Section 7 of the act, every person who is competent to contract is eligible to transfer their property.
3. THE REGISTRATION ACT, 1908 –
The Registration Act, 1908 deals with the enactments relating to the registration of documents. Registration of document becomes important as it prevents fraud and misuse of property and a Registered document can also be served as a piece of legal evidence in court.
The Registration of these documents is mandatory according to Section 17(1) of this Act -
a) Gift deed of Immovable property.
b) Non-testamentary documents that purport or operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish any right, title or interest worth Rs.100 or above in immovable property.
c) Non-testamentary instruments granting receipt or payment of any consideration on account of creation, limitation, assignment, declaration, or termination of such right, title or interest.
d) Leases of such immovable property for a term exceeding of 1 year.
e) Non-testamentary documents conveying or assigning any decree or award of the court involving the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation, or extinguishment of any right, title, or interest in an immovable property worth Rs.100 and above.
f) The documents of contracts regarding the transfer of any immovable property
Documents mentioned under Section 18 of the Act are optional to register and Documents mentioned in Section 17(2) of the Act need not be registered.
According to the Act, the document expected for registering a property deed has to be furnished within four months from the date of property registration to the respective Registrar Officer (except for a will).
The Registration has to be done at the respective state’s Registrar’s office. Each state has its own act that governs Registration, like in Maharashtra, there is Maharashtra Registration Act.
4. MAHARASHTRA REGIONAL AND TOWN PLANNING ACT, 1966-
The Act was enacted by the State Legislature with the object of planning the development and use of land in notified regions by establishing Regional Planning Boards, New Town Development Authorities, and Special Planning Authorities.
The Act was the need of the hour at that time as there was no specific time limit prescribed for the scheme to get implemented, and the development plans that were made were idealistic, which gave no significance to the implementing capacity of the Planning Committee.
The Act, therefore, makes provisions for the preparation of development plans, the appointment of Special Planning Authorities for notified areas, and the creation of new towns for designated areas by means of development authorities. It also makes provision for the compulsory acquisition of land required for public purposes in respect of the plans and for purposes connected therewith.
After the implementation of this Act, changes have been made in the approval of schemes. The Planning Authority declares its intent, devise a draft scheme, which is then submitted for approval to the State Government, and then after certain modifications, the State Government sanctions the scheme.
5. MAHARASHTRA RENT CONTROL ACT, 1999-
This Act aimed to unify the three different Rent Control Laws, in operation in the State of Maharashtra. The new Act, i.e., the Maharashtra Rent Control Act 1999 brought about several changes in the Bombay Rent Control Act.
To manage the issue of high rentals and steep property prices, the Maharashtra government passed this Act in 1999, which aimed to control the rental market in the state and ensure that the interests of both, the tenant and landlords are saved.
This Act does not apply to public sector undertakings, banks, or government buildings.
A Tenant, for the purpose of this Act, means a person by whom or on whose account rent is payable for any premises.
The MCRA has laid down stipulated duties of the landlord and tenant-
1) Rent cannot be increased by more than 4% in a year in Maharashtra. This comes with certain exceptions. Where there is excessive rent, the landlord can be punishable with imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or fine not exceeding Rs. 5,000 or both.
2) The Tenant can be evicted by the landlord if the Court is satisfied that the cause for such recovery of possession of premises is reasonable and genuine. The landlord can recover possession of the premises, if the tenant, has without prior authorization, constructed a permanent structure on the rented premises.
3) The landlord has to meet several conditions for the rebuilding process and also the responsibility for maintenance and repair of the premises falls on the tenant.
4) As per the provisions of the Registration Act , 1908 , the landlord and the tenant should register the rent agreement.
5) Section 31 states that rent receipts to the tenants must be provided mandatorily by the Landlords. Failing to do so, the landlord may be fine up to Rs.100 for each day of default.
Section 24 of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act of 1999 is very important as it states, after the expiration of the duration or cancellation if License fails to vacate the premises then Licensor can approach the Competent Authority for the recovery of possession of the licensed premises and can also get the damages from the Licensee.
6. BOMBAY STAMP ACT, 1958-
The Bombay Stamp Act, 1958 came into force on 16th Feb, 1959 and is applicable in the State of Maharashtra. The Act is intended to levy stamp duty on certain types of documents executed in the state or brought from outside for acting upon the same in the state. The Bombay Stamp Act levies stamp duty on documents or instruments by which any right or liability is, or purports to be created, transferred, limited, extended, extinguished or recorded.
Stamp Duty is payable on Instruments/Documents and not on transactions. There are sixty-three documents that attract Stamp Duty under this act; some of which are Agreements, Conveyances, Exchange, Gifts, Certificate of Sale, Deed of Partition, Bill of Exchange, Bill of Lading , Debenture, Proxy , Receipt, Transfer, etc.
Stamp Duty is payable on instruments before or at the time of execution. The stamp duty is to be paid by the Purchaser, or lessee, or the parties in equal share, depending upon the transaction.
Written By,
Nidhi Bhandari,
Intern, Chanchlani Law World
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