Which Documents Have to be Registered Under Sec 17 of Registration Act?

The Indian Registration Act of 1908 is an Act that was meant to consolidate the enactments and customary laws relating to the registration of documents. Registration is meant to conserve information related to the title of a property through the years. Sec 17 of the Registration Act enlists the documents for which registration is compulsory, such as sale deeds and rent agreements.

Sec 17 of Registration Act is the definitive source to determine which documents have to be registered. While the registration fees may vary from State to State, the duty to register these documents is imposed across the country.

Which documents does Sec 17 of the Registration Act specifically mention?

Sec 17 of the Registration Act mentions many documents for which registration is mandatory, which are as follows:

• Clause A of Sec 17 of the Registration Act states that “instruments of the gift of immovable property” must be registered. This means that gift deeds relating to immovable property must compulsorily be registered.

• Clause B of Sec 17 of the Registration Act mentions “other non-testamentary instruments which purport to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards, to or in immovable property.”

• This refers to the immovable property with a value greater than Rs. 100 transferred through a non-testamentary instrument. In essence, this clause of the Sec 17 of the Registration Act refers to all forms of transferring property apart from wills.

• Clause C of the Sec 17 of the Registration Act imposes the obligation to register “non-testamentary instruments which acknowledge the receipt or payment of any consideration on account of the creation, declaration, assignment, limitation or extinction of any such right, title or interest.

• This clause of the Sec 17 of the Registration Act is complicated at first glance, but it merely refers to deeds that acknowledge that the consideration has been paid.

• Clause D of the Sec 17 of the Registration Act imposes the same obligation upon leases of immovable property that last for longer than a year or are established from year to year.

The specifics of whether a deed must be registered under Sec 17 of the Registration Act depends on whether the deed comes under the categories mentioned above or other provisions of Sec 17 of the Registration Act. If any doubts persist, consider talking to a lawyer online through ezyLegal.

Sec 17 of Registration Act read with Sec 53-A of Transfer of Property Act

• The combined effect of Sec 17 of the Registration Act and Sec 53-A of the Transfer of Property Act is that an incomplete deed of transfer, though not registered or even attested, is regarded as a contract in writing, provided that such a deed must have been signed by the transferor or his agent.

• An unregistered document that deals with immovable property, which is required by the Transfer of Property Act or Sec 17 of Registration Act to be registered, may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance of the contract.

• It may also be used as evidence of part-performance of a contract for the purposes of Sec 53-A or as evidence of any collateral transaction not required by a registered instrument.

• If the parties execute an unregistered sale deed without prior permission of the competent authority, the transaction will be void, and Sec 53-A will not be applicable.
  

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Sec 17 of Registration Act read with Sec 54 of Transfer of Property Act.

• The combined effect of Sec 17 of Registration Act and Sec 54 of Transfer of Property Act is that a contract of sale in respect of immovable property, the value of which is more than Rs. 100, without registration, cannot extinguish the equity of redemption. 

• “Equity of redemption” refers to the legal right to own property after having paid a mortgage on it, even if some payments were late.

• In India, it is only on execution of the conveyance and registration of transfer of the mortgagee’s interest by a registered instrument that the mortgagor’s right of redemption will be extinguished. 

• Conferring the power to sell, without intervention of the Court, in a mortgage deed by itself will not deprive the mortgagor of his right to redemption. The exhaustion of the right to redemption has to be subsequent to the deed conferring such power. 

• The right of redemption is not extinguished at the expiry of the period of the mortgage. The equity of redemption is not extinguished by a contract of sale that transfers the title away from the mortgagor.

How to register a deed

Normally, transferring the title to a property under Sec 17 of the Registration Act would require going through a time-consuming registration process. ezyLegal has a service to solve this issue. The steps for this are as follows: 

1. Create a deed: To register a deed, you would need a deed, to begin with. Get a deed drafted by a verified lawyer.

2. Get witnesses’ signature on the deed: The deed will require signatures from 2 witnesses to prove that it is authentic.

3. Discuss your requirements with a lawyer: Schedule a call with ezyLegal’s team of lawyers and discuss your requirements with them.

4. Estimate the value of the property being transferred: Estimate the value of the property being transferred, as stamp duties and registration fees are often dependent on the value of the property.

5. Pay the stamp duty: Pay the necessary stamp duty amount to avoid having the deed vitiated on technical grounds.

6. Schedule an appointment at the Sub-Registrar’s Office: Choose a date and time to get your deed registered at the Sub-Registrar’s office.

7. Pay registration fees at the Sub-Registrar’s Office: Pay the necessary registration fees, which are usually calculated on the value of the property being gifted.

8. Present relevant documentation at the Sub-Registrar’s Office: Present the required documents, which include the original deed, photographs of the parties and the witnesses, the Aadhar card of both parties, and other documents.

9. Registrar will officially record your Deed: After all this, the Registrar will record your deed, which legitimizes it in the eyes of the law.
   

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Conclusion

Sec 17 of the Registration Act governs the registration of different documents. It lays down an obligation to register these documents with the Sub-Registrar’s Office, failing which the deed would be rendered void. Partition deeds, sale deeds, and gift deeds are a few of the many documents that have to be registered.