State sets up panel to record flat owners’ names in land records

Maharashtra forms a committee to create a framework for recording individual apartment ownership in land records, aiding property transactions and loans.

MUMBAI: The state government has constituted a high-level committee to recommend a uniform framework for recording ownership details of individual apartment holders in government land records, a move aimed at easing home loans, property transactions and redevelopment. The committee, chaired by additional chief secretary (revenue) Vikas Kharge, has been tasked with suggesting how names of individual flat owners can be reflected in official land documents such as the 7/12 extract or the Property Register Card, instead of only in cooperative society records.

State sets up panel to record flat owners’ names in land records

At present, most apartment owners in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai’s multi-storeyed buildings, hold ownership proofs such as sale deeds and share certificates issued by housing societies. However, their names are not individually recorded in land revenue documents. This often leads to difficulties in securing bank loans, delays in redeveloping buildings, and opportunities for disputes or procedural hurdles, senior revenue department officials said.

While the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 provides for recording property rights under Sections 149 to 151, the process currently captures only the name of the land-holding entity, typically the cooperative society or developer, not the specific flat owners. There is also no standard approach across cities and districts, and entries for apartments are inconsistent or absent, the government resolution issued on October 30 stated.

The new committee is expected to study legal frameworks and practices adopted by other states for registering vertical property ownership. This comes as the state is finalising new vertical property rules, critical in Mumbai where most residential ownership exists in stacked apartment units rather than horizontal plots.

The committee includes additional chief secretary (Cooperation) Pravin Darade, additional chief secretary (Urban Development–I) Aseem Gupta, principal secretary (Law and Judiciary) Suvarna Kewale, principal secretary (Rural Development) Eknath Dawale, settlement commissioner Suhas Divase, inspector general of registration and controller of stamps Ravindra Binwade, and the deputy secretary (Land Records) as member secretary.

The panel will draft rules to enable recording the ownership of each apartment in multi-storied buildings directly in land records, and clearly define how the underlying land and common areas, such as access spaces and amenities, are to be reflected. It has been directed to submit its report within one month.

Senior officials said the move is expected to streamline mortgage approvals, reduce legal ambiguities in property transactions, and help resolve bottlenecks in redevelopment projects involving older buildings in Mumbai and other urban centres.