Change property status online, touts may be out

Converting your property from leasehold to freehold will not require going through touts and paying bribe anymore.

Converting your property from leasehold to freehold will not require going through touts and paying bribe anymore.

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The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has made the process online, which is expected to make conversion transparent and tout-free.

To begin with, owners of DDA flats and group housing society flats will be able to apply online for conversion and the services will be extended to built-up properties on plots also. The DDA has built dedicated software for the service, which was inaugurated by union urban development minister Kamal Nath on Friday.

A conversion process should officially take 90 days but applicants end up spending years visiting the DDA office and, in most cases, paying bribes that are reported to have gone up to Rs 1 lakh. The DDA receives 600 conversion applications every month.

If a piece of property is leasehold, it means the leaseholder a lessee and the DDA the owner. The ‘lease’ usually expires after a fixed term. By converting it to freehold, one becomes the complete owner and can use, mortgage or sell it as one wishes.

“This is a major milestone and would not be limited to only DDA flats as we would bring all L&DO (land and development office) properties under online,” Nath said.

The online system is available as link on www.dda.org.in, from where applicants can download a brochure and prepare the required documents. If any document is inadequate or missing, the DDA will respond through email. Then applicants can make online payments and visit the DDA office just once to deposit original documents.