Noida residents rush to register properties

After the UP assembly’s approval to a 2% hike in property registration fee on March 8, buyers are in a rush to get their properties registered before the decision comes into effect.

After the state assembly’s approval to a 2% hike in property registration fee on March 8, buyers are in a rush to get their properties registered before the decision comes into effect. As the registration fee is levied on the total cost of the property, there is a substantial increase in the amount property buyers will now have to pay.

Staff members of the Noida authority and the stamp and registration department are finding it hard to deal with the increased workload. (Burhaan Kinu /HT Photo)

The state cabinet had passed the proposal for the hike on March 2 and the assembly had subsequently approved it on March 8. Now, a buyer will have to pay 7% of a property’s total value as registration fees instead of the earlier 5%. This decision applies to Gautam Budh Nagar as well. Unlike neighbouring municipalities of Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr, buyers in Gautam Budh Nagar had to earlier pay only 5% registration fee as Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas come under industrial cities, according to officials.

The rush among buyers to get their properties registered is such that the staff of Noida authority and stamp and registration department is finding it difficult to handle the increased workload. Buyers too are facing inconvenience as overworked officials are unable to devote ample time to each case.

The Gautam Budh Nagar stamp and registration department usually conducts 40-50 property registrations on a regular day. “However, since the UP government’s announcement of the 2% hike in registration fee on March 2, we are doing 160-180 registries a day,” said SK Singh, assistant inspector general, stamp and registration department, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Presently, 400-500 applications are coming from buyers for registry every day and the registration and stamp department is cashing in on the rush. “We have a target of earning Rs. 172 crore as revenue in March. This is the biggest target in a year fixed by the UP government and due to the enthusiasm among homebuyers we will easily meet the same. Without this rush, we would not have met this goal,” said Rajesh Yadav, additional district magistrate (ADM), Gautam Budh Nagar.

“Buyers are in a hurry because they do not want to pay extra. Our staff is working even after office hours to help buyers in getting registries done,” said SC Gaur, chief architect and town planner, Noida authority.

As per procedure, a buyer has to take along a Noida authority and builder representative to the registration department for execution of registry.

“We are facing problems as there are only two dedicated representatives of the Noida authority for this job. There should be a better system to reduce the time involved in registry,” said Amardeep Kaushik, a house owner.