Titling Law to prevent fraud in real estate sector

The system of registration of properties will be replaced by a titling system to reduce frauds. Earlier this year, the Delhi Government had hired a legal firm to draft the Bill. Consultation on it will soon be taken up along with various stakeholders like the real estate companies.

The move, officials feel, is the need of the hour to prevent rampant fraud in the real estate sector. '' In the city one property sometimes gets registered under different names even 17-18 times. The Titling Law will put an end to that,'' said an official.

As of now there is no central system of maintaining records of property ownership because of multiplicity of authorities. The proposed Central Authority under the draft Bill will maintain complete records of all properties and scrutinise the details provided to identify the real owner. These will also be digitised. This will prevent fraudulent claims on ownership of a property as the records will be available for courts to take decisions. Registration of agricultural land, however, will be out of its purview.

The Authority will also function as a Tribunal to look at disputes and an appellate Tribunal too. All data collected by the Titling Auhtority staff will be digitised and Title status of properties registered with it will be put up on a central website for all to see.

''The draft is ready. It will be send to the minister for approval and taken up for discussion with stakeholders like real estate firms. It will then go to the cabinet - which may take about six months' time - and then to the Centre for clearance. Only after all this will the Bill come back to the state and move towards being cleared in the Delhi Assembly to be enacted as the law,” according to the official.

“The USA, UK, European nations, Hong Kong, Singapore and many other countries have Titling laws, so why not us?,” the official asserted.