The documents to check before buying property in Punjab

Most painful property stories start the same way: token money paid before the paperwork was read. This is the checklist we work through before recommending any purchase.

Title and ownership

• Registry (sale deed) in the seller’s name, and ideally the chain of previous deeds.
• Jamabandi (record of rights), the revenue record showing current ownership; for agricultural land, also check khasra numbers match what is being shown on the ground.
• Mutation (intkal), confirms the last transfer was recorded by the revenue department, not just registered.

Encumbrances and dues

• A non-encumbrance certificate for the recent period, showing no registered mortgage or lien.
• Property tax and, in colonies, development or maintenance dues cleared to date.
• If the plot was allotted by an authority (GMADA, PUDA, an improvement trust), the allotment letter, payment schedule and a no-dues certificate from that authority.

For built property

• Sanctioned building plan, and whether what stands matches it.
• Completion or occupation certificate where the local body issues one.
• For flats: the RERA registration of the project and the builder-buyer agreement.

None of this replaces a lawyer, a proper title search at the sub-registrar’s office is cheap insurance on a large purchase. What the checklist does is tell you, before you fall in love with a property, whether there is anything a lawyer will need to untangle.