BHUBANESWAR: To facilitate smoother sale deed registrations for apartments, the revenue and disaster management department has issued an important notification establishing a fixed fee for the transfer of common areas to the association of allottees under the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023.
Through this notification, amendments have been made to the Registration Act of 1908, introducing a fee of ₹20,000 for the transfer of common areas during the sale deed execution between the promoter and the association of allottees. Previously, the lack of a defined fee led to confusion and issues surrounding property registrations in the state.
The updated Registration Act clearly distinguishes the ownership rights of the association of allottees in common areas. Experts believe this change will alleviate confusion and resolve the delayed registration of sale deeds for new projects that have faced challenges since May 2022.
The notification specifies: “In Article-A, Part-I, clause-1, after sub-clause 1-C of the Table of Fees, the sub-clause ‘1-D’ shall be added: Fees for the registration of the deed of conveyance executed by the promoter for the transfer of common areas and facilities to the association of allottees under the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 will be a fixed fee of ₹20,000.”
It’s noteworthy that property registrations encountered a standstill since May 2022 when the Orissa High Court mandated strict compliance with all statutory requirements, including obtaining the occupancy certificate. This halted the registration process until it partially resumed in April 2024, following the enactment of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023. The stalemate persisted due to the absence of a defined fee for the transfer of common areas in the Registration Act of 1908.
“This is a positive development. The government has amended the Registration Act to support the Apartment Ownership Act, clarifying the ownership and titleship of the association of allottees. However, there remains uncertainty regarding resale within the same project,” noted real estate expert Bimalendu Pradhan.
Pradhan added that while the initial transfer grants titleship to the first buyer through the association of allottees, it is unclear whether this titleship would extend to subsequent buyers during resale, a point not addressed in the recent notification.
