CHANDIGARH: In a significant move to enhance property rights and resolve longstanding legal ambiguities, the Punjab government has rolled out substantial reforms aimed at benefiting residents of cooperative housing societies.
Following the directives of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also oversees the Cooperation Department, the government has approved a comprehensive framework intended to streamline the registration process for cooperative housing properties, making it both affordable and legally secure, while ensuring proper recovery of stamp duty for the state.
An official statement released on Tuesday indicated that the state has implemented extensive measures to formalize property transactions in cooperative housing societies, many of which have remained unregistered for decades. “The Chief Minister has endorsed a set of reforms that guarantee formally registered, legally secure, and financially accessible property transactions for citizens, while also preserving the state’s revenue interests,” the statement noted.
Regarding key provisions, the statement explained that original allotment instruments executed by cooperative housing societies for their original members are completely exempt from stamp duty.
“Such registrations will be allowed at face value, requiring only a nominal registration fee,” the statement added. This exemption also extends to legal heirs, spouses, and eligible family members as defined by the Department of Revenue, ensuring genuine successor cases are adequately protected.
To further assist thousands of families in obtaining clear legal title to their homes, the government has introduced reduced, time-bound stamp duty rates for non-original allottees and transferees, which were announced on January 12.
“With this decision, stamp duty has been set at 1% for registrations completed by January 31, 2026, 2% for those by February 28, 2026, and 3% until March 31, 2026. After this period, standard stamp duty rates will revert,” the statement elaborated.
The government has also established a statutory cap on transfer fees charged by cooperative housing societies, ensuring that members are not subjected to arbitrary or excessive fees during transfer or registration.
This initiative aims to address the long-standing issue of unregistered properties in cooperative housing societies, leaving families without clear legal ownership and vulnerable to disputes. The reforms are designed to ensure legally secure ownership, lawful collection of stamp duty for the state, incentives for registration rather than coercive measures, and protection against unreasonable transfer fees.
