Relief in sight for 50,000 Noida flat buyers as authority plans new agreement

Around 50,000 families living in different apartments of Noida and Greater Noida without any legal documents for their flats are likely to get respite as the authorities have planned signing of a "sub lease agreement" to ward off legal hassles, officials said Wednesday.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration said an "agreement for sub lease" between buyers and builders could be signed if there is a delay in getting other documents.

Officials said the move will help the government get up to Rs 1,300 crore in stamp duty.

The Stamp and Registration Department has carried out a comprehensive survey which revealed that several builders have given possession to buyers but no legal deed was registered in the name of allottees, District Magistrate Brajesh Narain Singh said.

Several buyers were facing problems due to lack of legal recognition and running from pillar to post to get their issues resolved. A couple of months back, the builders, who were found violating the relevant laws, were issued notices and FIRs were registered against 30 such offenders but despite that only six builders issued 'transfer deeds' to their buyers, he said.

"When contacted, these builders said they have dues pending to the local authorities which is why they are not getting the no objection certificates and completion certificates (which are required to give buyers the occupancy certificate)," he said.

He said the district administration held a meeting Wednesday with several builders and developers where this solution -- of having a sub-lease agreement as mentioned in the Stamp Act -- was arrived at.

"An instrument -- agreement to lease -- could be made which would be duly registered at the stamp office and get acknowledge. A stamp duty of 5 per cent (of the house cost) would be paid for it," Singh said.

"As of today there are around 50,000 people living in flats without having any legal instrument of possession and causing an approximate Rs 1,300 crore loss in the form of Stamp Duty," he added.

So, when this instrument is done, their possession would get legally acknowledged by the Stamp Department, Singh said, adding whenever the builders clear their dues to the authorities then another instrument would be signed, during which the buyer will have to pay only Rs 50 as per the law.

"It is a win-win situation for both the buyers as well as builders/ developers," he said.

It has been decided that for flats where possession has been given by the builders without any 'transfer deed' getting registered, those buyers now have an opportunity to now get an 'agreement for sub lease' registered with their builders in the next two months, Singh said.

"Failure to do so will attract strictest of actions against the builders or developers of the flats," he warned.

Noting that in Noida and Greater Noida, it's a tripartite agreement with the local authority also being involved, he said, "This could be an important step toward resolving this issue."