Legal & Documents
What is a Conveyance Deed?
You own your flat. Does anyone own the land underneath it? In a great many Indian buildings, the answer is: still the builder.
The short answer
Conveyance is the transfer of the land and the building — including all common areas — from the builder to your society.
Buying a flat gives you the flat. It does not, by itself, give the residents the land. Until conveyance happens, the builder still holds title to the land your building stands on — and a very large number of Indian societies have never obtained it.
What conveyance transfers
Three things, none of which you get simply by buying a flat:
- Title to the land on which the building stands
- Title to the building itself, and its structure
- The common areas — lobbies, terrace, parking, open space, amenities
Your sale deed gave you your flat and an undivided share of the land. Conveyance gives the society, as a body, the actual title.
In Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) requires the promoter to convey within four months of the society being formed. Many states have similar provisions. Compliance is, to put it politely, patchy.
Why builders don't do it
Unused FSI. If the building did not consume all the permitted floor space, the builder may be able to sell or use the balance — but only while they still hold the land.
Future TDR. Development rights can appreciate. Holding the land keeps them.
Redevelopment control. When the building eventually needs redeveloping — and it will — the person holding the land has enormous leverage.
Parking and terrace. Some builders continue selling parking slots or terrace rights in a building they no longer live near, because they still, technically, own the common areas.
It is not an oversight. In most cases it is a decision.
What it costs you, as a resident
- You cannot redevelop. When the building is 40 years old and needs rebuilding, the society cannot proceed without the landowner. That is the builder.
- The society has no property card in its own name.
- Loans against the property can become complicated.
- The builder may exploit unused FSI — building another tower in your open space, legally.
- Repairs and structural work can require the landowner's consent.
- Flats become harder to sell. A careful buyer's lawyer will ask whether conveyance has been done.
“Has conveyance been completed?”
Ask a resident, not the seller. A well-run society will know immediately, and will be pleased you asked.
If the answer is no — or vague — you are buying into a building whose land belongs to someone else, and whose redevelopment is at that person's mercy. That is not a reason not to buy. It is a reason to know.
How to get conveyance
- Form the society or apartment owners' association. Nothing happens before this.
- Write to the builder, formally, asking them to execute conveyance. Keep the correspondence.
- Collect the documents — the sale deeds of all members, the approved plans, the occupancy certificate, the completion certificate, the property card, the 7/12 or equivalent.
- Agree the stamp duty — payable on the land value.
- Execute and register the conveyance deed.
- If the builder refuses or ignores you: apply for deemed conveyance. In Maharashtra this is a real, working mechanism. Several other states now have equivalents.
Conveyance vs deemed conveyance
| Conveyance | Deemed Conveyance | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does it | The builder, voluntarily, as they are obliged to | The society, unilaterally, when the builder won't |
| When it happens | After the society is formed and all flats are sold. Maharashtra's MOFA requires it within 4 months of society formation. | When the builder has failed, refused, or vanished |
| Who signs | Builder and society | The Competent Authority signs in the builder's place |
| Where you apply | Sub-registrar, as a normal registration | The Competent Authority — in Maharashtra, the District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies |
| Time | Weeks, if the builder cooperates | 6 months to 2 years. Sometimes longer. |
| Cost | Stamp duty + registration on the land value | The same, plus legal costs and a great deal of your time |
| Builder can block it? | They simply don't do it — that's the problem | No. That is the entire point of the mechanism. |
Deemed conveyance exists because ordinary conveyance so often didn't happen. Maharashtra pioneered it. If a builder had reliably done what they were obliged to do, the law would never have needed inventing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a conveyance deed in a housing society?
The registered document by which the builder transfers title in the land, the building and the common areas to the society formed by the flat owners. Buying a flat does not, by itself, give the residents the land — conveyance does.
Why do builders delay conveyance?
Because the land is worth keeping. Unused FSI can be sold or used, development rights appreciate, and the person holding the land controls any future redevelopment. Some builders also continue selling parking or terrace rights in buildings they no longer have any presence in. It is rarely an oversight.
What happens if conveyance is never done?
The society cannot redevelop the building without the builder's consent — which becomes a serious problem when the building is 40 years old. The society has no property card in its own name, loans become complicated, and the builder may exploit unused FSI by building in your open space. Flats also become harder to sell, because a careful buyer's lawyer will ask.
Is conveyance mandatory?
In Maharashtra, MOFA requires the promoter to convey within four months of the society being formed. Several other states have similar provisions. Compliance is patchy — which is precisely why deemed conveyance had to be invented.
Do I own the land under my flat?
You own an undivided share of it, specified in your sale deed. But title to the land as a whole passes to the SOCIETY only on conveyance. Until then, the builder holds it.