Wednesday 20 November 2013

NORMS OF PUBLIC NOTICE FOR PURCHASE OF PROPERTY

NORMS OF PUBLIC NOTICE FOR PURCHASE OF PROPERTY

Readers of newspapers normally come across notices published regarding purchase of immovable properties. Let us analyze and understand the basis and scope of such notices.

Every purchaser of immovable property has to exercise proper care and diligence to ensure that the property to be purchased by him is free from encumbrance, charge, and lispendens. Any failure on the part of purchaser to know whether the property is encumbered or free from encumbrance would land him in problem. Section 55 of Transfer of Property Act,1882 makes it mandatory that the seller is bound to disclose all material defects in the property or in his title thereto, which the seller is aware of and the purchaser is unaware. The seller is obliged to disclose all such information which the buyer cannot discover with ordinary care and prudence. Therefore, the buyer should verify, search and utilize all the avenues available to ascertain whether the property intended to be purchased is free from encumbrance.

Deemed Notice:

The Transfer of property Act puts some onus on purchaser and in certain cases, the purchaser is deemed to have notice of some encumbrance. Section 3 of Transfer of Property Act defines the notice. “A person is said to have notice of a fact, when he actually knows the fact, but also when he should have known the fact by diligence search, enquiries without gross negligence”. The Section explains that when registration of a document concerning any transaction of an immovable property is mandatory and accordingly the document has been registered, any person acquiring such property or any part thereof or any share or interest in the said property shall be deemed to have information of the registered document. The Section further states that if any person is in actual possession of the property agreed to be purchased, the purchaser is deemed to have notice of encumbrance. Even if the agent of the purchaser acting on behalf of purchaser has the knowledge of any encumbrance on the property, the purchaser is deemed to have such notice. 

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Types of Notices:

There are three kinds of notices: 

1. Actual notice when a person has the knowledge of actual fact. 
2. Constructive notice where the information is available on proper enquiry and search. 
3. Notice to the agent of the purchaser, where the information is given or received by the agent in the course of his ordinary duties, whether he communicates it to his principal or not. Notice to the active partner of a firm has the effect of notice to the firm. 

Purchaser’s Obligation: 

Most of the encumbrance may be discovered by verification of records at jurisdictional Sub-registrar’s offices and from such other relevant documents. It is obligatory on the part of all purchaser to verify the title as recorded in registers of jurisdictional Sub-registrar’s office and any omission to exercise this will amount to negligence. Just relying on encumbrance certificate issued by registering authority is not enough. Registration of a document operates as a notice. 

As mentioned above, actual possession of property by a person other than the seller also operates as notices of title. So the purchaser should invariably inspect the property and ascertain that it is in possession of the seller or the occupant will vacate the property before registration and the seller has every right to get it vacated. There are various instances, where properties are leased, but lease deeds are not registered. Specific Relief Act 1963, under Section 19 also recognizes ‘possession’ as a notice. 

It is the duty of the purchaser to make out a clear marketable title of the property. The advocate of the purchaser has to find out from various sources as to whether there are any pending litigations. Proper enquires should also be made as to the claims of dependants under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956. 

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Public Notice:

After exhausting all the means referred to above, the purchasers should also give a public notice of his intention to purchase the property and call for any objections from persons having claim over the property. There may be subsisting encumbrance, which are not registered and which cannot be discovered like prior agreement to sell. Therefore, issue of a public notice would help the purchaser to a certain extent to know the existence of prior encumbrance, if any. The purchaser may publish the notice generally after sale agreement is executed. The notice has to be published in two dailies one in English and another in the vernacular language, which have wide circulation in the area where the property is situated. 

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A notice is an announcement or information and sometimes acts as a caution. The notices prescribed under various Acts have a definite language and format. In most of other cases there is no hard and fast rule about the format. The requirements of a notice are : it must be certain and clear with definite information to bind the party who issues notices and to enable the other to act upon it. 

The notice contains the intention of the purchaser to purchase the property; the execution of the sale agreement and also the description and detailed schedule of the proposed property. The notice should invite people having interest in the property to file objections, if any, with documentary evidence with the purchaser or his advocate within a stipulated time. 

The notice should also state that in case no objections are received within the stipulated time, the sale process will continue treating the property as unencumbered and no objections will be entertained thereafter. 

Notice to the public is only a precautionary measure and it is not binding on any one having interest in the property. They may ignore the notice and many might not see the notice at all. The public notice serves as a notice to the general public that `the purchaser is a bona fide purchaser of the property. Interested parties may prefer to lodge objections within the stipulated time. 

Objections received may be verified along with the document in possession of such people claming interest to ascertain their genuineness. Advocates though well experienced in tracing the title cannot make out existence of prior agreements, any mortgage by way of deposit of title deeds and pending court cases, if any. Public notice may help the purchaser to know whether there is any claimant for the property under consideration. If any claimant files objections the purchaser may request the seller to sort out the dispute before completion of the sale process or may cancel the dealing.

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