Best Builder Not Executing Sale Deed or Registry Lawyer

You've been living in the flat for three, five, sometimes eight years. You pay the maintenance, the electricity bills come in your name, your children have grown up there. But on paper, the flat still isn't yours. The builder has never executed the sale deed, and every time you ask, there's a new reason: the occupancy certificate for the last tower is pending, the development authority hasn't issued the "no dues" letter, the stamp duty rates are being revised, "registries will start next quarter".

This is one of the most widespread problems in the NCR, and especially in Noida and Greater Noida, where tens of thousands of families were stuck without registries for years. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 makes executing the conveyance deed a clear legal duty of the builder. This page explains what the law requires, why registries get stuck, and what you can do.

Why the registry matters

Buyers sometimes think of the registry as a formality they'll get round to eventually. It isn't. Until a registered conveyance deed is executed in your favour, your title to the flat is incomplete. In practical terms, that can mean:

• You can't sell the flat cleanly. Buyers and their banks want a registered title chain. Resales without a registered deed are usually done through transfers endorsed by the builder or through general power of attorney arrangements, which carry real risk. The Supreme Court held in Suraj Lamp and Industries v. State of Haryana (2011) that sale agreements and powers of attorney don't transfer title to immovable property.
• You may struggle to borrow against the flat, or to transfer a home loan to another bank.
• Mutation and property tax records may not be in your name.
• Inheritance becomes more complicated. Heirs of an owner without a registered deed have to deal with the builder, not the land records.
• You're exposed to the builder's problems. If the builder goes into insolvency or its land dues remain unpaid, an unregistered flat is more vulnerable.

What the law says

Section 11(4)(f) of the Act makes the promoter responsible for executing a registered conveyance deed of the apartment, plot or building in favour of the allottee, along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of allottees or the competent authority, as provided in Section 17.

Section 17(1) then says the promoter shall execute a registered conveyance deed in favour of the allottee, along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association, and hand over physical possession of the unit to the allottee and the common areas to the association, together with the relevant documents and plans, in its possession. It adds that in the absence of any local law, the conveyance deed in favour of the allottee shall be carried out by the promoter within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate.

So once the occupancy certificate has been issued, the builder has a clear legal duty to execute the deed, and where local law doesn't set a different procedure or timeline, three months is the deadline.

Your side of the bargain is in Section 19(11): allottees must participate towards registration of the conveyance deed. In practice, that means paying the stamp duty and registration fees at government rates, and any lawful dues under the agreement, and turning up to sign.

Why registries get stuck

No occupancy certificate

Some buyers were given possession, or took it, without an occupancy certificate. Without the certificate, the sub-registrar won't register the deed in many cases, and the builder can't lawfully complete the transfer. The root problem is the missing certificate. See our page on possession without OC.

The builder owes money to the development authority

This is the main reason in Noida and Greater Noida. Land in these cities is allotted to builders on lease by the development authorities. The builder pays for the land in instalments, and many builders fell badly behind on those payments. The authorities have generally refused to allow registries of flats in projects where the builder's land dues are outstanding, because the buyer's deed depends on the builder's own lease.

Licence or EDC dues in Haryana

In Haryana, builders develop under licences from the Department of Town and Country Planning and owe external development charges and other dues. Unpaid dues, licence renewal problems or disputes can hold up conveyance deeds.

Mortgage of the project land

If the builder mortgaged the land or the project to a lender, the lender's consent or release may be needed before units can be conveyed free of the mortgage.

Disputes about final dues

Sometimes the builder refuses to execute the deed until the buyer pays disputed final charges. That's a separate problem, but it often travels with the registry problem.

How registry works in Noida and Greater Noida

Buyers in Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway area should understand one point that often causes confusion. The land in most group housing projects there is leasehold. The development authority grants a long lease of the land to the builder. When a buyer's "registry" is done, it is usually a tripartite sub-lease deed between the authority, the builder and the buyer, which transfers the builder's leasehold interest in the flat and a share of the land to the buyer.

That's why the authority's role is so central. If the builder's lease is in default because of unpaid dues, the authority has been reluctant to join in sub-leases to buyers. For years, this left a very large number of buyers living in completed flats without registries.

In 2023, the Uttar Pradesh government adopted a package for legacy stalled projects in Noida and Greater Noida, based on the recommendations of a committee chaired by Amitabh Kant. Broadly, it allowed builders relief on part of their dues and required them to pay a portion upfront, with registries of flats to be permitted in proportion. Registries in many stuck projects started after that. Whether your project has benefited, and on what terms, depends on whether your builder opted in and paid. If your project is still stuck, it's worth finding out where your builder stands under that package and what the authority's position is.

What you can ask RERA for

• A direction to execute the conveyance deed, or the sub-lease deed, within a fixed time, on payment of stamp duty and lawful dues by you.
• A direction to obtain the occupancy certificate, where that's the missing piece, and to provide it to you.
• A direction to clear encumbrances, such as obtaining the lender's release where the project is mortgaged.
• Setting aside conditions the builder has attached to the registry that aren't lawful, such as unexplained "registration charges" or disputed final dues.
• Compensation for losses caused by the delay in registry, such as a lost sale, before the adjudicating officer.
• Penalties if the builder ignores directions.

Authorities in the NCR have issued registry directions in large numbers. The practical difficulty, particularly in Noida and Greater Noida, has been that a direction to the builder doesn't automatically resolve the builder's dispute with the development authority. That's why the strategy often involves both the builder and the authority's position.

Other remedies

• Consumer commissions treat failure to execute a sale deed as a deficiency in service and can direct execution and award compensation.
• Civil suit for specific performance can compel the builder to execute the deed. It's slower, but sometimes necessary where third parties are involved.
• Writ petition in the High Court may be considered where the development authority's own action or inaction is the obstacle and no other effective remedy exists.
• Collective action by the RWA, combining a RERA complaint with representations to the development authority and the state government, has often been what finally moves stuck projects.

How we approach registry delay

1. Find out why it's stuck. Is there an occupancy certificate? Does the builder owe the development authority? Is the land mortgaged? Is there a licence issue?
2. Check your own position. Have you paid everything lawfully due? Are there disputed charges that the builder is using as a reason?
3. Write to the builder, citing Section 17, asking for a date for execution and a list of genuine requirements.
4. Check the development authority's position on the project, including any rehabilitation package.
5. File a complaint seeking a direction for execution, removal of illegal conditions and compensation. Where many buyers are affected, through the association.
6. Follow through with the authority, the sub-registrar and, where needed, other forums.

Registry and the common areas

Section 17 isn't only about your own flat. It also requires the builder to transfer the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of allottees, or the competent authority, and to hand over the common areas, documents and plans. In many NCR societies, years after residents moved in, the builder still holds the land under the common areas, the club and the parking, and still controls key documents such as approved plans, structural drawings and equipment warranties.

That matters for everyone. An association without title to the common areas can't easily insure them, take decisions about them, or stop the builder from changing them. Where individual buyers are pursuing their own registries, it makes sense for the association to pursue the common areas at the same time. See our page on RWA handover.

Registry in Gurugram and the rest of Haryana

In Haryana, the land under most group housing projects is freehold, held by the builder or a land-owning company under a licence from the Department of Town and Country Planning. The registry is a conveyance deed from the builder (and sometimes the land owner) to the buyer, registered with the sub-registrar.

Stuck registries in Haryana usually trace back to one of a few causes: no occupancy certificate for the tower, unpaid EDC or IDC, problems with the licence, a land-owning partner refusing to sign, or the land being mortgaged to a lender without a release. Each needs a different response. A builder that collected EDC from buyers and didn't pay it to the state, for example, may have to be pursued for that amount specifically. Haryana RERA in Gurugram has dealt with many of these issues, and we tailor the complaint to the actual obstacle.

Registry in Delhi

Within Delhi, many residential projects are on land with its own history: DDA allotments, cooperative group housing societies, land pooling schemes, or private freehold land. The registration process, and what counts as "the conveyance deed", varies accordingly. Cooperative society flats, for example, may involve the society's own conveyance and membership records rather than a builder's deed. If your problem is with a builder in Delhi, the same Section 17 principles apply. If it's with a society or a public body, the route may be different.

After the registry

Once your deed is registered, a few follow-up steps protect you:

• collect the registered original and keep certified copies;
• apply for mutation in the municipal or development authority records, so property tax and records are in your name;
• if you have a home loan, give the bank the registered deed so it can update its security;
• update your electricity and water connections into your name if they aren't already; and
• keep the occupancy certificate and the builder's no-dues letter with the deed.

Builder conditions on registry: what's fair and what isn't

Builders often attach conditions before they'll schedule a registry. Some are fair. Some aren't.

Usually fair:

• payment of the last instalment and lawful dues under the agreement;
• payment of stamp duty and registration fees to the government, often through the builder's documentation team;
• a reasonable documentation fee, if the agreement provides for it;
• submission of identity documents, photographs and, for loan cases, the bank's consent.

Often not fair:

• payment of disputed final charges, such as super area increases or escalation, as a condition of registry;
• a "registry fee" that isn't in the agreement and isn't explained;
• payment of the builder's own land dues or penalties to the development authority;
• signing an indemnity or a waiver of claims for delay or defects;
• clearance of maintenance dues claimed by the builder's own maintenance company for a period when services weren't properly provided.

If you're faced with an unfair condition, write to the builder disputing it, offer to pay what's lawfully due, and ask the authority to direct registry on that basis. Paying under protest to get the deed done, and claiming the money back later, is also a legitimate choice where the registry is urgent, for example because of a pending sale.

Waiting for a scheme versus going to RERA

Buyers in projects stuck because of the builder's dues sometimes ask whether there's any point filing a complaint, or whether they should simply wait for a government scheme to fix it. Our view is that the two aren't alternatives. Schemes depend on the builder opting in and paying. A RERA order directing the builder to execute the deed, with penalties for non-compliance, adds pressure on the builder to do exactly that. Associations that combined complaints with representations to the authority and the state have generally seen movement sooner than those that waited.

Where to file

The complaint goes to the RERA authority of the state where the project is: UP RERA for Noida, Greater Noida, the Yamuna Expressway and Ghaziabad; Haryana RERA in Gurugram or Panchkula; Delhi RERA for Delhi. Associations can file for all members together.

Registry for resale buyers and heirs

Two groups of people often find themselves stuck in a particularly awkward position.

Resale buyers before registry. If you bought a flat from the original allottee before the builder executed any deed, your claim depends on the builder having endorsed the transfer to you. Keep the builder's transfer letter, the receipt for any transfer fee, and the original allottee's documents. When the builder finally schedules registries, it should execute the deed directly in your favour. If it insists on executing first in the original allottee's name, that creates two sets of stamp duty and unnecessary risk. Ask for a direct deed.

Heirs of an allottee who has died. If the original allottee has passed away, the heirs need to establish their entitlement to the builder, usually through a succession certificate, a probated will, or a registered relinquishment by other heirs, depending on the facts. Builders sometimes use this as another reason to delay. Prepare the succession papers early, and ask the builder in writing what it needs. If it keeps changing its requirements, that conduct can itself be raised before the authority.

Our approach in short

We start by finding out exactly why your registry is stuck, because the answer decides the strategy. Then we deal with your own side, making sure what's lawfully due is paid or tendered, and with the builder, through a notice and a complaint seeking execution within a fixed time, removal of unfair conditions and compensation. Where the obstacle lies with the development authority, we work with the association on that front too.

An illustration

A simplified, made-up example.

A buyer took possession of a flat in Greater Noida West in 2018, after the occupancy certificate was issued for her tower. She paid the final demand and has paid maintenance since. By 2023 the builder still hadn't executed the sub-lease deed, citing outstanding land dues to the development authority. She received an offer from a buyer for the flat but lost it because the purchaser's bank wouldn't lend without a registered deed.

She has a clear claim under Section 17 for execution of the deed. Her complaint can ask for a direction to the builder to clear the obstacle and execute the deed within a fixed time, and she can claim compensation for the lost sale with the evidence of the offer and the bank's refusal. In parallel, she or her association can check whether the builder has opted into the state's package for legacy projects and, if it has, press for registries to be released in proportion to the dues paid.

Documents to gather

• Allotment letter and agreement for sale
• Possession letter and the date you took possession
• The occupancy certificate for your tower, or a note that none has been issued
• Payment receipts, including the final demand and its payment
• Letters or emails asking for registry, and the builder's replies
• Any communication from the builder or the development authority about dues or the rehabilitation package
• Evidence of any loss caused by the delay, such as a cancelled sale or refused loan
• Maintenance bills and utility bills showing you've been in possession

Your costs at registry

When the deed is finally executed, you'll pay stamp duty and registration fees at the rates in force at the time of registration, under the state's stamp law. The builder may also charge a reasonable documentation fee if the agreement provides for one. Watch for charges that don't belong to you: the builder's own land dues, penalties the development authority has levied on the builder, or unexplained "administration" fees. If the builder's delay has pushed your registration into a period of higher stamp duty or circle rates, that additional cost may also be a loss you can claim.

Frequently asked questions

How soon must the builder execute my conveyance deed?

Under Section 17, where local law doesn't provide otherwise, within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate.

The builder says registry is held up by the development authority. Is that my problem?

Not legally. The builder's dues to the authority are the builder's obligation. In practice, the authority's position affects how quickly a registry can happen, which is why strategy often involves both.

Can I sell my flat without a registry?

Transfers are sometimes done through the builder's endorsement or through power of attorney arrangements, but these don't transfer full title. The Supreme Court has said agreements to sell and powers of attorney don't convey title to property. Buyers and their banks are increasingly unwilling to deal on that basis.

Can RERA direct the registry even if the builder owes the authority money?

RERA can direct the builder to execute the deed and clear obstacles. Whether the development authority will join in or allow registration is a separate question that may need to be pursued alongside.

Who pays stamp duty?

The buyer, at the rates in force on the date of registration. The builder can't pass on its own dues to the authority as part of your registration costs.

Can our RWA file one complaint for all flats?

Yes. An association of allottees can complain, and for project-wide registry problems that's often the most effective route.

Is there a deadline for me to complain about registry?

The Act doesn't set a fixed limitation period for RERA complaints, and the failure to execute the deed is a continuing breach. It's still better to act sooner rather than later.

I bought in resale through a builder transfer. Am I entitled to a registry?

Yes, if the builder endorsed the transfer to you as allottee. Your claim to the conveyance deed follows the allotment.

General information about conveyance deeds under Section 17 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. State schemes for stalled projects change; check the current position. Not legal advice.