Start here Sale deed registration in Kerala, start to finish Every step of registering a sale deed (aadharam) in Kerala, from the first title check to mutation, with what each step costs and how long it takes. Our complete guide. Read the full guide →

All Registration Costs & tax Title & documents Land records Inheritance Gift & family NRI Land & approvals Flats & builders Loans & selling Bengaluru

Costs & tax Stamp duty and registration charges in Kerala (2026), with examples Kerala charges 8% stamp duty and 2% registration fee on the higher of price or fair value. Rates by deed type, with worked examples. Read guide → Title & documents What is an encumbrance certificate, and why check 30 years, not 13 An EC lists every registered deal on a plot. Why a 13-year search can miss a mortgage or an earlier sale, and why 30 years costs about ₹150 more. Read guide → Title & documents How to apply for an EC online in Kerala, step by step Get a digitally signed encumbrance certificate from the Kerala Registration Department's PEARL portal: what you need, what it costs, and the mistakes that cause a wrong EC. Read guide → Land records Thandaper explained: what it is and how to get it in your name Your thandaper is your land tax account at the Village Office. Why a registered deed isn't enough without it, and how to get it moved to your name. Read guide → Land records Pokkuvaravu (mutation) after buying land in Kerala: full guide Kerala now has three mutation routes: auto-mutation, mutation before registration, and the old manual way. Which applies to your land, and what to do in each. Read guide → Costs & tax Fair value vs sale price: why your stamp duty went up Kerala charges stamp duty on the higher of your price or the government's fair value. How fair value works, where to check it, and why under-reporting the price backfires. Read guide → Land & approvals Paddy and wetland data bank: check before you pay an advance Land in Kerala's paddy and wetland data bank can be bought but usually not built on. How to check, what a Form 5 removal involves, and why the seller's word isn't enough. Read guide → Title & documents 12 documents to check before buying land in Kochi The 12 papers to see before you pay an advance on land in Kochi, what each one proves, and the red flag to look for in each. Read guide → Flats & builders Buying a flat in Kochi: occupancy certificate, K-RERA and undivided share A flat in Kochi is really two things: a share of land and a unit in a building. The checks for each, and why Maradu still matters. Read guide → NRI How NRIs can buy or sell property in Kerala without flying home You don't need to be at the Sub-Registrar Office to buy or sell in Kerala. What NRIs can buy, how a power of attorney works, and the tax trap when an NRI sells. Read guide → NRI Power of attorney for NRIs: attestation abroad and stamping in Kerala A POA signed abroad must be attested properly and stamped in Kerala within three months of arriving. Miss that and the SRO can refuse it. How to get it right first time. Read guide → Gift & family Gift deed vs settlement deed: transferring property within the family Passing land to a child or sibling in Kerala costs a fraction of a sale. When to use a gift deed, a settlement deed or a will, and the one clause parents forget. Read guide → Inheritance Selling inherited property in Kerala: heirship papers and every heir's consent Before inherited land can be sold, the heirs have to be proven, the records moved into their names, and every one of them has to sign. The order that works. Read guide → Costs & tax TDS on property purchase: who deducts, how much and when Buying property worth ₹50 lakh or more? You must deduct 1% TDS and deposit it. What changed under the new Income-tax Act in April 2026, and the mistakes buyers make. Read guide → Land records Old survey number vs re-survey number: fixing mismatches Kerala's land is being remeasured village by village, and survey numbers are changing. How to match old and new numbers, and what to do when the extent shrinks. Read guide → Registration What happens at the Sub-Registrar Office on registration day What to bring, who must be there, and what happens at the counter on the day your deed is registered in Kerala, so nothing sends you home empty-handed. Read guide → Loans & selling Buying property with a home loan: registration and bank paperwork With a home loan, the bank checks the title too, pays the seller directly and keeps your original deed. How to line up the bank and the registration so neither waits on the other. Read guide → Land & approvals CRZ rules for backwater properties in Kochi Coastal Regulation Zone rules decide what you can build near Kochi's sea, backwaters and islands. What changed with Kerala's 2019-based plan, and how to check a plot before you buy. Read guide → Costs & tax Total cost of registering a ₹50 lakh plot in Ernakulam A ₹50 lakh plot in Ernakulam costs about ₹55 lakh to buy once government charges, certificates and fees are added. Line by line, with what changes if the fair value is higher. Read guide → Bengaluru E-Khata in Bangalore: what Malayali buyers need to know Buying in Bengaluru? Without a final e-Khata the sale won't register. What e-Khata is, A-Khata vs B-Khata, and how it differs from the thandaper you know from Kerala. Read guide → Flats & builders Joint development agreements with builders: what landowners must get in writing Giving your land to a builder for a share of flats? The clauses that protect the landowner, the power of attorney trap, and the tax most landowners don't see coming. Read guide → Inheritance When one heir won't sign: your options Five siblings agree to sell, one refuses. What the others can and can't do, from buying the share out to a partition suit, and what each costs in time. Read guide → Inheritance Parent died without a will: who inherits, by community In Kerala, who inherits land when there's no will depends on religion. Hindu, Christian and Muslim rules side by side, with the Kerala-specific twists. Read guide → Inheritance Partition deed vs partition suit: dividing family land Dividing family land by agreement costs little and takes weeks. Dividing it through court takes years. How a partition deed works in Kerala, and what happens when it can't be agreed. Read guide → Inheritance Tharavad and old joint-family property: who owns it now Kerala abolished joint-family ownership in 1976, but tharavad land is still being untangled. Who owns a share today, why the list of owners is longer than you think, and the 2025 ruling on daughters. Read guide → Land records Boundary disputes with neighbours: survey, demarcation, and when to go to court Your neighbour's wall is on your land, or so you think. How to get the boundary officially measured under Kerala's survey law, what the survey can and can't settle, and when it becomes a court case. Read guide → Costs & tax Capital gains tax on selling land in Kerala Selling land or a house in Kerala? How long-term capital gains are taxed in 2026, the 12.5% vs 20% choice for property bought before July 2024, and the exemptions that cut the bill. Read guide → Costs & tax Got an undervaluation notice? What it means under the Kerala Stamp Act Years after registration, the District Registrar says you paid too little stamp duty. Why these notices come, how to respond, and when a one-time settlement helps. Read guide → Title & documents Mother deed (munnadharam) and title verification: reading the chain The seller's deed proves only the last link. Mother deeds (munnadharam) prove the rest. How to read a title chain back 30 years and the gaps that should stop a sale. Read guide → Title & documents Possession certificate and location sketch: what they prove and how to get them Banks, buyers and SROs ask for a possession certificate and a location sketch from the Village Office. What each one proves, how to apply, and why they get delayed. Read guide → Land records Paying land tax online in Kerala Kerala land tax (basic tax) is paid to the Revenue Department, separately from building tax. How to pay it online, what to do if the receipt is in someone else's name, and why arrears hurt a sale. Read guide → Land records Building tax transfer after buying a house: doing it on K-SMART After buying a house or flat in Kerala, the building tax has to move to your name at the local body. How ownership change works on K-SMART, and what happens if you skip it. Read guide → Inheritance Legal heir certificate vs succession certificate: which one you need The Tahsildar's legal heirship (anantharavakasa) certificate and the civil court's succession certificate do different jobs. Which one you need for land, bank deposits and shares. Read guide → Inheritance Registering a will in Kerala: optional, cheap, and worth it A will doesn't have to be registered in Kerala, and there's no stamp duty on it. Why registering it is still worth the small fee, what makes a will valid, and how to keep it safe. Read guide → Inheritance Release deed (ozhimuri): giving up your share in family property A release deed (ozhimuri) lets one co-owner give up their share to the others. When to use one, what it costs within the family, and why it can't be undone easily. Read guide → Gift & family Transferring property between spouses: gift, settlement or joint names Adding your wife's name to the house, or gifting it to your husband: the deed to use in Kerala, what it costs, and the income tax rule most couples don't know. Read guide → Gift & family Can a gift deed be cancelled? A registered gift deed is hard to undo, but not impossible. The narrow legal grounds, the route for senior citizens who aren't being cared for, and what the Supreme Court said in 2025. Read guide → NRI Repatriating property sale proceeds as an NRI Sold property in Kerala and want the money abroad? How much you can send, from which account, the CA certificate the bank needs, and the order to do it in. Read guide → Land & approvals Converting nilam: Form 6 and the 10% conversion fee Land recorded as paddy (nilam) but not in the data bank can be converted with a Form 6 application and a fee of 10% of fair value. Who qualifies, what it costs, and the 25-cent rule the Supreme Court settled in 2025. Read guide → Land & approvals Building permit and occupancy certificate in Kerala A house in Kerala needs a building permit before it's built and an occupancy certificate after. What each proves, how K-SMART changed the process, and what to check before buying a built house. Read guide → Flats & builders Selling a flat in Kochi: the apartment association NOC and no-dues letter Selling your flat? Buyers and banks will ask the apartment association for a no-dues letter. What the association can and can't demand, and how to keep it from holding up the sale. Read guide → Loans & selling Selling property that still has a loan, and loan takeover Your bank holds the original deed, so you can't just sell. How a sale with an outstanding home loan works, how the buyer's bank pays yours, and how a loan takeover differs. Read guide → Loans & selling Agreement for sale (advance agreement) in Kerala: what to put in writing The advance agreement is where most Kerala property disputes start. The clauses that protect buyer and seller, what happens to the advance if the deal falls through, and how long you have to sue. Read guide →

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