What to do when we have lost Sale deed property document
We all deal with a lot of documents on a regular basis and it is a given that at some point we might lose one. But the worst part is that losing any of such documents can actually be a big hassle. Whether it is a driver’s license or a Passport, a PAN card or property documents – these are all very important with respect to our citizenship and our authenticity.
No matter how well we try to keep these documents safe, misplacing them is extremely common. Sometimes such misplacement can cause us to have monetary or financial losses. While sometimes it impacts us less, losing a document as important as the sale deed of your property can have adverse effects.
What is a sale deed?
A sale deed is the document that carries the most important details related to the sale of a property. This type of document allows a person to sell the property without any hassle. It certifies that the property in question is free from any lien or any encumbrance.
Not just buying or selling, but without such a deed, it is impossible to even get a loan from banks by keeping it as mortgage. Having said that, there have been instances where even the banks have misplaced the sale deeds and that has again caused ruckus.
How to get certified copy of sale deed?
As you might have already guessed it is extremely important to get a sale deed even if you have lost it. You might get a copy of the sale deed from another source. But you must have one of them before you in any case.
Many people don’t know how they can get a copy of the sale deed. In this post we will discuss how one can get the copy of a sale deed. Below is a list of the things which the owner has to do if they have lost their sale deed. We will also tell you how to get a copy of it again.
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File a police report
- The first thing that you have to do is file an FIR with the police. Go to the nearest police station from the place you lost your property document.
- The owner of the deed will have to file the FIR and state that he or she has lost it. To track the status at the time of FIR you will have to provide your mobile phone number.
- Also, make it a point to take a copy of the FIR. The prospective buyers will ask to show it. Even banks can ask to see it in future.
- The Supreme Court has ordered all police stations to upload a copy of the FIR on government portals online within 24 hours. So you can just visit this website and download this copy after entering your details within this account.
- You can go to the government portal and also check the status of your FIR. If any recent developments have been made, you can find it out online.
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Apply for another copy of the deed
- Now you have to apply for another copy of the deed at a local Sub Registrar Office (SRO). The property is registered there and one has to make an application to get a certified copy.
- The registrar office has a scanned copy of the deed with them. However, you will have to follow certain protocols to obtain it they will not give it to you easily.
- They will tell you to first give a notice in the national and regional newspaper regarding the loss of your sale deed. You will have to publish that you have lost your property document.
Place a “lost and found” advertisement
- Now in the “lost and found” section of a regional and national newspaper, you will have to notify that you have lost the sale deed of your house.
- Mention all the details of the document that you have lost and include your contact details. Also, you might need to show the copy of your FIR or an affidavit before placing the advertisement.
- Now once you have placed the ad, just take clippings of the published ad and keep it with you as a proof. Both the FIR and the publishing are important as proofs of loss.
- After placing the ad you will have to wait for 2 to 4 weeks to see if anyone comes to you to return the sale deed. The stipulated time that you have mentioned in the ad, will be the time for which you have to wait.
Now prepare affidavit and have it notarized
After waiting for the stipulated, suppose no one comes to you with the whereabouts of your sale deed, then you can prepare an affidavit on a stamp paper. In this affidavit mention the details of the deed clearly, like the date when you lost it, etc. then sign it. Now attach the police FIR copy and the paper clippings with it. This whole thing now needs to be signed and attested by a public notary.
- Now get the duplicate deed from the SRO To get this, you will have to pay a fee amount at the SRO. Present the attested affidavit to the officials. Make sure to have your FIR copy and paper clippings in there too. Get this whole thing verified and you will get a legal copy of the sale deed once again. From now on this copy will be used in place of the original.
FAQs about Misplaced Deeds and Documents
- During loan approval I had given my sale deed to bank. Now they have lost it. What should I do?Step 1: Now first of all you have to submit a written complaint to the bank regarding this. Keep a copy of their reply with you for later.
Step 2: Lodge an FIR against the bank at your nearest police station. Keep a copy of the FIR with you. Then publish an ad in the newspaper.
Step 3: Get an affidavit from the bank and check whether everything is alright with respect to the mortgage details and the ownership. For this you have to apply for an encumbrance certificate.
Step 4: Now it is your turn to have the bank hand you the sale deed. You can also make the bank pay for all the associated costs for this hassle.
- Can I buy a property that does not have an original sale deed?The answer is yes. You can buy it. You can ask the seller to present you with the copy of the FIR, the newspaper clippings and the report. You can also ask them to show you the certified sale deed. Also take the encumbrance certificate so that you can be sure that there are no discrepancies. Also, it is a must to take a legal or a professional opinion before taking the final decision.
- Will I get home loan if my original sale deed is missing?Sadly the answer is no. even the certified copy of the sale deed will not be able to replace the original copy of the sale deed in this case. You need the original copy but in case if you don’t have, you can still talk to the bank. They will ask you to present a copy of the FIR, an affidavit, the certified copy of the sale deed, etc. before providing you with the loan.
- Is it possible for a non owner of the home to apply for a copy of the sale deed?This is a question whose answer is ambiguous. The documents that the SRO has, come under public domain. Hence it makes sense that any person might be able to access these files and ask for a copy. However, if the person is not the owner, he might not get a certified copy of the same.
If you are a non owner, you might need to give certain details to obtain the sale deed of a property, such as the document number, owner’s name, property schedule info, etc.
Also check if your state provides the details of the sale deeds online or not. This is not to be confused with a copy. Here you will just find the details of sale deeds. You can see the details from here and give it to the authorities.
If some sub registrar officers tell you that they can give the copy to the owner only, you have to file a RTI and know the procedure to obtain it. In the RTI there will be mentioned the procedure you have to follow to obtain the deed.
Final words
A sale deed is one of the most important documents related to your house. If you lose it, you might never be able to get some of the benefits that you were getting. In case of loan providing too, you will have to bear a lot of hassle.
However, with the development of technology, it is becoming increasingly easier to obtain and maintain these documents now.
But even after taking care o the documents a lot, it is possible to simply lose them. If you have lost them, then don’t take it lightly. Immediately file an FIR and take the necessary steps as mentioned above. You might need to spend a lot of money to get through the process.
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