Buyers of apartment flats, as a matter of fact, do not buy a structure alone ─ they also buy a part of the land upon which that structure stands as a part of the deal.
This ownership over land is known as a homebuyer’s undivided share in the land (USL).
Now, this is precisely why the value of such a property i.e. an apartment unit increases with time, despite the fact the structure gets old day by day and its condition deteriorates by and by.
The legality of a housing project also depends on whether UDS is in compliance with the FSI (floor space index) permitted to the developer
. A look at your undivided share in land and such detail would reveal the illegality of a structure.
In case you are taking a home loan, the bank will look for the UDS while granting you credit.
In case you are buying a property in resale, they will check for the share certificate from your housing society along with other documents to process your request for a home loan.
At the time of property registration, too, the sub-registrar would check the share certificate.
The property/home loan insurer would go for a similar exercise.
At the time of property registration, the buyer has to pay the stamp duty for both, the UDS and the structure. In some states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, for instance, buyers of under-construction properties have to pay the stamp duty in two tranches.
First, the property is registered in the name of the buyer, keeping in mind his UDS, referred to as “first ownership”. When the entire structure is complete, the property is registered for the second time, and this time the duty is calculated for the entire property value. Showing a lower UDS in property papers would thus mean lower stamp duty outgo.
the KSRA, most apartment owners also get confused with the Karnataka Ownership Flats Act (KOFA). Promotion, construction, sale, management and transfer of the apartment only.
On the other hand, KAOA was passed to help make apartments heritable, transferable and mortgageable as also to address the management of the property.
- The homeowner under the KAOA is the absolute owner with a clear title of the apartment and its proportional undivided share (UDS).
This is applicable to the commercial properties under the apartment complex