Migration Certificate: All you need to know

A migration certificate is a mandatory document issued by the government authority of India when the seller transfers his property to a buyer. The exchange of property for money requires legal validation in order to avoid any rivalries in the future.

The government keeps a record of all the properties with the name of their owner, known as the title. Once the ownership changes, the property goes under someone else’s ownership, and so does the title. And, to legally finish this process, a migration certificate is required.

Along with the title, there are a couple of rights that also get transferred, including the right to sell, mortgage or gift the property. As the guidelines set by the Regulation Act, to legalise the complete process of transferring the property, it is mandatory to adhere to these rules.

To know further about what is migration certificate is, and how to apply for one, go through this article.

Migration certificate and its procedure

A migration certificate will be issued once the building department schedules and executes a successful inspection of the property and finds that it complies with all applicable housing, electrical, building, plumbing, drainage, and other construction and maintenance-related laws.

If, after the inspection, the inspectors find any violation of the law, then they can issue a non-compliance report which specifies that the owner needs to fix the issues within the next 45 days or the deadline set by the department to get a migration certificate.

The owner of the land will get a copy of the certificate. The original will be kept as a record for the registrar. When the property is sold and handed over to the registrar, who issues a new certificate, the buyer gets the migration certificate.

Stamp duty and other registration fees must be paid to register a conveyance in India. The fees vary from state to state and are based on a portion of the commercial value of the property. Only after you have obtained a churning certificate can you apply for a property conversion.

There are different types of property migration available in India including Sale deeds, Gift deeds, Partition deeds, or Relinquishment deeds.

The procedure for the transfer of property may also change depending on whether the person to whom it passes is still alive or not, and it also depends on whether the testator left a will. If a person passes away without signing any will of his properties, it automatically gets transferred to the class 1 heir, boy or girl. However, if the owner had left any will, the property naturally gets transferred to them.

There are various instruments by which a property owner can transfer his or her property rights to another person during their lifetime, e.g. deeds of gift, deeds of renunciation, deeds of sale or deeds of removal.

Writing format of a Migration certificate

Now that you are aware of what a migration certificate is and what a migration certificate means in Hindi, let’s look at the format of the certificate. In contrast to other countries, the legal system in India makes the transfer of real estate assets a time-consuming, laborious process that requires the submission of appropriate papers. These official documents need to pass through a series of verification procedures and finish all the required legal formalities. Since they differ from state to state, these procedures are made more difficult.

To write a full-proof migration certificate, it is essential to get a NOC (no objection certificate). The owner/applicant should issue a draft according to the format written below and get a non-judicial e-stamp paper from a cooperative bank. A Migration certificate should have the following things in sequence to avoid rejection.

• Name of the applicant/owner 

This includes the complete name of the owner of the property in block letters to avoid confusion.

• Description of the document

This comprises the affidavit, first party name, and second party name (if applicable) of the property issued by the bank.

• Name of the buyer

The complete name of the buyer in big block letters should be mentioned.

• Stamp duty

As mentioned earlier, the applicant needs to get a non-judicial e-stamp paper from the bank and stick it to the migration certificate application.

• Contact details

The complete detail of the property along with the complete detail of the owner, his permanent address, and contact number should be mentioned.

• Signing and sealing

Attach the NoC document with the proper signature of the owner and print the complete draft on stamp paper.

The following documents need to be attached to get your application cleared on the first go.

• Photo ID proof of the owner/seller
• Photo ID proof of the buyer
• Aadhar card/pan card/driving licence of the owner/seller
• Aadhar card/pan card/driving licence of the buyer
• Specifying the value of the flat surface and the partition of land in the declaration of consideration
• Latest income statement of the buyer
• Citizenship of the buyer, as evidenced by a passport or voter identification
• Patta land
• Affidavit of the buyer and seller/holder of the power of attorney
• A duplicate of the power of attorney if any
• GMC or occupancy certificate for flats

The next step after the Migration certificate is property mutation. For the government to acknowledge someone as the owner of a property, they must submit an application to the relevant Tehsildar or municipality officer, or panchayat head with a non-judicial stamp along with a property name transfer. A testimonial and the NoC to start the acquisition are two of the most important documents. After the purchase process is complete, this technique is used to transfer ownership from the buyer to the recipient.

Sample of a migration certificate

Source: Pinterest

The above image is of the most common type of property migration.

Source: Pinterest

This is a sale deed.

Migration certificate importance 

As mentioned above, a migration certificate is a legal document provided by the government when you sell, gift or pass on a property to someone, be its heirs or any other candidate. The Registration Act has made it legal and compulsory for the preservative of real estate property.

A migration certificate is also used to show your innocence in court if you ever find yourself in a legal bind in addition to establishing that there are no objections. For instance, receiving a NoC from your bank or lending institution would allow you to easily gather all the property’s legal documentation once the mortgage has been paid off.

A migration certificate will also assist in removing a property lien. A lien on real estate means that the banks or lending organisations have a legal claim on your home and the authority to sell it to recoup their losses until your obligations are settled.

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