9/1/2019 RTI in case of property matters

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RTI in case of Property Matters in Mumbai

By monika - March 30, 2019

Image source: https://bit.ly/2uAjAZl

This article is written by team LawSikho.

How is property as a subject matter covered under

the RTI Act?
The real estate sector is plagued with instances ranging from anomalies in the registration of
the project to circulation of unaccounted money. The real estate market is becoming a pro
buyer market with the advent of Acts like RERA 2016.

The compliances under the act are directed to bring out transparency in the manner in which
promoters/builders operate in the real estate ecosystem. Buyers/consumers must also be
aware of using RTI in property matters to safeguard themselves from any form of malpractices
and corruption in the real estate industry.

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click above

How are property matters covered under RTI?

The RTI Act covers ‘any public authority’ except national security authorities for seeking
information. Therefore, an RTI application can be filed with regard to all matters except in
cases involving national sovereignty. Seeking shelter in any form is a fundamental need in
society. Property matters and disputes are the most commonly dealt with by people on a
regular basis.

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How RTI comes into the picture

The democratic ideal of citizen sovereignty is reflected by the enactment of the Right to
Information Act.

Suppose you buy a plot in a registered township. The end use is mentioned as ‘residential’ in
the land registry deed. However, your investment in the plot of land is not yielding the
expected rate of return prevailing in the industry because there is some confusion regarding
permissions or some such other complications.

Lack of appropriate permission like non-clearance of the map, no permission for diversion from
the town and planning department, changes in zoning, embargo in new constructions in a
certain area can cause erosion of investment value. Most of the time, correct information is
not easily accessible to most landowners or prospective buyers. What if the land belongs to
the green zone but wrongly mentioned in the registry as residential? Such mysteries can be
resolved by using RTI.

Land records are generally maintained by collectorate/municipality for the city area or by gram
panchayat for the adjoining tehsils and villages. Filing an RTI can help in uncovering critical
information related to your property that may be very hard to get otherwise.

Circumstances warranting the use of RTI

RTI is a powerful tool when corrupt or ine cient o cials deny your legal rights or delay important
government services that you may need at a revenue o ce, land record o ce or sub-registry.
It can be resorted to know the reasons for the delay in processing your le and delay in addressing the
grievance.
It can help in veri cation, diligence and collating useful information about the property which can prove
useful in negotiating a property deal in your favor.
It can also be used as a tool to uncover information post the deal if there is any indication that the
builder/seller might have hidden material facts during negotiation which could have substantially
affected the buying of the property. for eg: any pending litigation, encumbrance etc over the property.

In such above-mentioned circumstances, An RTI application can be filled with the land records
office in the Collectorate or the municipality as the case may be.

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Filing an  RTI application

An RTI application can be filled u/s 2(f) of the RTI Act against any public authority to obtain
the required information and relevant documentation.

The application must mention the following basic details:

The name of the relevant public authority from whom the information is sought.
It must also specify the location and details of the property/land.
Location of the property is important as it helps in determining the district under which the property falls.

Table for making an RTI application in property

matters in Mumbai
Examples of Nature of Competent Authority for
Situations Procedure
disputes ling the rst complaint

Co-operative -transfer and District deputy registrar of A complaint is required to

Housing transmission of rights societies be registered with the
Society between members. district deputy registrar.
-the irregular charge The district deputy
of maintenance and registrar is stipulated to
other fees give a reply within 30
days of filing the
complaint.

However, it is in your
best interest to draft a
reminder letter in the
intermittent 30 day
period once to reflect
active follow up. It will
help in making your
case stronger at the
redressal stage.

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an RTI application can

be filed with the
information officer in
case no response or
inadequate response to
your query after 30
days of lodging the
initial complaint with
the deputy registrar.

Further, an appeal can

be preferred with the
first appellate officer if
the concerned
information officer does
not respond to the
query within 30 days of
filling the application.

A second appeal can

also be preferred if in
case the reply given by
First appellate officer is
inadequate or no
response is received
from him.

The waiting time is 45

days after making an
appeal to the first
appellate officer.

The Waiting time is

minimal of two months
when an appeal is
preferred to the Second
Appellate officer.

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Nature of Agreement
between a landowner
and builder may differ.
There may be issues
with the joint
development agreement,
sale deed or lease dead
depending upon the
Make a complaint to the
nature of the
concerned o cer
transaction.
File a reminder
lack of approvals
Application
from the municipal
Under MahaRera in case of
corporation.
construction Maharashtra and state wise File an RTI application
buildings regulatory (RERA) authority after 30 DAYS of non-
Examples of
receipt of reply to the
Approvals and
original application form
clearances
seeking a delay of reply

Approval of building
plan. clearances like
environmental
clearance, NOC from
the aviation
department in case
of tall buildings.

Redevelopment arbitrary tender process, 1.Deputy Registrar of Co-

lack of uniformity in operative Societies-
joint development contravention of the
agreements, guidelines under Bye-law 175
of the New Bye-laws 2014
What if members of 2.Municipal
society are not made Commissioner- building
aware of the plan and its legality
redevelopment issues.
procedure?

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In many cases, the 3.Cooperative society for

members of society non-registration of
choose an architect Redevelopment
or project consultant Agreement with SRA &
without any proper not doing individual
standard criteria. original flat holders’
“Deed of Alternate and
Permanent
Accommodation” with
SRA by the builder

4.MahaRERA, for not

registering the
redeveloping building
project with it.

5. With CS
(Enforcement), – not
registering of the deeds
as stated in (3) and for
not taking the cognizance
of complaint by CS.)

An order is  issued by
the competent authority Adjudication to execute the The competent authority
deeming the transfer of said order will be done by the for ling an RTI is deputy
Deemed property in the case collector of stamps while the chief engineer of respective
Conveyancing where the property a is registration of the property building proposal
not conveyed within 4 conveyed is done by sub- departments of Bombay
months of issuance of registrar of assurances. Municipal Corporation.
an occupancy certi cate

To conclude, it is imperative to note that RTI is not a redressal mechanism.

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It is a mechanism to assist in obtaining the necessary Information which can prove bene cial in making
your case stronger in redressal proceedings.
It helps in identifying the reasons owing to which work is not done.  
Simultaneously the applicant must be aware of the Adjudicating mechanisms available to him like
LokShahi Adalats, Cooperative courts, litigation etc to make a substantial case for himself with the useful
information received by him.

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