Legal
The documents to ask for, and what each one tells you
7 min read · Last verified
In short
For a new project, ask for the title documents, land category evidence, sanctioned plans, commencement certificate, RERA registration and the draft agreement. For resale, add the previous registered agreements, the chain of transfer permissions where the land is leasehold, the occupancy certificate, society records and outstanding dues.
Key facts
- New project core set
- Title, approvals, RERA registration, draft agreement
- Resale additions
- Prior agreements, transfer permissions, society records
- Navi Mumbai specific
- CIDCO allotment, lease deed, transfer permissions
- For a completed building
- Occupancy certificate is non-negotiable
- Who should read them
- Your own lawyer
Document checklists circulate widely and are largely useless on their own, because a list of names does not tell you what you are looking for or which absence actually matters.
This sets out what to ask for and, for each item, what it proves and what its absence implies.
Establishing the land
Everything else rests on this. In Navi Mumbai the first question is which category the land falls in, because it determines what the rest of the document set should even contain.
| Document | What it proves | If missing |
|---|---|---|
| Title deed / chain of title | Who owns the land and how they came to | Stop. Nothing else matters without this. |
| CIDCO allotment letter and lease deed | The land is CIDCO leasehold and on what terms | Establish the actual category before proceeding |
| Chain of CIDCO transfer permissions | Each prior transfer was consented to | A defect that will surface at lending or resale |
| Revenue records | Recorded interests in the land | Essential for gaothan-origin land |
| Encumbrance position | Whether mortgages or charges exist | Commission a search; do not assume |
Approvals and construction
These establish that the building is lawful, which is a separate question from who owns the land.
| Document | What it proves | If missing |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctioned plans | What was approved to be built | You cannot check what was built against anything |
| Commencement certificate | Construction was lawfully begun | Serious — construction may be unauthorised |
| Occupancy certificate | The completed building may lawfully be occupied | For a finished building, this should stop you |
| RERA registration | The project is registered with a declared timeline | Required for most projects; ask why not |
Commercial documents
These govern the transaction itself rather than the property.
- The draft agreement for sale — ask before paying the booking amount.
- The complete written cost sheet, with every line item named.
- The payment schedule tied to construction stages.
- The specification schedule for the unit.
- Any addendum recording concessions you were promised.
Additional documents for a resale purchase
Resale carries everything above plus the history of the individual unit.
- All previous registered agreements in the chain.
- Evidence that stamp duty was paid on each of them.
- CIDCO transfer permissions for each prior transfer, where the land is leasehold.
- Share certificate and society membership records.
- No-dues certificate from the society.
- Latest property tax and utility receipts.
- Where a loan is outstanding, the lender's position and the discharge arrangement.
How to actually use the list
Ask for the set in writing, early, before you are emotionally committed. How a seller or developer responds to a straightforward document request is itself information.
Then have your own lawyer read them. The point of the list is to know what should be there — reading and interpreting them is professional work, and it is cheap relative to the transaction.