Land is perhaps one of the most vital factors if you are looking to buy real estate properties of Bangladesh. After all, it is on a plot of land that a dream apartment comes to life, which is why it important to ensure the land on which your apartment stands is without any problems. Before buying a plot of land, or even buying apartment , one must first check details of the land and its ownership. There is much for the prospective home buyer to do in this regard. Unless this exercise is carried thoroughly, one’s life-savings may simply go down the drain. The buyer may check the relevant documents himself or, to be on the safer side, may utilize the service of a legal expert in this regard.
Types of land:
In real estate, properties can either be on leasehold land or freehold land
Leasehold land – When you are buying a property on leasehold, the land is leased from government, autonomous bodies and other various agencies
- Freehold land– Conversely when buying a property on freehold, the land is acquired by occupation and sales documents after the abolition of the zemindari system)
Documents that must be scrutinized before you buy a flat in Bangladesh
For leasehold properties
- Allotment letter
- Lease deed
- Possession letter
- Mutation by relevant agency (if first allotee)
- Sales deeds (if land has changed hands)
- Permission from relevant agency to sell land (if land has changed hands)
- Mutation by land office
- Tax receipt and DCR or duplicate carbon copy of receipt
For freehold properties
- Title deed if the seller is land owner through purchase
- Documents of the person from whom the seller purchased the land, or relevant documents if the land is acquired in any other manner
- Documents relating to how ever many times the land changed hands over a minimum of 25 years or after the last survey
- Record of rights
- Tax receipt and DCR or duplicate carbon copy of receipt
- Partition deed
Other documents:
- Documents to verify payment of gas bills, water bills, electricity bills, etc.
- Relevant deeds, decrees, documents, etc where relevant
- The approved design of the house, building or flat being purchased (and whether the plans have been followed in the construction)
After obtaining documents:
Once the documents are collected, applications and due fees must be submitted for verification of authenticity by the relevant registry office or the deputy commissioner’s office or the city corporation. To be extra cautious when you are buying a flat in Bangladesh, it would be best to scrutinize sales and purchase documents of the land over the past 25 years. In that way one can avail correct and accurate information about whether the land is properly registered, who is the actual present owner, if the land is mortgaged, or if anyone has been given power of attorney for the land, the accurate land measurements, etc.
Extra cautionary measures:
If the seller owns the land through inheritance, the inheritance certificates, partition deeds and ownership deeds of the antecedents must be checked. Preemption is an important factor in the purchase of such land, in which all shareholders must be served notices. If anyone puts forward an objection, the land must not be purchased until the matter is settled. In the case of jointly owned property, all owners much sign the deed so no objections can be raised in the future. After all this is done, another important step must be taken. It must be assured that the seller has peaceful possession of the land. Actual ownership involves both deeds and possession.
The land on which apartments must NOT be purchased:
Khas land or vested property
- Acquired land or land that faces possible acquisition
- Land without road connection
- Land where a sales agreement has already been made
- Mortgaged land
- Land tied up in a legal case
- Disputed land
Recommendations from a real estate developer company in Bangladesh:
Mr Ariful Alam, Assistant General Manager (Business Development) of the reputed housing company Building Technology and Ideas Ltd (bti), says, “We take extra care in the purchase of land. As apartment buyers looking to buy real estate properties in Bangladesh invest crores of taka, we avoid acquiring any land with the slightest of problems.” He goes on to say, “Many real estate developers in Bangladesh are not cautious about the purchase of land and later multifarious problems arise. Even after the project is complete, claims of land ownership are made.”
Ariful Alam elaborates, “In the case of leasehold properties, the allotment letter and lease deed must be checked and measurements taken to ensure these are accurate. If the leaseholder dies, then it must be checked whether he or she has properly written over the land to his or her inheritors. If there is any change of hands in land ownership, the documents must be checked.
“The leased land’s category must also be checked. If it is privately owned, the CS khatian must be checked and then the SA survey papers, the chain up till the RS must be checked and finally the city survey and the land records.”
Hopefully now that you are aware of how to avoid dispute free land, you know what to look for when searching apartments for sale to ensure your future and investment is secured.