Importance of an Encumbrance certificate

The EC for property can be obtained from the sub-registrar’s office where the particular property has been registered. The encumbrance certificate is issued in Form No. 15 and 16.

Procedure to obtain an EC: 1) First and foremost, download the Form 22. Affix it with Rs 2 non-judicial stamp and address to the Tahsildar, giving an attested copy of your residential address and the purpose for which the certificate is required.

2) Provide the details of ownership such as correct survey number and place where the property is situated. It is very important that the period and full description of the property are mentioned clearly in the application.

3) The requisite fee needs to be paid. The fee is to be paid according to the period of encumbrance. The encumbrance year commences from April 1st of a calendar and closes on March 31st, of the next calendar year. The EC is also usually provided in the regional language. An English translation may be obtained by paying an additional.

4) The application should be submitted to the jurisdictional sub-registrar’s office, under which the property is registered.

Usually how much time it takes to obtain EC and can you please elaborate what is Form 15 and 16.

The time taken to obtain an EC is usually 15-30 working days. If the property does not have any encumbrance during the said period, Form 16 will be issued i.e., certificate of Nil Encumbrance. If the property has any encumbrance registered during the said period, then form No. 15 will be issued. The certificate in form 15 reveals the documents registered with respect to the property, nature of the encumbrance such as gift, partition, lease and mortgage, the parties involved, the registered number of the document and other details in a date-wise manner.

While an EC may give the details of the encumbrance on a property, there are certain documents that are exempt from being registered at the sub-registrar’s office. As such, these will not appear in the EC. Hence, it is advised that the buyer obtains both the EC and possession certificate as a proof of complete ownership of the property.