What changes will the new Registration Bill, 2025 bring?

The Union Government recently published the draft Registration Bill, 2025. This is intended to overhaul the Registration Act, 1908, which covers the registration of immovable properties and related transactions currently.

The Bill is at the pre-legislative consultation stage and the government is accepting comments on it from the public until 25th June, 2025.

In this Weekly, let’s take a look at what the new bill proposes.

Which documents will you have to register?

The Bill makes registration mandatory for the following documents :

• Gift Deeds : When someone transfers the ownership of an immovable property, like a plot of land or a house, to someone else as a gift, they have to register the document recording the transfer.
  
• Transfer of rights over a property : When someone, in exchange for money:
  • creates a new  right to use a property in a given manner and vests it in another person by way of ‘granting a right’
  • acknowledges the right another person has over a property by way of a declaration, or
  • transfers their own right over a property to another person through assigning.
• Other property documents, including:
  • a document which affirms that the right of someone over a certain property no longer exists due to either a contractual agreement or lapse of the agreed period of time or any other legal reasons, or
  • a document recording a transfer of rights over a property from one person to another that is, subject to certain conditions.
• Receipts of payment for any property rights : A document that confirms the receipt of payment for the transfer of any rights over a property. This is separate from the sale or transfer deed and is simply an acknowledgement of payment.
• Lease of immovable property : Lease agreements, which are:
  • renewable year to year, or
  • have a contract term of more than 1 year, or
  • include rent calculated on a yearly basis.
• Document transferring a property right conferred by a court order :  A document recording the transfer of a property right to a person based on an order or a decree of a court.
• Property sale documents : The documents relating to the sale of a property including the agreement for sale, developers’ agreements, agreements relating to construction or development of an immovable property. 
• Power of attorney: A document granting the right to transfer an immovable property on behalf of the owner of such property.
• Mortgage Documents: Documents listing the terms and conditions of a mortgage, which is based on the deposit of the ownership papers of an immovable property.
• Sale Certificates : A certificate confirming the transfer of rights or ownership of a property by an authorised officer.
• Company Restructuring Documents : Documents recording the mergers, demergers, or formation of new companies.
• Implementation of Court Orders : Any document implementing an order or decree of a court that confers a right over an immovable property.
• Sale deeds under special clauses of the Transfer of Property Act : Under Section 53a of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, if a person has a contract which transfers property to them, they can take or continue the possession of the property under the legal rule of ‘part performance’ even before the transfer is formally completed. Such contracts must be registered.
• Document on legal authority to adopt:  A document which clearly highlights the legal authority of a person to adopt a child and it is not in the nature of a will.

Which documents do not need registration?

• Composition Deed : Any documents which list down the terms of settlement of any financial disputes.
• Shares and Debentures : Documents relating to shares and debentures of a company are exempted from registration, except where a debenture holder has claims over an immovable property of the company by way of a security. 
• Transfer of debentures: Any document recording the transfer or signing over of the rights over a debenture to another person.
• Agreement for future transfer: A preliminary document which records an agreement between two or more parties to enter into a transfer of property deal in the future.
• Court Orders : A direct court order conferring property rights over a property except when the court passes an order related to the rights over a property which was not part of the original dispute, as a compromise. 
• Government grants : Any immovable property granted by the government.
• Partition Instruments : Any document drawn up by a revenue officer to partition any immovable property.
• Loan Orders under Specific Laws: Loan orders granted by the government under the Land Improvement Loans Act, 1883 and the Agriculturists’ Loans Act, 1884. 
• Charitable Endowments : Any official order that transfers a property to the ‘Treasurer of Charitable Endowments’ for charitable purposes. 
• Mortgage payments : Receipts of payments on mortgages, whether final or partial which does not extinguish the mortgage. 
• Government Orders on Lease Agreements:  A government may choose to exempt lease agreements under a 5 years period and a specific amount from exemption by issuing an order to that effect. 

What happens when you register a document under thisBill?

Any document will be held legally valid from the date of signing and not their date of registration. Further, unregistered documents will not be admissible as evidence before a court. 

All eligible documents must be registered within 4 months of signing. The bill enables registration through electronic means, as well as in-person registration in the Registrar’s Office in the district where either the property is located or where the contract was signed. 

After a document is submitted for registration and duly verified, then a registration certificate will be issued.

The Bill also includes provisions related to wills, grounds for refusal or rectification of registration of documents, process for submission of documents for registration through both physical  and electronic means, including methods for verification with Aadhaar card or alternative identification proofs, registry and custody of documents and fees involved. 

The full draft of the document is available here and comments can be emailed to sanand.b@gov.in by 25th June, 2025.