If your housing society has not received the conveyance it is entitled to, deemed conveyance may provide a route when the promoter does not cooperate. This guide explains the legal framework, the documents to assemble, and the questions to resolve about jurisdiction, registration and CIDCO leasehold land before applying.
NaviMumbai.com is an independent information website and does not file applications or represent societies before any authority. This is a complex, case-specific legal process; confirm your society’s exact situation with the competent authority or a lawyer before acting.
Why Conveyance Matters
Owning a flat is not the same as your society owning the land underneath it. Missing conveyance can complicate redevelopment, financing and decisions about the property. Check the existing title documents and land records to establish whose rights remain recorded and what interest is due to the society. Deemed conveyance is the legal mechanism that lets a society seek this transfer even when the builder refuses or has gone missing, but it does not by itself settle every title question. What the society actually receives, a full freehold title or a leasehold interest, depends on what the builder itself held; see the CIDCO section below if your plot is on CIDCO-leased land. If your society is already exploring rebuilding, see our society redevelopment guide for how conveyance fits into that wider process.
Step 1: Establish Your Project’s Legal Position
This is the detail most guides on this topic skip, and it changed in late 2025. The Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025, enacted on 31 December 2025 with retrospective effect from 1 May 2016, inserted Section 1A and Section 11A into MOFA, addressing how the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) and MOFA interact. This is not a simple two-way test based on whether a MahaRERA search returns a result; a missing search result does not by itself establish that RERA does not apply.
| Project position | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Confirmed RERA-registered project | Check Section 11A of MOFA and the promoter’s conveyance obligations under Section 17 of the RERA Act. |
| Project confirmed outside RERA’s applicability | Check the applicable Section 11 route under MOFA. |
| Registration absent, unclear or disputed | Obtain clarification before selecting the legal route; do not self-classify based on a search result alone. |
Check your project on MahaRERA’s own website as a starting point, but confirm your project’s actual legal position with the competent authority or a lawyer before assuming which section applies. Either way, applications are decided by the same authority; the difference is the statutory basis the application cites.
Who Decides: The Competent Authority
Applications are decided by an officer notified by the state government as the Competent Authority for deemed conveyance under MOFA, not below the rank of District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Before applying, establish:
- The property’s exact address and plot or survey identifiers.
- Whether the land is CIDCO leasehold.
- Which notified competent authority currently handles that property, since jurisdiction is assigned by area and should be confirmed rather than assumed.
- Whether a separate CIDCO estate procedure is involved, in addition to or instead of the deemed conveyance route.
If Your Land Is CIDCO Leasehold
Some land in Navi Mumbai was allotted by CIDCO on a leasehold basis rather than sold outright. The essential point is this: deemed conveyance does not automatically convert leasehold land into freehold land. A deemed conveyance transfers whatever interest the promoter actually held; if that was a leasehold interest, the society receives that leasehold interest, not freehold ownership, and CIDCO’s own rules and requirements continue to apply.
For a CIDCO leasehold plot, inspect the allotment and lease documents to establish the interest held by the promoter and the conditions affecting transfer. Do not assume deemed conveyance removes CIDCO-related requirements. Confirm any separate transfer or conversion procedure directly with CIDCO for the specific plot; CIDCO has referred publicly to a leasehold-to-freehold conversion option, but we have not independently verified its current eligibility, fees or process from a CIDCO source, so confirm the details directly with CIDCO rather than relying on third-party summaries.
How the Process Works
Based on Sections 11(3) to 11(5) of MOFA:
- The society applies in writing to the Competent Authority, with true copies of the registered agreements for sale executed with the promoter by each member, and other relevant documents including the occupation certificate if available.
- The Competent Authority makes such enquiry as it considers necessary, verifies the documents submitted, and gives the promoter a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
- A notice inviting objections is issued, as prescribed by the Competent Authority’s own procedure; confirm the current notice requirement with that office rather than assuming a fixed format.
- If satisfied that it is a fit case, the Competent Authority issues a certificate to the Sub-Registrar or other appropriate Registration Officer, certifying the case fit for enforcing unilateral execution of a conveyance deed as deemed conveyance.
- The society then submits this certificate, together with the unilateral instrument of conveyance, to the Sub-Registrar. The Sub-Registrar issues summons to the promoter to show cause, and after giving both parties a reasonable opportunity to be heard, may register the instrument as a deemed conveyance.
- After receiving the certificate, the society must still arrange the conveyance instrument and complete the applicable stamp-duty assessment and registration requirements. The certificate alone is not the registered conveyance deed.
- After registration, the society still needs to have the relevant land record updated to reflect the new position; see our guide to property mutation for how that update process works.
Section 11(4) specifies a period of no later than six months for the Competent Authority’s certificate stage. This does not guarantee completion of deed registration and land-record updates within that period. Confirm the current status and outstanding steps for your specific application with the Competent Authority.
How to Apply
Maharashtra’s Department of Co-operation runs an Online Deemed Conveyance Management System, described on its own page as supporting online application submission, online payment, a tracking number for applications, online scrutiny by the Competent Authority, and online hearing scheduling with notifications. The Department of Registration and Stamps also publishes its own process material for deemed conveyance; if the department’s deemed conveyance page does not load when you check, that may be a temporary access issue rather than evidence the page no longer exists, so retry or search the department’s site directly. Start from these official pages rather than a third-party portal, and confirm the current application format and any fee with the Competent Authority’s office, since these details can change. For the underlying law, see Section 11 of MOFA on India Kanoon and the 2025 amendment Act: Gazette reproduction hosted by PRS Legislative Research, a policy research organisation, not a government site.
Documents to Assemble for Review
This is a preparation worksheet, not a complete or guaranteed-sufficient application pack. Identify missing records early and ask the Competent Authority’s office how each gap should be addressed; a missing document does not automatically make a society ineligible.
| Record | Available? | Missing information or next action |
|---|---|---|
| Society registration documents | ||
| Members’ purchase agreements and registration details | ||
| Stamp-duty payment evidence | ||
| Existing conveyance, development or lease documents | ||
| Property card or relevant land record | ||
| Available building approvals and occupation certificate | ||
| Promoter correspondence | ||
| Applicable MahaRERA project details |
What This Costs
Deemed conveyance does not remove stamp-duty and registration requirements. The assessment should take account of the relevant agreements, evidence of duty already paid on individual agreements for sale, and any additional liability under the applicable rules, rather than being calculated as a fresh percentage of the entire property’s value from scratch. Obtain the applicable assessment from the stamp authority for your specific case rather than estimating it yourself. There may also be a separate application or court fee for the deemed conveyance application itself. Keep government charges and any professional fees separate in your budget, and confirm current figures directly with the Competent Authority’s office or a registered document writer.
Before You Apply
- Establish whether your project is RERA-registered and whether RERA applies, rather than assuming based on a single search result.
- Confirm the Competent Authority’s office that currently handles your society’s specific property.
- Confirm whether your land is CIDCO leasehold and, if so, review the allotment and lease documents.
- Collect every member’s registered agreement for sale, not just a sample.
- Check whether your society already has an occupation certificate on file.
- Keep a written record of any past requests to the promoter for conveyance.
- Get the applicable stamp-duty assessment from the stamp authority rather than estimating it.
- Plan separately for the application, registration and subsequent record-update stages.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is deemed conveyance?
It is a legal process that lets a co-operative housing society apply to the Competent Authority for a certificate enabling a unilateral deemed conveyance, when the promoter has not executed a conveyance deed voluntarily.
Does the same legal route apply to every housing society in Maharashtra?
No. Since the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Amendment and Validation Act, 2025, RERA-registered projects are generally addressed under Section 11A of MOFA, while projects confirmed outside RERA’s applicability follow the Section 11 route. Check your project’s registration details and whether RERA applies; if the position is unclear, confirm the applicable provision with the competent authority or your legal adviser.
Who is the Competent Authority for deemed conveyance?
An officer not below the rank of District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, notified for this purpose. Confirm the specific office that currently has jurisdiction over your property rather than assuming.
How long does deemed conveyance take?
Section 11(4) specifies a period of no later than six months for the Competent Authority’s certificate stage. This does not guarantee completion of deed registration and land-record updates within that period.
Does deemed conveyance replace paying stamp duty?
No. Deemed conveyance does not remove stamp-duty and registration requirements. The assessment accounts for duty already paid on individual agreements and any additional liability; obtain the applicable figure from the stamp authority rather than estimating it.
Is the Competent Authority’s certificate the same as a registered conveyance deed?
No. After the certificate is issued, the society must still submit it with the unilateral instrument of conveyance to the Sub-Registrar, who may then register it after a further hearing. The certificate alone is not the registered deed.
Will my society own the land freehold after deemed conveyance if we are on CIDCO land?
Not automatically. A deemed conveyance transfers whatever interest the promoter held. If that was a CIDCO leasehold interest, the society receives that leasehold interest, not freehold ownership. Confirm any separate leasehold-to-freehold conversion option directly with CIDCO for your specific plot.
Sources & Verification Date
Sources checked on 28 September 2026: Section 11 of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963, via its published text on India Kanoon, including sub-sections (3), (4) and (5); the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025, via its enacted Gazette text, reproduced by PRS Legislative Research, and its insertion of Sections 1A and 11A, cross-checked against published legal analyses from S&R Associates, Lexology and ELP Law; the Department of Registration and Stamps’ published material on deemed conveyance; and the Department of Co-operation, Marketing and Textiles’ own description of its Online Deemed Conveyance Management System. We have not independently verified CIDCO’s current leasehold-to-freehold conversion terms from a CIDCO source; confirm those directly with CIDCO. This guide explains the general legal framework and application starting points; we have not filed an application ourselves, so confirm current forms, fees, the exact competent authority for your specific address, and CIDCO-specific requirements before proceeding.
Illustrative AI-generated image. It does not depict an actual government office or a specific housing society.
