The registration of gift deeds and wills by property owners has almost doubled in Mumbai post pandemic, according to Maharashtra government data. Industry insiders say the reason for this is a heightened sense of mortality among property owners, who are doing this to safeguard the interests of their family.
Data indicates jump
The number of gift deeds registered in Mumbai in 2018 was 11,912, which went down to 8,569 in 2019. However, from January 2020, the year the pandemic struck, till end 2022, gift deed registrations have increased every year, according to the data of Maharashtra government's Department of Registrations and Stamps (IGR).
From 2019, the number of gift deeds increased to 8,694 in 2020, nearly doubled to 16,322 in 2021, and 20,843 in 2022. Further, in 2023 (up to March) 3,287 gift deeds have been registered, according to Maharashtra IGR data collated by Square Yards, a real estate website.
The Maharashtra government collected Rs 645 crore from the registration charges of 69,627 gift deeds between January 2018 to March 2023.
The number of will registrations has also increased significantly post pandemic. The number of wills registered in 2018 and 2019 stood at 7,246 and 8,234, respectively.
In 2020, 5,636 wills were registered, which increased to 9,591 in 2021, and 11,642 in 2022. In the first three months of this year, 3,091 wills were registered. The government collected Rs 51,701 between January 2018 and March 2023 for registering 45,440 wills.
Year-wise breakup of gift deed and WiLL registrations.
What is a gift deed and a will?
A gift deed is a legal document whereby a person voluntarily transfers the ownership of a moveable or immovable property to another. The person giving the gift is known as the donor. For the gift deed to be valid, it should be signed and registered at the local registry office.
A will is a document that records the instructions of a person regarding the distribution of his assets after his demise. The will can be registered as per the provisions of Indian laws at the local registry office.
Why is there a jump?
According to experts, the high number of Covid deaths may be one of the triggers behind people rushing to register gift deeds and wills in order to safeguard the interests of their families.
"The sudden spike in deaths and health-related uncertainties post Covid has led to a surge in the number of people evincing interest in leaving behind a will to safeguard their properties and investments to prevent unnecessary disputes after their demise. Not only people with vast properties, but even middle-class people are contemplating registering a will to divide their property amicably among family members," said Anand Moorthy, Co-Founder & CBO-Asset Management Services & Data Intelligence, Square Yards.
The legal angle
According to legal experts, Covid, along with the drop in stamp duty rates, resulted in a surge in gift deed registrations.
Nilesh Gala, a Mumbai based lawyer who deals in the registration of gift deeds and wills, said, "There are two reasons for the rise in gift deed and will registrations. The first reason is that after Covid people have rushed to secure the distribution of their assets.
"The second reason may be that while nominal fees are charged to register gift deeds to blood relations, during Covid, the stamp duty on gift deeds for transfer of properties to those not related by blood had gone down by 2-3 percent. In case of will registrations, though, the fees are nominal and there was no change in them."
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