1. The conveyance itself
Does the society have a registered conveyance deed or a deemed conveyance certificate? Ask for a copy, not a verbal assurance.
Field note · resale
Deemed conveyance: when the society doesn’t own its land
In a resale purchase you are buying a flat and a share in a society. Whether that society owns the land under the building is a separate question, and in Maharashtra the answer is often no.
The short version. As of May 2025, 78,116 of Maharashtra’s roughly 1.25 lakh cooperative housing societies had no conveyance of their land, about 62%. Until the land is conveyed, title stays with the builder or the original landowner. Ask for the conveyance deed before you pay a token.
Why it matters
Paperwork, until the society needs something
The consequences
Members own their flats. Without a conveyance, the society does not own the plot or the building structure. That rarely matters day to day. It matters when the society needs to act as an owner.
Reporting on the state’s figures named the consequences: redevelopment and major repairs stall, because a society cannot sign away rights it does not hold, and bank loans tied to ownership run into trouble.
For a buyer in an older building in Pune or Mumbai, that makes conveyance a price question. A flat in a society without it can still be a sound purchase. You are also buying the society’s unfinished paperwork, and the wait should be priced in.
The remedy
Deemed conveyance, and the online route since 2025
If the builder won’t convey
The Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act has allowed a society to apply for deemed conveyance since its 2008 amendment, where the promoter has not conveyed the land and building as required. The competent authority can then issue a certificate that allows the conveyance to be registered without the promoter’s signature.
In May 2025 the state moved the process online, on the PRATYAY MahaBhumi portal, with six months set from application to certificate.
For projects registered under RERA, Section 17 of the Act separately requires the promoter to execute the conveyance in favour of the association of allottees within the period local law sets. The obligation exists. It is often not met.
Before the token
Four checks for a resale flat
2. The land record
Does the property card, or the 7/12 extract outside city survey limits, show the society’s name?
3. The seller’s standing
Is the share certificate in the seller’s name, with the society’s NOC for the transfer and a no-dues letter?
4. Redevelopment talk
Is redevelopment being discussed? If so, conveyance is the first question to settle, because a redevelopment agreement depends on it.
This note explains public figures and statutory remedies. It is not legal advice. A title search by your own advocate is the step that confirms the position for a specific flat.
Questions
Common questions about conveyance
What is deemed conveyance in Maharashtra?
A remedy under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, available since its 2008 amendment, that lets a housing society obtain title to its land and building when the promoter has not conveyed them. Since May 2025 the application is made online through the PRATYAY MahaBhumi portal, with six months set from application to certificate.
How many housing societies in Maharashtra lack conveyance?
As of May 2025, 78,116 of roughly 1.25 lakh cooperative housing societies had no conveyance of their land, about 62%, according to state figures as reported at the time.
Should I buy a resale flat in a society without conveyance?
It can still be a sound purchase, but price the wait. Without conveyance a society can struggle with redevelopment, major repairs and some bank loans. Ask whether a deemed conveyance application has been made, and how far it has gone.
Looking at a resale flat?
Send me the society’s name and the locality. I’ll tell you which documents to ask for before you pay a token.