A Comprehensive Guide to Relinquishment Deed for Property

What does a relinquishment deed for Property mean?

A relinquishment deed for Property, when created and registered, enables the co-owners to legally transfer their share of the inherited property to another co-owner of the property. By this, the co-owners of a joint Hindu property can relinquish their ownership to this immovable asset.

The Objective of Creating Relinquishment Deed for Property

A relinquishment deed or a release deed is needed when the property owner dies intestate without leaving a will, and one of the legal heirs decides to take ownership of a particular piece of property for which others might be legal heirs or co-owners.

How to Create a Relinquishment Deed?

The relinquishment deed needs to be drafted by an expert after due consideration and registered at a sub-registrar’s office to formalize the procedure.
When to create a relinquishment deed?

Such a deed is drafted and executed when the property is inherited, such as ancestral properties, upon which multiple people have a legal right, by birth, as per the Hindu Succession Law. Also, when there is a division of the self-acquired property of the father, where he dies without writing a will.

Who Can Create a Relinquishment Deed?

It is the co-owners of a property who can relinquish their share in the said property. Moreover, they can relinquish their claim only in favor of another co-owner of that particular property and nobody else.

Can the relinquishment deed be revoked?

A registered relinquishment deed cannot be easily revoked. You cannot change a decision once registered under the Registration Act of1908. Under the following special circumstances, a relinquishment deed can be revoked: -

Ø If the co-owner is forced or influenced to make a deed.
Ø If there is proof of fraudulent activities toward executing the relinquishment deed.
Ø If the intentions of concerned parties are misinterpreted in the final document.
Ø In case of evident discrepancies.

The relinquishment deed can be revoked only within three years of deed execution after, which it cannot be revoked.

How important is it to register the relinquishment deed?

It is highly important and mandatory to register this for legal validation. Section 49 of the Registration Act specifies that if a relinquishment deed is unregistered, it will not be admissible in a court of law in case a dispute arises regarding the same.

What are the steps involved in getting a relinquishment deed registered?

Ø Draft all the contents that are supposed to be there in an abandoned deed on an Rs. 100 stamp paper, without typing errors and in clear transparent language.
Ø All the concerned parties involved in the transaction need to then visit the sub-registrar's office in the area with the original and photocopies of their identity proofs, address proofs, and passport-sized photographs.

Ø Pay the registration fee needed for registering a relinquishment deed.
Ø Once the official is satisfied with the deed, the document can be registered and created in a week.

If any of the concerned parties is unable to visit the office of a sub-registrar, an official from the sub-registrar's office visits that party's premises to complete the registration.
Pointing out the major differences between a relinquishment deed and a gift deed.

Ø A gift deed is different from a relinquishment deed in the following aspects:

Ø The beneficiary of a relinquishment deed is a co-owner of the property. In contrast in a gift deed, an owner would give you his right to someone he chooses, whether the person is a legal heir of that particular property or not.

Ø In a gift deed, the transferor does not receive any money in lieu of giving up his right to that property, while in a relinquishment deed the person can ask for money or another form of compensation for relinquishing his rights to the inherited property.

Ø The stamp duty charges on the registration of a gift deed are usually higher than registering a relinquishment deed.
A property can be gifted to a minor through a relinquishment deed in which case the Indian Contract Act of 1872 applies.

It is always best to opt for legal experts for drafting and executing a relinquishment deed that is favorable and free from errors. At Legalo, you find experienced people who help you with the intricacies of a relinquishment deed.