How people usually put it
My father's land came to me but pokkuvaravu is not done. Brother is not giving my share. Neighbour built a wall on my property. Seller took advance and is not registering. I need an encumbrance certificate. Pokkuvaravu cheyyanam. Adharam kittiyilla. Sthalam thakarkam undu. പോക്കുവരവ്, ആധാരം, ഭാഗം വെക്കൽ.
Mutation (pokkuvaravu)
After a sale, gift or inheritance, the revenue records must be changed to the new owner's name, otherwise land tax cannot be paid in that name and later sales are blocked.
- Apply at the village office of the area, or online through the Revenue Department's portal.
- Attach the registered deed (adharam), the previous title deed, the latest land tax receipt, an encumbrance certificate, and identity proof. For inheritance, add the death certificate and the legal heirship certificate from the village office or Tahsildar.
- The village officer verifies and issues the mutation; land tax (basic tax) can then be paid in the new name.
An encumbrance certificate from the Sub Registrar's office shows registered transactions on the property for the period asked for; possession and location certificates come from the village office.
Inheritance and partition
Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 as amended in 2005, daughters are coparceners with the same rights as sons in ancestral property, and self-acquired property passes by the rules of succession or by will. Christian and Muslim succession follow the Indian Succession Act and the applicable personal law respectively.
The amicable route is a registered partition deed signed by all sharers. If someone refuses, a partition suit is filed in the civil court where the property lies, asking for division by metes and bounds and, where needed, an injunction to stop a sale meanwhile.
Boundary and encroachment disputes
Apply for a survey or re-survey through the village office or the Survey Department to fix the boundary on record. Then a civil suit for injunction, declaration or recovery of possession. The police do not decide civil boundary disputes, although they can act where there is criminal trespass, damage or threat.
Buying and selling
Verify the title chain, the encumbrance certificate, the tax receipts and whether the land is classified as paddy or wetland under the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, which restricts conversion. Sale agreements should be in writing. If a seller takes advance and refuses to complete, a suit for specific performance or refund with compensation lies. Registration is through the Sub Registrar with stamp duty and registration fee under the Kerala Stamp Act.
Flats and plots sold by a promoter are covered by RERA, and complaints about delay or false promises go to Kerala RERA.
Keep ready
Registered deed, prior deeds, encumbrance certificate, land tax receipts, survey sketch and plan, legal heirship or succession certificate, and any written agreement or advance receipt.
This guide is legal information, not legal advice, and reading it creates no advocate–client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. For anything serious, consult an advocate — and if you cannot afford one, the District Legal Services Authority will give you a lawyer free of cost.
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