How to Check a Property’s Title Before You Buy

A property’s title is the legal proof that the seller actually owns what they are selling and has the right to transfer it to you. Clear title is the single most important thing to establish before buying, because everything else — your loan, your registration, your peace of mind — rests on it. In Gurgaon’s fast-moving builder-floor market it is tempting to rush, but title checks are exactly where you should slow down.

Start with the chain of title, sometimes called tracing the mother deed. This means following the ownership of the property backwards through successive sale deeds, gift deeds, or inheritance, ideally over several decades, to confirm each transfer was valid and complete. Gaps, unexplained jumps in ownership, or missing documents are warning signs that deserve a lawyer’s attention.

In Haryana, revenue records are central to this. The Jamabandi, or record of rights, and the record of mutation — the updating of ownership in revenue records after a transfer, known locally as intkaal or dakhil kharij — should reflect the current owner. Records for much of Haryana are accessible through the state’s land-records portals, and the details there should match the seller’s documents.

You also need to confirm the property is free of encumbrances such as an existing mortgage, lien, or unpaid dues, which is covered in more detail in the guide on the encumbrance certificate. If the seller has an existing home loan on the floor, understand exactly how it will be closed and the original documents released before you pay in full.

For a builder floor, title is not only about the land but also about whether the construction itself is authorised. Check that the colony or plot is on approved, licensed land, that the building plan is sanctioned, and that the relevant approvals from the town-planning authority — the DTCP for licensed colonies in Gurgaon, or the municipal body as applicable — are in order. Unauthorised construction can be a serious problem regardless of clean land title.

Do not rely on your own reading alone. Engage a property lawyer to conduct a formal title search and give you a written opinion, and remember that when you take a home loan, the lender runs its own legal and technical due diligence — a useful second check, though not a substitute for your own lawyer.

Land records, approval authorities and online portals change over time and vary by locality. Use this as a checklist, verify the current records through the official Haryana portals, and have a qualified lawyer confirm the title before you part with money.