UP extends Property Transfer Scheme to relatives at nominal cost

In a major development, the State Cabinet of Uttar Pradesh has decided to extend the scheme that allows the transfer of ownership to blood relatives for only Rs 5,000 registration fee, with no specified end date. Originally introduced in June 2022 for a limited six-month period, the scheme's overwhelming popularity with the public has prompted the government to make it a permanent offering.

According to a report, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna stated that the success of the scheme and its widespread use were the main reasons for its resurgence. Under the extended scheme, transfer of ownership to immediate family members, including sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, daughters-in-law, real siblings, sons-in-law and grandchildren, can be done with a nominal registration fee of Rs 5,000 along with an additional processing fee of Rs 1,000.

Previously, transferring property within the state cost a significant stamp duty registration fee of 7 percent based on the value of the property. This posed a significant challenge for property owners who wanted to transfer their property to close relatives, often leading to difficult choices between transfer and sale. Even in pre-death transfers cases where no money change occurred and residents remained the same, exorbitant stamp duty rates were applied, discouraging property division or pre-death property arrangements. The new regulation aims to address these issues, as explained by Ravindra Jaiswal, the Minister for Stamps and Registration.

The expansion of this initiative is expected to facilitate the transfer of ownership and ownership arrangements between living persons, eliminating unnecessary family tensions that may arise over wills. In addition, it seeks to reduce the need for families to resort to "power of attorney" strategies for property transfers, given the high costs associated with conventional registration methods. The state government's move is seen as a proactive step toward promoting smoother property transfers and facilitating better intra-family property ownership arrangements.