Release Deed in Karnataka: Buying a Property That Has Several Heirs
Many resale houses and sites in Bangalore are inherited property, owned jointly by several family members. A release deed is the document that lets some of those owners give up their shares so that one person is able to sell the whole. This guide explains how a release deed works in Karnataka, how it differs from other deeds, and what a buyer should insist on when a property has more than one heir.
What a Release Deed Is
A release deed is a registered document in which one co-owner gives up a share in a property in favour of another co-owner. It is also called a relinquishment deed. The person giving up the share is the releasor, and the person receiving it is the releasee.
The key condition is that both sides already own a part of the same property. A brother may release his share to his sister, since both inherited it from a parent. A release in favour of an outsider with no existing share is treated as a sale or a gift, whatever the document is called.
A release may be made with or without payment. Within a family it is often done without money changing hands, simply to bring the ownership under one name. Because it deals with rights in immovable property, the deed has to be registered at the sub-registrar's office to have legal effect.
Why Inherited Property Has Several Owners
When an owner dies without a will, the property passes to the legal heirs under the succession law that applies to the family. For a Hindu man, the first set of heirs includes the widow, the mother, and all sons and daughters, who take equal shares. Daughters have the same rights as sons, whether married or unmarried.
Each heir then holds an undivided share. Nobody owns a particular room or a marked portion until the property is divided. One heir may live in the house, pay the tax and hold the papers, yet the others remain owners in law.
This is the trap for a buyer. The heir who shows the property may speak for the whole family in good faith, but only the signatures of all the owners carry the whole title. A sale deed signed by one heir transfers that heir's share and nothing more.
Two Ways to Buy a Jointly Owned Property
A buyer gets full title to an inherited property through one of two routes. Both are sound, and the choice usually depends on what the family finds convenient.
All Owners Sign the Sale Deed
Every heir joins the sale deed as a seller and signs before the sub-registrar. The sale price is paid to each owner in line with the share, preferably by separate bank transfers. This route is the simplest for a buyer, since a single deed carries every signature.
The Others Release First
The other heirs first execute registered release deeds in favour of one heir. That heir becomes the sole owner and then sells to the buyer through a sale deed. This route helps when some heirs live abroad or do not wish to take part in the sale, and it adds the release deeds to the chain of title.
Release, Sale, Gift and Partition Compared
Four deeds are commonly seen in the papers of a family property. The table below shows what each one does.
| Deed | What it does | In whose favour | When it is used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release deed | Gives up a share | Another co-owner only | Bringing shares under one owner |
| Partition deed | Divides the property into separate parts | All co-owners, each taking a part | Each heir wants a separate portion |
| Gift deed | Transfers ownership without payment | Any person | A parent passing property to a child |
| Sale deed | Transfers ownership for a price | Any buyer | The purchase itself |
The buyer always acquires the property through a sale deed. Release and partition deeds are steps taken within the family before the sale. They matter to the buyer as proof that the seller holds everything being sold.
Stamp Duty on a Release Deed in Karnataka
Stamp duty on a release is set by Article 45 of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957, and it depends on who the parties are. A release between family members carries a concessional fixed duty, far lower than the duty on a sale. The Act lists who counts as family for this purpose, and the list covers close relatives such as parents, spouses, children, brothers and sisters.
A release between co-owners who are outside that list is charged on the value of the share, in the same way as a sale. A release that is really a sale to an outsider will be treated as a conveyance by the registering office. The current duty and registration fee for the case should be confirmed with the sub-registrar or on the Kaveri portal before the deed is drafted.
For the buyer, the point is that a family release is inexpensive. Asking the heirs to complete it before the sale is a fair request and places little cost on them. The buyer's own sale deed carries the normal stamp duty and the 2% registration fee on the sale value.
Finding Every Co-Owner
The checks start with the question of how the seller came to own the property. If the answer is inheritance, the buyer needs the full list of heirs and proof of it. The documents below help to establish who the owners are.
- The parent document in the name of the person who died, such as a sale deed or allotment letter
- The death certificate of that person
- A family tree certified by the revenue office, which lists all the legal heirs
- A will with its probate where one exists, or a statement that there is none
- The khata and property tax records, showing in whose names the property now appears
- An encumbrance certificate for at least 30 years, to pick up earlier releases, partitions or mortgages
The family tree should be compared with the names on the release deeds or the sale deed. An heir who has died is replaced by his or her own heirs, and each of them has to sign. A minor heir's share needs the permission of the court before it is sold, so a guardian's signature alone is a warning sign.
What a Buyer Should Insist On
The steps below turn a jointly owned property into a clean purchase. They are best completed before the sale agreement is signed.
- Ask for the certified family tree and match it with the identity papers of each heir.
- Choose the route: all heirs sign the sale deed, or the others release to the seller first.
- Read every release deed for the property description, the share released and the registration number.
- Take certified copies of the release deeds from the sub-registrar's office and compare them with the originals.
- Confirm that the encumbrance certificate shows the releases in the seller's favour.
- Have the khata transferred to the seller's sole name before the sale, where time allows.
- Where an heir lives abroad, check that the power of attorney is properly attested and registered or adjudicated in India.
- Pay each seller by bank transfer and record the payments in the sale deed.
The original release deeds should be handed over with the other title papers on the day of registration. Banks ask for them when the buyer takes a home loan, and a future buyer will ask for them again at resale. A lawyer's title opinion on the full chain is worth taking for any inherited property in Bangalore.
Common Mistakes
The first mistake is to rely on an unregistered family settlement or a letter of consent from the other heirs. Such papers do not transfer a share, and a bank will not accept them as title. The second is to accept a release signed by some heirs while one is "travelling" or "not in touch", on a promise that the signature will follow.
The third mistake is to overlook daughters and the families of heirs who have died. Their shares are equal in law, and a claim from them can reach the property years after the sale. Buyers who live abroad face the same checks, and our NRI page explains how we help them through a purchase.
