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Power of attorney is a very common document used in various transactions in day-to-day life. At the same time there are lots of misconceptions about the same. In this article let us get some first hand information about the various aspects of a power of attorney.

A Power of attorney is a document in writing whereby one person authorizes another person to represent him and to do certain lawful acts. The person who confers the power is called “Principal” and the person to whom it is given is known as “Agent” or “Attorney”. When the Power of attorney is given for a specific act then the same is known as “Special Power Of Attorney”. On the contrary if a Power of attorney is given to a person to do generally various acts and to represent the principal in a wide variety of transactions then the same is said to be “General Power Of Attorney”.

A Power Of Attorney may be revocable or irrevocable. If the person, who gives the power, retains the right to cancel it, then the same is said to be revocable one. On the other hand if this power is not retained, then the same is termed an irrevocable one. Normally, Power of attorneys pertaining to immovable properties, which are given after receipt of considerations are irrevocable ones.

A power of attorney has to be sufficiently stamped and the same may be notarized or registered. Normally those involving immovable properties need to be registered in the office of the jurisdictional sub registrar. Apart from the signatures of the Principal and the Attorney, it is better to have the attestation by two witnesses.

A power of attorney may be granted by one Principal to several agents or several principals to one agent provided there is uniformity in the purpose.

The Power of Attorney is terminated on the revocation of the same by the principal, when the purpose of the instrument is completed, when either of the parties become unsound or dies and when the Principal is declared unsound.

It is a common thing that people leave out important information in registered deeds. Some times errors may creep in such documents. Such omissions or errors are fatal to those documents. People use a rectification deed to correct such mistakes.

In a rectification deed the same parties who were in the original deed, should be made the parties. Normally there is a mention about nature and contents of original deed. Thereafter the error or omission or defect in the earlier deed is described. After that, the change or addition to the earlier matter in the original deed is described in detail.

Normally in Karnataka the stamp duty for a rectification deed is Rs 100/-(Rupees One Hundred Only) and registration fee is Rs 100/- /-(Rupees One Hundred Only). In addition to this, the necessary scanning charges need to be paid. If there is some crucial changes like changes in the area of property, description of the property etc, then the subregistrator is entitled to demand the proportionate stamp duty and registration fee. It is ideal to keep the same witnesses as in the original deed. The rectification deed shall be signed by both the parties and the same shall be witnessed by the two witnesses.

For Future references the original deed and the rectification deed shall be considered together as one document. Only advocates and licensed deed writers are entitled to draft a rectification deed.

The sale agreement holder of a property is not entitled to sell the property to another person for the reason that he does not have absolute rights over the property. In such a case it is very common to enter into an assignment agreement to transfer the rights of the sale agreement holder to another person.

The person who transfers his rights is called assignor. The person who obtains rights through the assignment agreement is called assignee. Normally an assignment is done for some consideration.

Let us take an example. Assume A enters into a Sale agreement with B for the sale of a property, for, say Rs.100/- Here A is the vendor and B is the purchaser. Now B wants to assign his rights to C for a total consideration of Rs.120/-. Here B is the assignor and C is the assignee. The net profit got by B is Rs. 20/-.

Normally, the approval of the original vendor is required for an assignment. For this original owner may be made as a consenting witness. Some builders/owners may insist for a transfer fee for an assignment. The assignee gets all the rights and obligations of the assignor after the assignment agreement is signed and he steps into the shoes of the original agreement holder (assignor). An assignment agreement shall be carefully drafted with the assistance of an experienced advocate.

A Sale Agreement is a very common deed that one executes in transactions pertaining to immovable properties. In this article, let us see, the major ingredients of a normal sale agreement.

a) A sale agreement should contain the name, father’s name, age and address of the seller and purchaser.
b) It shall also contain the date of the agreement as well as the place where the agreement is executed.
c) A brief description of the property which is the subject matter of the sale shall be given in the body of the agreement and the detailed description of the same shall be given in a separate schedule which is at the last portion of the sale agreement. As a normal convention, the property which is the subject matter of a sale agreement is referred in the agreement as schedule property.
d) The sale agreement shall contain a clause, to the effect that the seller has offered the property for sale, to the purchaser and the purchaser has agreed to purchase the property from the seller.
e) There shall be a mention of the total sale consideration amount, as well as the amount which is paid at the time of entering into the agreement.
f) The period of the agreement shall be clearly spelt out in the agreement. It is the duty of the purchaser to pay the balance sale amount before the date of registration and get the property registered in his name.
g) The purchaser will have a right to appoint a nominee on his behalf for the purpose of registering the property.
h) It is ideal to give a brief description of the history of the property.
i) Normally, a penalty clause is provided in the sale agreement with an intention to derive commitment and seriousness from the parties to the agreement.
j) If there is any outstanding loan over the schedule property, the details of the same shall be mentioned in the sale agreement and the manner in which the seller shall clear the said loan has to be mentioned in the sale agreement.
k) If there are any other documents to be procured by the seller or any things to be done from the side of the seller before the date of registration, then the same shall find a place in the agreement.
l) Normally, all the expenses towards the drafting of the sale agreement, sale deed, stamp duty, registration charges etc shall be borne by the purchaser.
m) The possession of the property shall be handed over to the purchaser on the day of the registration. If the possession is handed over at the time of sale agreement, then the stamp duty on the sale agreement will considerably vary.
n) The original documents are normally handed over by the seller to the purchaser at the time of registration.
o) The sale agreement shall be signed by both the seller and purchaser and the same shall be witnessed by two witnesses.
p) Only advocates and registered deed writers are authorized to draft a sale agreement.

Gift is a very common mode of transfer in immovable as well as movable properties. Section 122 of the Transfer Of property Act defines a Gift as a transfer of moveable and immovable property by one person called the “Donor” to another person called the “Donee”. A Gift shall be made voluntarily and without any consideration. The gift shall be accepted by the Donee during the lifetime of the Donor. A gift can be made only of a property that is existing and not of future things. A gift, once given, cannot be revoked, in the normal course, for any reasons.

A Gift Deed needs to be registered and attested by two witnesses. It also attracts stamp duty. When the Donee is a member of the family of the Donor (including husband, wife, son, daughter, daughter in law and grand children) there is a stamp duty benefit when the gift of the immovable property is made. Gifts not covering the above said relations and between strangers involve stamp duty as in a sale transaction. A gift of movable property can be effected by simple delivery of the property.

As far as possible market value of the property gifted should be indicated in the Gift deed. There should be a clause that the donee has received possession of the gifted property. The Donor should not reserve any right for himself in the gifted property.

Normally only advocates and licensed deed writers are permitted to draft deeds. However on many occasions general public draft common deeds relying on the models they have. A lease agreement or a rental agreement is a very common document used by the public. In many cases the real estate agents themselves take upon the role of a deed writer. However, let us see the essential requirements of a lease agreement.

The person who lets out a premise for lease is known as Lessor. The person who takes the premises for his use is known as the Lessee. The premise which is the subject matter of the lease is the Leased premise.

A lease agreement shall contain the time period of the lease. A lease agreement for a period of more than 1 year need to be registered in the state of Karnataka. Hence the usual practice is to go for a lease of 11 months and then renew the same for further periods. The lease agreement shall be properly stamped.

The lease agreement shall mention the rent reserved for the premises as well as the date of payment of the same. Similarly it shall contain the details of the security deposit paid. Normally the security deposit shall not bear any interest.

There should be a proper description of the premises leased. Further the responsibility of payments of electricity bills, water bills, telephone bills etc, is on the Lessee. However, it is the duty of the Lessor to pay the land and building taxes.
The mode of termination of the lease shall be clearly spelt out in the lease agreement. Similarly there should be a provision for the issuance of notices to each party.

The terms Lessor and Lessee shall be deemed to include their successors, executors, legal representatives and permitted assigns. In the schedule, the leased premises should be described properly including the municipal number, the area and floor of the leased premises.

It shall contain the mention of the nature of activity permitted in the premises. Further there should be a mention that the Lessee is not permitted to sub-let or sub-lease the premises.

Normally, there is one clause to the effect the Lessor will have the right to inspect the leased premises after giving sufficient notice to the Lessee. Few agreements provide for a ‘Lock-in-period’ where neither of the parties can terminate the agreement.

Usually, late payment of the rent attracts interest at 18% per annum. It is a duty cast upon the lessee to deduct TDS if applicable and to furnish TDS certificate to the Lessor in time.

In case of apartments and shopping complexes a separate maintenance charge is also demanded for the maintenance of the common areas. There should be an understanding as to whether this is included in the rent or not.