Encumbrance Certificate: What you should know?

When you want to buy or lease an immovable property, you want to get the maximum possible value out of it. In some cases, third-parties may have certain rights over the land. These are known as encumbrances. Encumbrances thus, expose the occupier of that land to the risk and reduce the value of that land. Hence, you should obtain an encumbrance certificate before you buy immovable property. 

Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

An Encumbrance Certificate (EC) is a document that records the encumbrances on a particular land. Thus, an EC is always issued for a particular land. 

The EC is an important document to review before acquiring land. It will inform you of the encumbrances on that land. As explained before, encumbrances, by their very nature, carry a financial risk. Hence, you may consider reducing the valuation of the land in question based on the number, and extent, of the encumbrances on the land in question. An EC will help you make an informed decision in this regard. 

Every state government maintains the land records of that state. Almost all transactions in the land are required to be registered with the local Sub-Registrar of Assurances. Thus, whenever an encumbrance was imposed on land, you can expect it to have been recorded in the land records pertaining to that land maintained by that Sub-Registrar. Hence, the EC for a land is issued by the local Sub-Registrar of Assurances. To know the encumbrances on a land, you must conduct an encumbrance certificate search. 

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Procedure for Obtaining Encumbrance Certificate in BBMP Areas

Karnataka has an easy process for obtaining the Encumbrance Certificate (EC) of lands situated in the state. This includes BBMP areas. You can use the Kaveri Online Services Portal to apply for and get an EC for a particular land. 

The process is as follows: 

1. Register for Kaveri Online Services as a new user. 

2. Log in with your username and password. 

3. Under the “Services” pane, click on the entry “Online EC.”

4. You then need to identify the land for which you want an EC. You can search for the property in either of 2 ways: either by the number of the property or the name of the parties to a transaction of that property. Use whichever mode is convenient for you. You can attempt up to 20 searches a day until you locate the land in question. 

5. Once you have identified the land in question, proceed further. Enter the OTP, which will be sent to your registered mobile number. You will then be able to view a draft EC. 

6. Pay the required fees online, and apply for a digitally signed copy of the EC. 

Get Encumbrance Certificate (EC) Online

Again use the  Kaveri Online Services Portal to download your Encumbrance Certificate (EC) online. The procedure is as follows: 

1. Login to Kaveri Online Services using your username and password. 

2. Use the “Pending/Saved Applications” pane to check for the status of your application. Search for Online EC Applications using the interface. The status of your application will be displayed against it. 

3. Once the application is approved, click on the “View Application” button, and download the digitally signed EC. 

The EC will specify the encumbrances on the land in question. If there are no encumbrances, you will get a nil Encumbrance Certificate, which will state that there are no encumbrances on that land. 

The EC will be digitally signed by the local Sub-Registrar of Assurances who issued the EC. A digital signature is as good as a physical signature. Hence, the digital signature on the EC will lead to encumbrance certificate verification. 

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Documents Required for Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

1. Any document containing the full address of the land: including the district, sub-district, and village, in which it is located. This will typically be found in an electricity bill, water bill, gas connection bill, a rent agreement, etc. 

2. A copy of any previous deed by which some transaction in respect of that property was carried out. The name of the parties and the transaction date will be helpful in identifying the property. 

3. Any document, such as an extract of the land record or a previous deed, which records the boundaries, type, and size of the property. This too will be necessary to identify the property.