Chandigarh, January 11
With the Supreme Court barring conversion of independent houses into apartments falling in Phase I (heritage) of the city, owners and co-owners of residential units will now have difficulty selling their properties.
Now, those having a share (floor) in a particular residential unit will no longer be able to sell their part of the property individually. The property can be sold as a single unit if all co-owners agree to do so.
Likewise, those having inherited or bought all three floors of a residential unit can only sell the entire property to a buyer. In such circumstances, there may be a dearth of buyers, as the collective price of the house may get out of reach of many potential purchasers.
“It is a big hassle and we are in a dilemma. We had bought the ground floor of a 12-marla house with hard-earned money. It was registered on a 50 per cent share basis with the upper two floors divided into 30 per cent and 20 per cent share, respectively. I can no longer sell my share of the property now. Why will the other two owners agree to sell their portions? The entire plot has to be sold. I am stuck,” says a worried Namrata, a resident of Sector 30.
The apex court has barred conversion of independent houses into apartments in Sectors 1 to 30.
The court delivered its judgement on the appeals challenging the November 2021 verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had held there was no provision under the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulations) Act, 1952, or the Rules framed thereunder governing transfer of shares in relation to a site or building whether owned singly or under joint ownership.
The High Court had also held sale of shares out of a building or site by the allottee or transferee was not barred and was permissible under the general civil law.
The dilemma
Allottees/owners in Sectors 1 to 30 can’t sell parts of residential units to unrelated buyersCo-owners cannot sell their part of property; only the entire unit can now be soldDearth of buyers is likely as collective price of the entire house may be out of reach of many
Stuck with part of unit
We had bought ground floor of a 12-marla house. It was registered on a 50% share basis. I can no longer sell my share of property. The entire plot has to be sold. I am stuck. — Namrata, a resident of Sector 30
