Freehold rights for shops made easier by DDA

NEW DELHI: In a major move that will benefit lakhs of shop owners in the capital, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Friday approved a proposal to revise its policy for conversion of property from leasehold to freehold.

Shop owners in commercial complexes, developed by private builders on land auctioned by DDA, can easily get their property converted to freehold based on the built-up area.

“Now, space buyers (shop owners) can approach the DDA for execution of the apartment deed in their favour in case the developer/builder does not execute the same with them. Further, they can also get their spaces (shops/office) changed to freehold, even without the co-operation of the builder/developer, after paying all dues,” a senior DDA official said.

HT, on February 28, 2019 , had reported that the DDA has initiated the process to revise the policy to help lakhs of shop owners in builder-developed commercial complexes located in various parts of the city.

Currently, shop owners in commercial complexes in areas such as Nehru Place, Rajendra Nagar, Rohini, Dwarka and Pitampura are unable to get their properties converted to freehold, as the land lease is in the name of private developers.

“This will give a huge relief to those who have purchased the space from developer, who are now not cooperating in with the buyer in drawing up apartment deeds for making a property freehold. The decision has been taken for implementation of the provisions of Delhi Apartment Ownership Act,” the official said.

DDA officials said freehold rights has been a longstanding demand of shop owners. While dealing with commercial properties in Delhi, the central government has implemented the Apartment Ownership Act, 2009. “We have just adopted the Act and now the benefits will be extended to individual shop owners, who can now form an association and approach DDA to get their properties converted to freehold,” Subu R, commissioner, land disposal, DDA, said.

DDA officials said they have been receiving a lot of complaints over the past few years in this regard, as shop owners couldn’t take loan against their properties. “Shop owners are unable to get their properties registered as freehold, as developers were not cooperating with them. We are hopeful that this decision will resolve their problems to a large extend,” the official said.

Robin Sharma, president of Dwarka Vyapar Mandal, has been pursuing the matter with the DDA since 2004. “We have been asking DDA to simplify the policy. We will have to see what kind of changes have now been made in the policy,” Sharma said.