Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the government considered a proposal to repeal the order allowing individuals to write out property title deeds, two persons have drafted their deeds and completed the registration procedures all by themselves.
The self-written deeds were submitted to the sub-registrar offices in Thrissur and Poonjar by Kalathodu Anto D. Ollukkaran and his wife Sunamol Anto and P.R. Raveendran Thampi, respectively.
According to them, they saved about Rs 12,500 and Rs 30,000, respectively, by doing it themselves.
Interestingly, the documents were written in simple, straightforward sentences bereft of obsolete usages.
Minister for public works and registration G. Sudhakaran had hinted at the withdrawal of the decision to allow individuals register deeds due to poor response to the proposal from the general public.
Following the hike in registration charges in the state, property registration procedures have burned a big hole in common man’s pockets. As a result, they have started preparing deeds themselves without the help of licensed document writers as a cost-cutting measure.
The hand-written draft document will be scrutinized by officials at the sub-registrar’s office and instruct the individuals to make changes, if necessary.
Copies of different models of deeds and guidelines are uploaded on the Registration Department’s website in order to make the processes easier for the common people and ensure error-free drafts.
The government issued the order permitting individuals to write their own deeds on May 31. Until then, only licensed deed-writers and legal advisers had the right to file a deed.
The plan to roll back came in the face of a widespread protests from document writers, who alleged the move was impractical and it would result in endless litigation.
However, with the hike in the stamp duty and registration fee, people are now forced to go through the cumbersome process to save money.