LEASE REGISTRATION CHECKLIST
Tick each item when done and write the date beside it. This list names no stamp duty or fee; take current figures from the Sub-Registrar.
A. BEFORE THE DAY
[ ] Confirm with an advocate that this letting must be registered, and, in Punjab, which form the lease must take under the rent law that applies to this letting.
[ ] Settle the final text of the lease. Check names, addresses, area, rent, term and dates against the papers.
[ ] Work out the stamp duty from the current table for Punjab or Chandigarh, whichever applies to the premises, and the registration fee, or ask the Sub-Registrar.
[ ] Buy or pay for the stamp (e-stamp or stamp paper) in the name of the party who bears it. The lease and the stamp must carry the same date or the stamp must be earlier.
[ ] Print the lease on the stamp paper or attach the e-stamp certificate, with a page count that matches in every copy.
[ ] Book the registration appointment, where the office allows it, and check the office's working days and timings.
[ ] Check the time limit for presenting the lease for registration, counted from the date of signing. If the time is short, ask the advocate what to do.
B. PAPERS EACH PARTY BRINGS
[ ] Original photo identity card of each signatory and of each witness, and a copy of each.
[ ] PAN card of each party, and the GST registration if a party is registered.
[ ] Recent passport-size photographs of each signatory, as many as the office asks for.
[ ] If a party is a company or firm: the board resolution, partners' authority or other authority naming who signs, with that person's identity.
[ ] If a party signs through an attorney: the power of attorney, properly registered or authenticated, with the attorney's identity.
[ ] Mobile numbers and email addresses of both parties, for the office's OTP or contact.
C. PROPERTY PAPERS
[ ] Proof that the landlord is entitled to let the premises: sale deed, allotment letter, lease from the allotting authority, or other title paper.
[ ] In Chandigarh, if the premises are held on a lease from the Administration, check with an advocate or the estate office whether any permission or intimation is needed before it is sub-let, and bring the lease papers.
[ ] The latest property tax receipt and, where applicable, a no-dues paper from the building society or association.
[ ] A plan or description showing the area let, and a copy of any annexure that forms part of the lease, such as a list of landlord's works or fit-out rules.
[ ] Co-owners: every co-owner must sign or give a proper written authority.
D. WITNESSES
E. AT THE SUB-REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
[ ] All signatories and the two witnesses attend on the day, with originals.
[ ] Photographs and fingerprints are taken and the parties sign before the registering officer.
[ ] Pay the registration fee and any other charge the office states; keep the receipt.
[ ] Check the office's endorsement on the lease: registration number, date, book and volume.
F. AFTER REGISTRATION
[ ] Collect the registered lease, or note the date it will be ready and who will collect it.
[ ] Give each party a registered copy, and keep the original safe.
[ ] Enter the lease details (start date, expiry, rent, escalation, lock-in) in your own records.
[ ] If the lease is not registered within the time allowed, take legal advice at once.