What Should an Individual do if the Lender Loses Original Sales Deed of a Property?

Last Updated : May 9, 2020, 1:30 p.m.

Home Loans have made it possible for many to buy a home. Through this facility, a borrower gets the required funds from the lender at affordable interest rates. A home loan is a secured loan as it comes with an equitable mortgage of the property you buy. The original sales deed remains with the lender till the time you repay the loan fully.

This sales deed will be returned to you once the repayment is over. But what should you do if despite repaying the full loan amount, your lender is unable to return your original sales deed since they have lost it? This situation can happen to anyone, and you must know what to do in such a situation. In this article, we will tell you about all the steps that you need to perform in case such mishappening occurs and also about what exactly is a Sales Deed. So, keep reading to know more!

What is a Sales Deed?

Before knowing what you should do if the bank loses the original sales deed, it is important to know what exactly is a Sales Deed. Also known as the Final Deed and Conveyance Deed, a Sales Deed is the biggest proof of your ownership of the property. Without this, it would be quite difficult to prove to anyone that this particular property belongs to you only.

Sales Deed is a statement in writing declaring the transfer of the ownership rights of the property from one individual to another in return of the price paid. Without having an original sales deed, it is almost impossible to purchase or sell any land or construction made on it. The person who will be paying the price is known as the Buyer or Transferee and the person who is transferring the property is known as the Seller or Transferor.

The Sales Deed of any property contains various important details such as the details of buyer & seller, final deal price of the property, accepted mode of the payment, and the time within the possession of the property will be handed to the buyer. You must also remember this fact that a sales deed is very different from the sales agreement. So, don’t confuse the Sale Agreement with the Sales Deed.

Steps that You Can Take in Case Bank Loses the Original Sales Deed

So now you have some knowledge about the Sales Deed, you must have estimated the importance of it. If you come across a situation when your bank loses the original sales deed, there are a few steps that you need to follow. We are mentioning all of them below. Have a look!

Receive an Acknowledgment from the Bank

The first thing you should do when your bank tells you that they have lost the original sales deed is to receive an acknowledgment about the same. And remember that this statement must be in writing and not verbally. Because it is possible that concerned officials of the bank will tell you the same verbally.

The statement must come from a bank in writing telling about the loss of the original documents. Do not forget to have the signature of the concerned bank officials with a seal on it to make it authentic and acceptable.

Suppose your bank refuses to provide an acknowledgment about the same. You should then file an official complaint to your lender mentioning all the details of the submitted documents, details of the original documents that the bank has lost, and the acknowledgment about this complaint.

Filing an Official Police Complaint

Apart from demanding the acknowledgment about the loss of documents, you may also ask your bank to file a police complaint about the loss of your original sales deed, since it was in their possession and it is the bank’s responsibility to file an official police complaint about it. If the bank declines to do so, you must do it by yourself by submitting a copy of the complaint submitted by you to the bank. In the Police FIR, you must clearly state that the bank has lost the Sales Deed submitted by you against the home loan from the bank.

After this, submit this FIR copy to the bank and receive an acknowledgment about it with the signature and bank seal on it.

Public Notice in at least 2 Newspapers

Other than all the above-mentioned steps, you can also publish public notices in leading newspapers about the loss of your sales deed by the bank by mentioning all your property details. After this, you must wait for at least one or two weeks to see if someone returns your documents or any other objection regarding your public notice. Keep this press copy along with your complaint and FIR Copy as proof that the bank has lost your original sales Deed.

File Complaint in Consumer Forum

You can also complain at Consumer Forum or Banking Ombudsman after the bank informs you about the loss of Sales Deed. Losing your Original Sales Deed of the property is a kind of service deficiency from the bank’s side and you could ask for the compensation for it. The compensation will be according to the respective bank’s compensatory policy for the loss of original documents.

You will need to attach all the important documents while filing a complaint to the Consumer Forum. All of them are mentioned below.

• Copy of the Acknowledgment issued by the bank
• Complaint filed by you to the bank regarding the loss of Sales Deed
• Police Complaint filed by you
• All the documents related to the loan
• Newspaper Notice issued by you
• Acknowledgment/ Receipt of the deposit of the Sales Deed

What is the Procedure to Get an Original Copy of Sales Deed from the Registrar’s Office

Without the original sales deed of your property, you may face difficulty in selling the property or even getting a loan against your property. In that case, you can get a copy or original sales deed from the registrar office by submitting all the related documents related to it. You will have to pay an application fee regarding this facility.

After this, you must ask for the Encumbrance Certificate from the Registrar Office to make sure that everything is fine from their end. Apart from this, your builder with whom you have had a deal on your property can also provide you the duplicate copy of the Sales Deed.