Norms for a joint venture

Your property-related legal queries answered by S.C. RAGHURAM, Partner, RANK Associates, a Chennai-based law firm

I obtained a home loan (from IOB) worth ₹25.5 lakh in 2010. As per the sanction order, I had to pay an EMI of ₹33,865 for 108 instalments starting from August 2011 (after a holiday period of one year), which means the repayment ends in August 2020.

In the meantime, I have asked for a loan balance certificate, in which they mentioned that ₹7,27,500 is the balance to be paid. But I have only ten EMIs that amount to ₹3,38,650 only. I have paid all the instalments without any delay so far.

In this regard, I have sent a mail to the branch for clarification and there is no reply from them for the same. How do I proceed further?

P.Kasinatha Pandian

Chennai

At your request, the bank has to provide a statement of account for the loan transaction. The same would be required for your tax purposes as well.

You can check whether all payments made by you are duly reflected in the said statement. In the event that any payments made by you are not reflected accurately, you may write to the bank bringing the discrepancies to its notice and seeking issuance of a rectified statement.

You could also meet the concerned officer personally to resolve these issues. If these measures do not succeed, you may issue a notice to the bank through your lawyer and initiate appropriate legal proceedings in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement.

We are developing a property through a joint venture (JV) — entered in 2016 — with a builder. The construction — a stilt with two floors and two apartments on each floor — is almost complete.

The builder says that there is no need for him to get a completion certificate and an occupancy certificate from the Corporation as the number of dwellings is only four.

Is this accurate? Is it necessary to get the JV registered before selling the property?

V. Ramesh

Chennai

For residential buildings with four dwelling units, it is mandatory to obtain a completion certificate issued by the executive authority of the respective constituent local body, as per the circular dated 31.5.2018 issued by the Office of Commissioner of Town and Country Planning.

There is no provision for registering a joint venture agreement as on date and the said document will be valid and enforceable without registration.