Paid for the flat, but whose land? What your agreement says and what only a conveyance deed does

Rules as of 13 October 2026.

You paid for a flat and hold a registered agreement. Most buyers assume the land under the building is theirs too, in some small share. In a Maharashtra housing society the law is more specific, and the difference sits in two documents: the agreement for sale you signed, and the conveyance deed you may never have seen.

What the agreement for sale must tell you

Under section 4 of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963 (MOFA), a promoter must sign a registered agreement before taking more than 20% of the price. The agreement has to state, among other things, the proportionate price of the common areas and facilities, shown separately, and the "percentage of undivided interest in the common areas and facilities appertaining to the flat" (section 4(1A)). Section 3(2)(a) also requires the promoter to disclose the nature of his title to the land.

So the agreement gives you a stated share of the common areas. It does not, by itself, move the land into your name or the society's name.

What the conveyance deed does

Section 11(1) of MOFA says the promoter must complete his title and convey his rights in the land and building to the organisation of flat buyers, meaning the society, company or association. The conveyance goes to the society, not to each flat owner. Rule 9 of the MOFA Rules sets four months from formation of the society, as the Bombay High Court records in Darshan Mandir CHS (22 June 2026).

Until that deed is executed, the land is still with the builder or the original landowner. If they do not convey, members can go to the Competent Authority for a unilateral "deemed conveyance" under section 11(3). The High Court has described the developer's title as presumed lost once the developer fails to convey, a presumption that can be rebutted (Darshan Mandir, para 29). It has also said such a certificate does not finally settle title disputes, which go to a civil court (Kamalbaug, 4 October 2023).

"What share of land do I own?"

MOFA does not fix a formula. The percentage is whatever your agreement says. Builders commonly work it out from area, but that is a practice, not a rule in the Act.

The clearest picture of what such a percentage does comes from a condominium governed by the Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act, 1970, where each owner has an undivided interest in the common areas by law (section 6(1)). In Sachin Malpani v. Nilam Patil (Bombay High Court, 4 August 2025) the declaration listed shares from 0.2528% for a 2BHK to 0.4044% for a 4BHK with garden, and the court held that common-area charges follow those shares.

Worked example (illustrative)

Suppose common-area costs are ₹10 lakh a month. At 0.2528% a 2BHK owner pays ₹2,528; at 0.4044% a 4BHK owner pays ₹4,044. That is how a percentage turns into rupees. A co-operative society works differently, because the land and building are meant to sit with the society, and the same costs are shared under its bye-laws. Your share on paper is a statement of interest in common areas, not a plot you can sell.

Question	Before conveyance	After conveyance to society
Who holds the land?	Builder or original landowner	The society (section 11(1))
Your document	Registered agreement with stated % of common areas	Agreement plus society membership; the deed is the society's
Redevelopment	Depends on builder or owner's cooperation	Society can act on its own title, subject to lease terms

Leasehold or freehold?

Much Mumbai land is leased from the government or a trust. MOFA itself says nothing about leasehold land, so read the lease. Two court examples show why. In Faime Makers (Supreme Court, 1 April 2025), a society sought assignment of leasehold rights under section 11, but the landowner had taken a surrender of the lease, and the Court sent the society to a civil forum to sort out the complications. In Vallabhnagar CHS (Bombay High Court, 3 February 2026), a lease clause made prior written consent and a premium conditions for transfer, though the court said any premium must be read subject to government ceilings under section 79A of the Co-operative Societies Act.

If the building collapses

I found no provision in MOFA that deals with a building being destroyed. The Act is silent on collapse and on leasehold land. What follows is my reading of how the pieces fit, not a stated rule:

• If the society already has the conveyance, the land stays in the society's name; the collapse affects the building, not the title. Insurance, the municipal order and members' rights to rebuild would then run through the society and its bye-laws.
• If there is no conveyance, the land is still with the builder or landowner. Members would be relying on the agreement and on a deemed-conveyance application, which a court may send to a civil forum if title is disputed.
• If the land is leased, the remaining lease term and the lessor's consent can matter more than anything you hold as a flat owner.

Your own society's papers decide this. An advocate should read them before a crisis, not after.

Checklist: what to ask your society

• Is there a registered conveyance or lease deed in the society's name? Ask to see it.
• What percentage of common areas does my agreement state?
• If the land is leased: who is the lessor, when does the lease end, and what does it say about transfer and renewal?
• Is the property card or 7/12 extract in the society's name?

This explains the law and is not legal advice.