Tax officers with revenue inspector give NEC certificate.
Get details about the non-encumbrance certificate while buying a property to avoid any property-related issues.
A Non-Encumbrance Certificate (NEC) is one of the most crucial documents required by any home buyer to purchase a property without any burden of a mortgage, loan, debt, or other obligations. A non-encumbrance certificate assures that the property being offered to the buyer is free from any encumbrances. It states that the property is not linked to any bank for obtaining a loan or any other financial obligation and is fully owned by the concerned individual.
The term “non-encumbrance” implies that the property has not been mortgaged and the individual is taking ownership without any burdens. There are two types of non-encumbrance certificates:
Form 15: This certificate is issued by the sub-registrar’s office if the property has existing monetary or legal liabilities at the time of the request.
Form 16: The sub-registrar’s office issues a NIL certificate (Form 16) stating that there are no disputes or charges on the property requested by the individual.
A non-encumbrance certificate is issued by a tahsildar, who is a tax official accompanied by a revenue inspector. The tahsildar is responsible for collecting land revenue and is considered an Executive Magistrate of land.
To obtain a non-encumbrance certificate, the buyer needs to follow these steps:
Fill out Form 22, providing details about the property and the certificate.
Confirm your identity and address.
Provide explicit details of the property, including the survey number, property description, and nearby properties.
The certificate is valid for the fiscal year (April–March), granting the buyer a certificate for one year.
Form 15 will be issued after 15–30 days if there are any charges lodged against the property, while Form 16 will be issued if there are no charges against the property. The certificate will include information such as the date of creation, amount of charge, types of charges, supporting documents, and more.
In India, some states offer an online computerized non-encumbrance certificate, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Kerala, Gujarat, and Puducherry. In other states, only handwritten certificates can be obtained.
(Please note that the process and requirements may vary slightly depending on the specific state and local regulations.)
