From the legal point of view, sale agreement and sale deed are two different things. People generally do not understand the difference between eh sale agreement and sale deed. When they get into an agreement with a seller, the form and format of the agreement may differ. Most of the time, people treat sale agreement and sale deed as the same thing. But it is not.
We discuss the difference between them.
Agreement of sale:
The agreement of sale is an agreement that has all the terms and conditions written for the
sale of the property. According to the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, “A contract for the sale of immovable property, is a contract that a sale of such property shall take place on the terms settled between the parties.” Section 54 further provides that “It does not, of itself, create any interest in or charge on such property.”
The agreement of sale does not give the buyer any right or interest in the property but only specifies the terms and conditions for the sale in the future. The sale agreement makes sure that the buyer and the seller are both satisfied with the terms laid out for the sale of the property.
Sale deed:
The agreement of sale may or may not lead to the sale of a property. Some states have stamp duty laws like Maharashtra Stamp Act; deem an agreement of sale of an immovable property, on the same footing as the proper deed of conveyance and therefore are subject to stamp duty as applicable according to the sale deed of the immovable property. due to the reasons for requiring payment of stamp duty on the agreement of sale, people generally mistake it as the agreement of sale, which it is not.
According to the transfer of Property Act, an agreement of sale with or without possession is not a conveyance. Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act enacts that the sale of the immovable property can be made only through a registered instrument and the agreement for sale does not create any interest or change on its subject matter.
Consequences of the failure to execute the sale deed
According to the Indian Registration Act, 1908, any transfer of immovable property which costs more than Re 1, has to be registered. So if a property has been sold under the agreement of sale but does not have any sale deed, then the buyer does not own any rights to the property.
According to the Section 53A, if the buyer has got the possession of the property while obliging with all the terms and conditions of the agreement, then the seller is not entitled to move the possession of the property, though the ownership of the property still remains to the seller.
Unless the sale deed is executed, the title of the property remains with the seller or developer even though you might have received the possession of the property. the immovable property can only be transferred through the sale deed.