WOMEN
REQUIRED TO PAY A LOWER STAMP DUTY
Women have never
had it so good. At least among Delhi's middleclass, housing
properties are increasingly being registered in the name of
women. This trend has gathered momentum following the legislation
passed by the Delhi government wherein women are required
to pay a lower stamp duty on the purchase and registration
houses. Stamp duty for women is 6% against 8% for property
registered in the name of men.
According to real
estate agent Sumit Mahajan, a large number of individuals
who are purchasing property for investment purposes are registering
it in name of their mother or wife. “If one is buying a house
for say Rs 1 crore and is planning to sell it within a couple
of years once the price has appreciated, it definitely makes
sense to save Rs 2 lakh by registering it in a woman's name,”
said he.
Mr Rajeev Baruah,
who recently bought an apartment in Dwarka, reaffirmed Mr
Mahajan's view. “I live in Assam and have bought this house
as I feel it's a good investment. I have got it registered
in my daughter's name and have consequently paid only 6% as
stamp duty.” “I don't see any reason as to why I should pay
extra money to the government,” he added as an after-thought.
According to Shahana
Farah, a Delhi High Court lawyer, the trend particularly in
the upper middle-class segment is changing and several people
are buying houses in their wives' name. Women on equal footing
However, she feels
that the effect of the legislation passed by the government
has not yet trickled down to the lower middleincome groups.
“This is partly because women in the middle-class are financially
somewhat independent,” she elaborated. Women have forayed
into various walks of life, are receiving fat salary packets
and are thus on an equal footing with men.
These working women
are able to secure home loans and can get the property registered
in their names even if the husband shares the financial burden.
While the trend
among upper-middle income couples is changing there is a flip
side to the story with respect to the lower-middle class couples.
In majority of
these cases, say lawyers, the man of the house earns more
than the woman, who may or may not be working. Consequently
the loan can only be secured in the man's name and hence the
house must also be registered in his name. It is true though
that it has a lot to do with the Indian male mentality as
well.
