Real Estate and Property Law

Real estate in India is legally intensive in a way that few other asset classes are. A single transaction can involve title investigation across multiple decades of ownership, fragmented land records, state-specific land ceiling and tenancy legislation, RERA compliance obligations, stamp duty structuring, GST implications, and environmental and regulatory clearances. For developers, lenders, corporate occupiers, and investors, the legal work required to acquire, develop, finance, or divest a real estate asset is substantial, and the consequences of doing it poorly are equally so.

Acuity Law’s Real Estate and Property Law practice provides comprehensive legal services across the full range of real estate transactions, from individual property acquisitions by high-net-worth individuals to large-scale development projects, joint ventures, commercial leases, and construction finance.

The practice is led by seasoned practitioners who have worked at leading Indian law firms and brings deep transactional and advisory experience. The team works in close conjunction with the firm’s M&A and PE/VC practice and tax practice, ensuring that clients receive integrated advice across corporate, tax, and real estate dimensions on every transaction.

Due Diligence and Title Investigation

A reliable title opinion is the foundation of any property transaction. We conduct comprehensive due diligence on urban and rural lands, immovable properties, and development projects:

• Conducting detailed title investigation of urban and rural lands, immovable properties, and ongoing and proposed development projects, covering the full chain of title from the earliest available revenue records.
• Issuing Title Certificates, Title Reports, and title opinions on the marketability and encumbrance status of properties, for buyers, lenders, and RERA registration purposes.
• Reviewing and analysing revenue records, property cards, mutation entries, development permissions, RERA registrations, encumbrance certificates, and municipal records.
• Advising on title defects, identified risks, and the measures required to cure or mitigate those risks before a transaction proceeds.
• Government property due diligence: title investigation for Collector Lands, MCGM Lands, and other government-owned or government-allotted properties.
• Agricultural land due diligence: analysis of land ceiling compliance, fragmentation restrictions, Adivasi and tribal land provisions, and tenancy law implications for proposed acquisitions of agricultural or rural land.

Property Acquisitions, Dispositions and Development Transactions

We provide end-to-end transaction support for all types of real estate acquisitions, disposals, and development transactions:

• Acquisition and disposition of residential, commercial, and industrial properties, including agricultural land and land for bonafide industrial use.
• Structuring property transactions, including analysis of direct purchase, SPV acquisition, development rights acquisition, and slum rehabilitation or cluster redevelopment structures.
• Drafting, negotiating, and finalising all transaction documentation, including sale and purchase agreements, conveyances, development agreements, power of attorney documents, and post-execution registration.
• Development project documentation: agreements for sale, construction agreements, development management agreements, and RERA-mandated allotment letters and agreements with home buyers.
• Redevelopment transactions: documentation for redevelopment of co-operative housing societies, privately owned and tenanted properties, and MHADA properties.
• Advising on stamp duty incidence and computation, structuring to optimise stamp duty liability within applicable law, and managing the document registration process.

Joint Ventures, Joint Development and Co-Development

Real estate development in India frequently involves joint structures between landowners and developers, or between co-developers. We advise on the full range of collaborative structures:

• Joint venture structures between landowners and developers, including revenue-sharing arrangements, development rights transfer structures, and area-sharing joint developments.
• Joint development agreements and co-development agreements for residential, commercial, mixed-use, township, and senior living projects.
• Advising on the governance of joint venture entities, including SPV formation, shareholder agreements, exit provisions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Advising on the tax and stamp duty implications of different joint venture structures, in coordination with the firm’s tax practice.
• Investment by private equity and fund investors into real estate development platforms, including FDI structuring, AIF investment documentation, and exit provisions.

Commercial and Residential Leases and Licences

We advise landlords, tenants, and licensees on the full range of commercial and residential leasing transactions:

• Commercial property leases and licences, including office premises, retail spaces, warehousing, industrial facilities, and mixed-use developments.
• Built-to-suit lease and licence arrangements for corporate occupiers, including IT establishments, data centres, data parks, hospitals, and logistics and warehousing facilities.
• Residential leases and licences, including high-value residential properties and rental housing arrangements.
• Landlord and tenant advisory: documentation for creation, renewal, surrender, and transfer of tenancies; advising on rent control legislation in Maharashtra and other applicable states.
• GST advisory on lease and licence transactions, including classification of supply, applicable rates, and input tax credit eligibility.

RERA Compliance and Project Finance

RERA and construction finance are two of the most operationally intensive areas of real estate law. We advise developers, lenders, and buyers on both:

• RERA compliance: advising developers on project registration, mandatory disclosures, escrow account obligations, quarterly progress reporting, and handling of complaints before the Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
• RERA documentation: preparing and reviewing RERA-mandated allotment letters, agreements for sale, and disclosure documents for residential and commercial projects.
• Lender RERA advisory: advising banks and housing finance companies on their RERA obligations as lenders to RERA-registered projects.
• Construction and project finance: advising on funding structures for development projects, including term loan documentation, creation and registration of mortgage security, escrow and cash flow management arrangements, and conditions precedent to drawdown.
• Advising on environmental clearances, building permissions, and occupation certificates as conditions precedent in both development and lending transactions.

Regulatory, Stamp Duty and Land Law Advisory

The regulatory overlay on Indian real estate is multi-layered and state-specific. We advise on the full range of regulatory, revenue law, and tax issues that arise in real estate transactions:

• Stamp duty advisory: advising on applicable stamp duty rates across Maharashtra and other states, structuring transactions to minimise stamp duty liability within the law, and managing the adjudication and registration process.
• GST on real estate: advising on taxability of development and redevelopment transactions, the treatment of under-construction property sales, input tax credit eligibility for developers, and the GST implications of joint development arrangements.
• Land Revenue Code compliance: advising on non-agricultural conversion permissions, land use change, fragmentation rules, and ceiling compliance for rural and agricultural land acquisitions.
• Adivasi and tribal land: advising on restrictions on the transfer of land owned by scheduled tribe members in Maharashtra and other states, and the permissions required for valid acquisition.
• Rural land aggregation: advising on land aggregation strategies for industrial, infrastructure, and township projects.
• Environmental clearances: advising on the environmental impact assessment and clearance process for development projects.

Testamentary, Succession and Trust Law

The practice has longstanding experience in succession and trust law, particularly for high net worth individuals and family groups with significant real estate holdings:

• Drafting of Wills and Codicils, including complex testamentary arrangements for multi-property and multi-jurisdictional estates.
• Creation of family trusts and private trusts for succession planning and seamless transfer of real estate and other assets across generations.
• Filing of Testamentary Petitions before the Bombay High Court for grant of Probates and Letters of Administration, including contested and uncontested probate proceedings.
• Advising on the interaction between testamentary arrangements and RERA, mutation of property records, and the transfer of property from a deceased owner to heirs or beneficiaries.
• Advising foreign nationals and NRIs on their property rights in India, including inheritance of property, FEMA restrictions on NRI acquisition and disposition, and repatriation of sale proceeds.

The practice acts for the following categories of clients: