Why a GPA Is Not a Title: The Power of Attorney Trap for Bengaluru Buyers

A buyer looking at a plot on the edge of Bengaluru was offered what sounded like a bargain. The seller did not want to do a full registered sale deed. Instead he offered to sign over a general power of attorney, an agreement to sell, and a will, all at once, for a price well below the market. It looked like ownership wrapped in paperwork. It was not. That bundle, common as it once was, does not make anyone the owner of land, and a buyer who accepts it can pay in full and still not own the property.

The short answer. A general power of attorney, or GPA, does not transfer ownership of property. The Supreme Court settled this in the Suraj Lamp judgment, holding that title to immovable property passes only through a duly registered sale deed, not through a GPA, an agreement to sell, or a will. The trade-off is stark. A GPA sale may be cheaper and quicker because it dodges a proper registered deed and full stamp duty, but you get limited contractual rights rather than ownership, and you may be unable to mutate, resell, or defend the property later.

What does a GPA actually do, and not do?

A general power of attorney is an authorisation, not a transfer of ownership. It lets one person act for another in defined matters, and in property it is most often used so that an agent can sign documents on an owner's behalf. What it does not do is make the holder the owner of the property. The distinction sounds technical, but it is the whole difference between owning a home and merely holding a piece of paper about it.

The Supreme Court made this unambiguous in the Suraj Lamp case. Title to immovable property, the Court held, cannot be conveyed through a GPA, an agreement to sell, or a will, and passes only through a duly registered conveyance, which for a buyer means a registered sale deed. This is why the old habit of buying through a GPA, once widespread to save stamp duty and time, leaves a buyer exposed rather than protected.

There is a legitimate use of a power of attorney that should not be confused with a GPA sale. A registered power of attorney can authorise an agent to execute a registered sale deed on the true owner's behalf, which is perfectly valid when the owner cannot attend in person. The danger is only when a GPA is handed to you in place of a sale deed, as if it were the transfer itself.

Karnataka is no exception to this rule, and buyers on the city's fast growing outskirts see GPA offers most often, usually on plots and revenue sites where the paperwork is thinner. The temptation is understandable, because the land looks cheap and the seller sounds confident. But the law that governs the transfer is the same central law the Supreme Court interpreted, so a GPA carries no more weight in Bengaluru than anywhere else. A buyer who understands this can hear the offer politely and still say no.

Why is a GPA sale risky for a buyer?

The core risk is that you never become the legal owner, whatever you paid. Because a GPA does not convey title, the rightful owner or their legal heirs can later challenge the transaction, and courts have consistently protected the true owner over a GPA buyer. What you hold is a limited contractual right, such as the ability to seek performance of the agreement, not the secure ownership a registered deed gives.

The practical fallout follows quickly. Revenue and municipal authorities often refuse to mutate a GPA property into the buyer's name, so the tax and civic records stay with the original owner. Without mutation and a clean title, reselling the property is hard, a bank will usually not lend against it, and any redevelopment or future transaction stalls. You end up with a property you cannot fully use, sell, or protect.

The discount that makes a GPA sale tempting is really the price of that risk. A seller who avoids a registered sale deed avoids full stamp duty and, sometimes, avoids revealing a title problem. When the saving is large and the seller resists a proper deed, treat the resistance itself as the most important fact in the deal. A genuine owner with clean title has little reason to refuse a registered sale deed, since it is the normal and expected way to sell. A seller who insists on a GPA instead is either avoiding stamp duty or hiding a defect, and both quietly become your problem the moment you pay.

How do the different instruments compare?

It helps to see what each document does and does not achieve. The table below lines up the common instruments against the one that actually transfers ownership.

How does this connect to verifying a purchase properly?

A GPA sale is really a failure of the same title discipline that protects any purchase. The way to avoid it is the way to buy safely in general, by insisting on a registered sale deed executed by the rightful owner and by checking the chain of title behind it. If the seller cannot produce a clean chain of ownership documents, a GPA is often being used to paper over that gap.

This is why a GPA red flag sits alongside the other title checks a Bengaluru buyer should run. Our guide on the difference between a sale agreement and a sale deed explains why only the registered deed transfers ownership, and our explainer on the mother deed and chain of title shows how to trace ownership back through the documents. A GPA offered in place of a sale deed is usually a sign that one of those checks would fail.

What should a buyer do to stay safe?

Work through these steps whenever a power of attorney appears in a deal. Each keeps you on the side of real ownership rather than a paper substitute.

1. Insist on a registered sale deed in your name as the instrument that transfers ownership.
2. Treat any offer to sell only through a GPA, agreement to sell, or will as a warning sign.
3. If a power of attorney is used, confirm it is registered and only authorises signing the sale deed for the owner.
4. Verify the seller is the rightful owner by tracing the chain of title through the mother deed.
5. Have a property lawyer read the documents before you pay any token or advance.
6. After registration, apply to mutate the property into your name in the municipal and revenue records.
7. Keep the registered sale deed, the title documents, and every receipt together in one file.

None of this is exotic. It is simply refusing to accept a shortcut that the highest court has already said does not work. A slightly higher price for a properly registered deed is not a cost, it is the difference between owning the home and merely occupying a dispute.

What if I already bought through a GPA?

If you already hold a property through a GPA, the priority is to convert it into proper ownership while you still can. Where the true owner is willing and available, the cleanest fix is to execute a registered sale deed now, so that title actually passes to you. This may mean paying the stamp duty that was avoided earlier, but it buys you the ownership the GPA never gave.

Where the owner is unreachable or unwilling, you are in more difficult territory and should take specific legal advice on your options, which may include enforcing the agreement to sell. The lesson for any future purchase is the one the Suraj Lamp ruling drew years ago. A registered sale deed is not a formality to be skipped for a discount, it is the only document that makes the home truly yours. For your next purchase, buy into a clean, registered transaction, whether a resale flat or a project like Brigade Lakecrest at KR Puram, and never through a GPA in place of a deed.

What do Bengaluru buyers ask most about GPA sales?

Can I buy a property through a general power of attorney?

You should not treat a general power of attorney as a way to own a property. The Supreme Court has held that a GPA does not transfer title, so buying through a GPA sale instead of a registered sale deed leaves you without ownership. Only a registered sale deed in your name conveys title to immovable property.

Is a power of attorney ever valid in a property deal?

Yes, in its proper role. A registered power of attorney can authorise an agent to sign a registered sale deed on the owner's behalf, which is legitimate when the owner cannot attend. The problem is only when a GPA is used in place of a sale deed to transfer ownership to you, which the law does not allow.

Why do sellers offer a GPA sale at a lower price?

A GPA sale is often cheaper because it lets the seller avoid registering a proper sale deed and paying full stamp duty, or because the title is unclear. That discount is the price of the risk you take on. You may pay less today and find later that you cannot mutate, resell, or defend the property as its owner.

What should I insist on instead of a GPA sale?

Insist on a registered sale deed in your name, executed by the rightful owner or by an agent under a valid registered power of attorney. Verify the title chain and get the property mutated into your name afterwards. If a seller will only offer a GPA, treat it as a warning sign and walk away rather than risk your money.

Last updated 2026-09-13. PropNewz Team.