Buying a Resale Flat in Bengaluru: The Seller's Default Duties Under Section 55
Section 55 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 sets default duties for sellers: disclose hidden material defects, produce title documents, pay charges accrued up to sale, discharge encumbrances and deliver originals on full payment. A sale agreement can override these defaults.
Picture a resale flat that looks right, at an agreed price, with a seller who says the paperwork is "all clear." Then, a month after registration, the association sends a notice for two years of unpaid property tax, and the bathroom wall turns out to have been hiding a leak the seller had patched twice. For a Bengaluru buyer, the question is not just what the seller said, but what the law says a seller must do by default. That answer sits in Section 55 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
Section 55 sets the rights and liabilities of buyer and seller of immovable property "in the absence of a contract to the contrary." This guide explains what those default rules are and why your sale agreement can change them. It is general information, not advice on any transaction.
The short answer. Unless the contract says otherwise, Section 55 binds a seller to disclose material defects in the property or title that the buyer could not discover with ordinary care, produce title documents on request, answer relevant questions, pay public charges and rent accrued up to the date of sale, and discharge existing encumbrances unless the sale is subject to them. Once the whole price is paid, the seller must hand over title documents in their possession. The Act says failing to make the required defect disclosure "is fraudulent." The trade-off: these protections are defaults, so a sale agreement with broad "as is" or contrary clauses can narrow them, which is why the agreement deserves as much attention as the flat.
What must a seller disclose before selling a resale flat?
Hidden defects in the property or the title. Section 55(1)(a) says the seller is bound "to disclose to the buyer any material defect in the property or in the seller's title thereto of which the seller is, and the buyer is not, aware, and which the buyer could not with ordinary care discover." All three conditions matter: the seller knows, you do not, and ordinary care would not have revealed it.
The closing lines of Section 55 add weight: "An omission to make such disclosures as are mentioned in this section, paragraph (1), clause (a), and paragraph (5), clause (a), is fraudulent." For a buyer, that means a known, hidden defect is not just a bad bargain. But the duty only covers what you could not find with ordinary care, so inspection still matters.
The seller must also help you investigate. Section 55(1)(b) requires the seller to produce "on his request for examination all documents of title relating to the property which are in the seller's possession or power," and Section 55(1)(c) requires the seller to "answer to the best of his information all relevant questions put to him by the buyer in respect to the property or the title thereto." Put your questions in writing so the answers are on record.
Who pays property tax and loan dues up to the sale date?
The seller, by default. Section 55(1)(g) binds the seller "to pay all public charges and rent accrued due in respect of the property up to the date of the sale, the interest on all incumbrances on such property due on such date, and, except where the property is sold subject to incumbrances, to discharge all incumbrances on the property then existing."
The buyer has a matching tool. Section 55(5)(b) says that where property is sold free from incumbrances, "the buyer may retain out of the purchase-money the amount of any incumbrances on the property existing at the date of the sale, and shall pay the amount so retained to the persons entitled thereto." It lets a buyer hold back the amount of an existing loan or other encumbrance from the price and pay it to the lender or other person entitled. Our guide to buying a resale flat with the seller's home loan still outstanding explains the lender side of that process.
After ownership passes, the burden shifts. Section 55(5)(d) says the buyer, as between buyer and seller, pays public charges and rent that become payable afterwards.
| Section 55 rule | What it says by default | What a Bengaluru buyer should do |
|---|---|---|
| 55(1)(a) Disclosure | Seller must disclose known material defects in property or title that ordinary care would not reveal | Ask in writing about leaks, structural work, disputes and title gaps |
| 55(1)(b), (c) Documents and questions | Seller must produce title documents on request and answer relevant questions | Request every document in the chain and keep written answers |
| 55(1)(g) Dues and encumbrances | Seller pays public charges and rent accrued up to sale, and discharges encumbrances unless sold subject to them | Get tax receipts, association dues letters and a loan closure plan |
| 55(3) Title documents | Once the whole price is paid, seller must deliver title documents in their possession or power | List the originals to be handed over in the sale deed |
| 55(6)(b) Buyer's charge | Buyer gets a charge on the seller's interest for price paid in advance of delivery | Pay advances by traceable bank transfer and record them in the agreement |
What does the seller promise about title?
That the seller has what they are selling. Section 55(2) says "the seller shall be deemed to contract with the buyer that the interest which the seller professes to transfer to the buyer subsists and that he has power to transfer the same." This deemed promise goes with the property: the Act says its benefit "shall be annexed to, and shall go with, the interest of the transferee" and may be enforced by later owners too.
Where the seller acts in a fiduciary capacity, for example as a trustee, the proviso narrows the promise: such a seller is deemed to contract only that they have done no act that encumbered the property or hindered its transfer. Ask in what capacity your seller is signing.
When must the seller hand over the original documents?
When you have paid the whole price. Section 55(3) says: "Where the whole of the purchase-money has been paid to the seller, he is also bound to deliver to the buyer all documents of title relating to the property which are in the seller's possession or power."
There are exceptions. If the seller keeps any part of the property covered by those documents, the seller may retain them all; if the property is split among several buyers, the buyer of the lot of greatest value gets them. In either case the holder must produce the documents and give copies to the others on reasonable request, at the requester's cost, and keep them "safe, uncancelled and undefaced." Where an original deed stays with someone else under this proviso, ask for certified copies.
What are the buyer's own duties under Section 55?
Disclosure, payment, and risk after ownership passes. Section 55(5)(a) requires the buyer to disclose any fact about the seller's interest that the buyer knows, has reason to believe the seller does not, and "which materially increases the value of such interest." Like the seller's defect duty, omitting it is declared fraudulent.
Section 55(5)(b) requires the buyer to pay or tender the price at the time and place of completing the sale. Section 55(5)(c) says that once ownership has passed, the buyer bears loss from destruction, injury or fall in value "not caused by the seller."
The Act also protects money you pay before delivery. Section 55(6)(b) gives the buyer, unless they have improperly refused delivery, "a charge on the property" against the seller and those claiming under the seller, to the extent of the seller's interest, "for the amount of any purchase-money properly paid by the buyer in anticipation of the delivery and for interest on such amount." The seller has a mirror right under Section 55(4)(b) for unpaid price where ownership passes first.
Can a sale agreement override Section 55?
Yes, which is the catch. Section 55 opens with the words "In the absence of a contract to the contrary." A clause that says the buyer takes the flat with all defects, or that the buyer pays pending dues, can shift what the default rules would otherwise place on the seller. Our explainer on what an agreement to sell does and does not give a buyer covers the other half of the contract stage.
If you are weighing a resale home, such as a listing like Cornerstone Akhinta Residences in BTM Layout, read every clause on defects, dues and documents before paying an advance. Use this checklist:
- Ask the seller in writing about known defects in the flat and in the title, and keep the reply.
- Request every title document in the seller's possession for examination before signing the agreement.
- Collect property tax receipts and the association's no-dues letter up to the sale date.
- Get the lender's outstanding balance letter if the flat is mortgaged, and plan to pay the lender directly from the price.
- Check the agreement for any clause that overrides Section 55, such as broad "as is" or dues-transfer wording.
- List in the sale deed the original documents to be handed over on full payment.
- Pay all advances by bank transfer and record each one in the agreement.
Frequently asked questions
Does a seller have to disclose defects in a resale flat?
Under Section 55(1)(a) of the Transfer of Property Act, unless the contract says otherwise, the seller must disclose any material defect in the property or title that the seller knows, the buyer does not, and the buyer could not discover with ordinary care. The Act calls omitting this disclosure fraudulent.
Who pays property tax dues up to the date of sale?
By default, the seller. Section 55(1)(g) binds the seller to pay all public charges and rent accrued due up to the date of the sale and the interest on encumbrances due on that date, and to discharge existing encumbrances unless the property is sold subject to them.
When should I get the original title documents?
Section 55(3) says that once the whole purchase money has been paid, the seller is bound to deliver all title documents in their possession or power. If the seller keeps part of the property covered by them, the seller may retain them but must produce them on reasonable request.
Can the sale agreement change these Section 55 rules?
Yes. Section 55 applies in the absence of a contract to the contrary, so terms in the sale agreement can change who bears defects, dues and other obligations. Buyers should read every clause on defects, dues and documents before paying an advance.
This article explains provisions of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 for information only and is not legal advice. Have a lawyer review the title and the agreement before you buy.
Last updated 2026-11-10. PropNewz Team.
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