How will vertical property cards help flat owners?

Maharashtra plans to include the names of individual flat owners in land records and issue 'vertical property cards' to them, stating their share in a property. These cards will provide a clear legal proof of ownership, benefiting owners, buyers and lenders.Mint explains how.

- BY MADHURIMA NANDY

1 What are vertical property cards?

The proposed vertical property card would serve as a legal document showing two main things: the total land area of the building and a flat owner's individual share of that land. It may serve as a supplementary document to the main property card. For instance, a single building or housing society may have 100 flat owners, but current property records don't clearly divide that piece of land among all the flat owners. The new cards will state every owner's share in the land, likely bringing clarity on ownership, particularly over the land on which the building stands and areas meant for common use.

2 How does the current system work?