What does marketable title mean?

Title free from reasonable doubt, which a later buyer or a lender would accept without a lawsuit to settle it. It is a conveyancing term rather than a statutory one; an advocate’s title report states whether the title is marketable and what would make it so.

What does a nil encumbrance certificate mean?

It means the sub-registrar found no registered document against the details entered for the period searched. In Karnataka it is issued in Form 16. It does not mean the property is free of claims: unregistered documents, equitable mortgages and pending suits do not appear.

What does MODTD mean?

Memorandum of Deposit of Title Deeds. It records that the borrower deposited the title deeds with the lender as security, creating an equitable mortgage (Transfer of Property Act s.58(f)). Its stamp and registration treatment depends on its wording and state law.

What does guidance value mean?

It is Karnataka’s notified minimum value for property in an area; Telangana calls it market value. Stamp duty on an ordinary sale deed is worked out on the higher of the price and this value. A SARFAESI sale certificate presented for registration is charged on the purchase money instead.

What does lis pendens mean?

It is the rule that a transfer made while a suit about the property is pending cannot defeat the rights the suit decides (Transfer of Property Act s.52). A buyer takes subject to the result, which is why a litigation search sits beside the EC.

Is a Khata a title document?

No. A Khata is the municipal record of a property for tax and does not prove ownership. Our guide on Khata and title explains the difference, and the companion glossary of auction and SARFAESI terms covers the sale certificate and the s.89(4) filing.

Reference

Glossary: Title and Registration Terms

Auction Dunia · Law and portal facts checked as of 19 October 2026 · 10 min read

The short answer

This glossary defines the title and registration words you will meet when checking a bank-auction property: the documents in the chain of title, what the sub-registrar records, the kinds of mortgage and claim, and how stamp duty is worked out. Each entry gives a short meaning and the section it comes from, or “Common usage” where the word is a conveyancing term rather than a statutory one. The related guides explain the checks themselves.

Key points

Title is the right to own; marketable title is title a later buyer or lender would accept without reasonable doubt. A bank auction passes the borrower’s title as it stands (SARFAESI Act s.13(6)).
An encumbrance certificate lists only registered documents. A nil EC (Form 16 in Karnataka) is a search result, not a statement that the title is clear.
An agreement of sale does not by itself transfer ownership (Transfer of Property Act s.54), and a power-of-attorney “sale” does not convey title (Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana, Supreme Court, 2011).
An equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds needs no registered deed (Transfer of Property Act s.58(f)), so it may not appear on the EC at all.
An attachment and a pending suit can bind a later buyer even when the EC is silent (Code of Civil Procedure s.64; Transfer of Property Act s.52).

Title and the chain behind it

Term	What it means	Where it comes from
Title	The legal right to own, use and transfer a property, shown by the documents through which it came to the present owner.	General law; Transfer of Property Act, 1882
Marketable title	Title free from reasonable doubt, which a later buyer or a lender would accept without a lawsuit to settle it. A title can be genuine and still not be marketable if a link in the chain is missing.	Common usage (conveyancing practice)
Chain of title	The unbroken sequence of transfers — sales, gifts, partitions, inheritances — from an early root document to the present owner. Advocates commonly trace it back about 30 years; the law fixes no period.	Common usage (conveyancing practice)
Mother deed	The earliest deed in the chain that the title is traced from, and the document later deeds refer back to.	Common usage
Legal opinion / title report	An advocate’s written view, after examining the documents and records, on whether the title is clear and marketable and what is missing. It is an opinion, not a warranty.	Common usage
Property schedule	The description of the property in a deed or sale notice: survey or municipal number, extent, boundaries and, for a flat, the flat number and share of land. Every document in the file should describe the same property.	Common usage; Registration Act s.21 (description of property)
Undivided share of land (UDS)	In an apartment building, each flat owner’s proportionate, unpartitioned share in the land under the building. The deeds for a flat should state it.	Common usage

Registration and the sub-registrar

Term	What it means	Where it comes from
Compulsory registration	Documents that create, transfer or end rights in immovable property worth ₹100 or more, and leases from year to year or for more than a year, must be registered.	Registration Act, 1908 s.17(1)(b), (d)
Effect of non-registration	A document that had to be registered but was not does not affect the property and cannot be received as evidence of the transaction, with narrow exceptions.	Registration Act s.49
Sub-Registrar / SRO	The registering officer for an area, and the sub-registrar’s office (SRO) where documents are registered, ECs issued and certified copies given.	Registration Act, 1908
Book 1	The register in which the SRO records non-testamentary documents relating to immovable property. A bank’s copy of a SARFAESI sale certificate is filed here.	Registration Act s.51, s.89(4)
Certified copy	A copy of a registered document or Book 1 entry, signed and sealed by the registering officer. Lenders and advocates rely on certified copies, not photocopies.	Registration Act s.57
Encumbrance Certificate (EC)	An extract from the SRO’s books listing the registered documents on a property for the period searched. It cannot show anything that was never registered.	Registration Act; state registration practice
Form 15 / Form 16 (Karnataka)	In Karnataka, Form 15 is the EC issued when registered transactions are found, listing them; Form 16 is the “nil” EC issued when none are found for the details searched.	Karnataka Department of Stamps and Registration practice
Registration fee	A fee for registering a document, separate from stamp duty and set by the state. Rates change; check them on Kaveri 2.0 or IGRS Telangana on the day.	State registration fee tables

The documents that transfer property

Term	What it means	Where it comes from
Sale deed	The registered document by which ownership passes in an ordinary sale, for a price paid or promised. In a bank auction, the sale certificate takes its place as the buyer’s evidence of title.	Transfer of Property Act s.54; Registration Act s.17
Agreement of sale	A contract that a sale will take place on agreed terms. It does not by itself create any interest in or charge on the property.	Transfer of Property Act s.54
Consideration	The price or other value given in exchange for the promise. In a deed it is the amount the buyer pays.	Indian Contract Act, 1872 s.2(d)
Gift deed	A transfer of property without consideration. A gift of immovable property must be made by a registered document, signed by the donor and attested by two witnesses.	Transfer of Property Act s.122, s.123
Release / relinquishment deed	A document by which one co-owner gives up their share in favour of another co-owner. It must be registered to affect the property.	Registration Act s.17; common usage
Partition deed	A document dividing jointly owned property into separate shares, each held by one owner. A missing partition is a common gap in an inherited chain.	Registration Act s.17; common usage
GPA / SPA	A general or special power of attorney, authorising someone to act for the owner. A “sale” made by a power of attorney, an agreement and a will does not convey title; only a registered conveyance does.	Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana, Supreme Court, 2011
Lease	A transfer of the right to enjoy a property for a period, in return for rent. A lease from year to year or for more than a year must be registered; a shorter one need not be.	Transfer of Property Act s.105, s.107; Registration Act s.17(1)(d)

Mortgages, charges and claims

Term	What it means	Where it comes from
Encumbrance	Any claim on a property short of ownership: a mortgage, charge, lease, lien or attachment.	Common usage; Transfer of Property Act
Mortgage	A transfer of an interest in a specific property to secure repayment of a loan or debt. The Act names six kinds, including simple, English and usufructuary mortgages.	Transfer of Property Act s.58(a)–(g)
Registered mortgage	A mortgage made by a registered deed. Because it is registered, it shows on the EC.	Transfer of Property Act s.59; Registration Act s.17
Equitable mortgage	A mortgage by deposit of title deeds: the borrower hands the deeds to the lender, in a notified town, intending them as security. No registered deed is needed, so it may not appear on the EC; lenders record it on CERSAI.	Transfer of Property Act s.58(f)
MODTD	Memorandum of Deposit of Title Deeds, the document a lender commonly takes to record an equitable mortgage. Whether it must be stamped or registered depends on its wording and on state law.	Common usage; Transfer of Property Act s.58(f); state stamp law
Release of mortgage	The lender’s document closing a mortgage once the loan is repaid: a registered release for a registered mortgage, or a closure letter with the deeds returned for an equitable one. Without a registered release, the EC can still show the mortgage.	Common usage
Attachment	A court or authority’s order holding a property for a debt. A private transfer made after it is void against claims under the attachment, unless made under a contract entered into and registered before it. It may never reach the EC.	Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 s.64; Order XXI Rule 54
Lis pendens	While a suit about a property is pending, a transfer of that property cannot affect the rights the suit decides. A buyer during the suit takes subject to its result.	Transfer of Property Act s.52

Stamp duty and the state’s value

Term	What it means	Where it comes from
Stamp duty	A state tax on instruments such as a conveyance, paid before or at registration. For an ordinary sale deed it is charged on the higher of the price and the state’s notified value.	Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957; Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applied in Telangana
Guidance value (Karnataka) / market value (Telangana)	The state’s notified minimum value for property in an area, used to work out stamp duty. It is revised from time to time; check the current figure on Kaveri 2.0 or IGRS Telangana.	Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957; IGRS Telangana
E-stamp	Stamp duty paid electronically, which produces an e-stamp certificate or payment record in place of physical stamp paper. The method differs by state.	State e-stamping arrangements

A sale certificate is charged differently

A SARFAESI sale certificate need not be registered. If the buyer presents it for registration, stamp duty becomes payable (State of Punjab v. Ferrous Alloy Forgings, Supreme Court, 2024); Karnataka charges it on the purchase money, not the guidance value (Karnataka Stamp Act, Schedule Article 15), and Telangana’s ready reckoner does the same. Our guide to sale certificate registration sets out the cost in both states.

What the auction route cannot promise

Definitions summarise; the text of the Acts and the judgments governs, and state rules on stamp duty and registration change.
No search of the registration record can show an unregistered document, an equitable mortgage held by a private lender, or occupation on the ground.
A clear title opinion on the documents is still an opinion: the buyer at a bank auction takes the borrower’s title as it stands, and the bank discloses only the encumbrances it knows of.

Questions buyers ask

Sources

Statutes, rules and judgments first. Checked as of 19 October 2026; the law and portal practice change, so confirm against the source before relying on a detail.

This guide explains the law and the process in general terms. It is not advice on any specific property; that belongs in a due diligence report on the property itself.

A specific property in mind?

Tell us what you are buying it for, and we will tell you what needs checking before you pay EMD.

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