NRI property lawyer in Mumbai for owners living abroad

What an NRI property lawyer in Mumbai handles

An NRI property lawyer in Mumbai handles the legal side of a flat, office or plot in the Mumbai region for an owner who lives abroad: selling it, buying it, inheriting it, letting it, and getting it back when someone will not leave. VIVS Legal does this from Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, where Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai property matters are within easy reach of our office, so we deal with the Sub-Registrar, the housing society, MahaRERA and the courts ourselves.

The work NRI owners bring us most often:

• Selling a flat from abroad. Title papers checked, a Power of Attorney drafted, the agreement and sale deed, the buyer's tax deduction, and getting the money out of India.
• A parent's flat. Heirship, the society transfer, a release deed where one sibling keeps the flat, and probate where a will requires it.
• Disputes. A licensee who stays on, a relative who has taken over the flat, a builder who has not delivered, a society that refuses transfer.
• Buying. A title search in Mumbai before you pay, a check of the project's MahaRERA registration, and an agreement that protects a buyer who cannot visit the site.

If you live in India, our property lawyer in Mumbai page covers the same ground for residents. This page deals with what changes when the owner is overseas.

What FEMA allows an NRI to own, sell and inherit in Mumbai

Under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, an NRI or OCI cardholder may buy residential and commercial property anywhere in India, including Mumbai, but not agricultural land, a farm house or plantation property. The price must come through normal banking channels or from an NRE, FCNR(B) or NRO account in India, not in cash or foreign currency notes.

OCI cardholders are treated like NRIs for this purpose. The rules change from time to time, so we check the current position against the RBI's directions on every transaction.

Selling a Mumbai flat while you live abroad

You can sell without coming to Mumbai, through an attorney you appoint. The usual sequence:

1. Title and society papers. We collect the chain of agreements, the share certificate, the society's no-objection letter and the property card or index records, and fix gaps before a buyer's bank finds them.
2. The Power of Attorney. We draft a specific PoA for the sale. You sign before an Indian mission or a notary with an apostille, and courier the original. It must be stamped in Maharashtra within three months of reaching India. Stamp duty depends on whom you appoint: a PoA to sell given to someone outside the close family can attract a much higher duty than one given to a parent, spouse, child or sibling, so the choice of attorney matters. Our note on Power of Attorney signed abroad explains the signing routes.
3. Agreement and sale deed. Your attorney signs and admits execution before the Sub-Registrar under the Registration Act, 1908. You approve every draft by email.
4. Tax deducted by the buyer. The buyer must deduct tax at source under Section 393(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Section 195 of the 1961 Act) and needs a TAN. Without a lower deduction certificate, buyers usually deduct on the full sale price, not only on your gain. A long-term gain, on property held for more than 24 months, is taxed at 12.5 per cent plus surcharge and cess, without indexation; the older option of 20 per cent with indexation is open only to resident individuals and HUFs. If your actual tax will be lower than the deduction, apply to the Assessing Officer for a lower deduction certificate before the sale so the buyer withholds less.
5. Society transfer and handover. The society transfers the share in the buyer's name, and the keys are handed over.

Getting the sale money out of India

How much you can send abroad depends on how you paid for the flat and how it came to you.

• A flat bought with money sent from abroad or from an NRE or FCNR(B) account. The sale proceeds can be repatriated up to the amount originally paid in foreign exchange, for no more than two residential properties.
• A flat bought from rupee funds, or inherited. The proceeds go into your NRO account and can be sent out within the USD 1 million a year allowed from NRO balances, with documents showing how you acquired the property.

Your bank will want Forms 15CA and 15CB, the sale deed and proof of tax paid before it remits. We put the legal papers together so the bank's questions are answered at once; the tax computation stays with your chartered accountant.

When someone will not leave your Mumbai flat

The remedy depends on who is in the flat and how they got there. Act quickly in every case, because time limits run while you are abroad.

A written leave and licence agreement is conclusive evidence of its terms under Section 24. Section 55 of the same Act makes registration compulsory and the landlord's duty: without a registered agreement, the licensee's version of the terms prevails unless you prove otherwise, and the landlord risks a fine of up to Rs 5,000 or up to three months' imprisonment. The Bombay High Court has held that non-registration alone does not take away the Section 24 remedy, but an unregistered or verbal arrangement invites disputes that slow the case down. If you let your flat, have a proper leave and licence agreement drafted and registered before the licensee moves in.

A suit based on title has a twelve-year limit from when the other person's possession became adverse. Waiting does not help. Our article on illegal possession of NRI property explains the remedies in more depth.

Your housing society and a parent's flat

Most Mumbai flats sit in a co-operative housing society governed by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960 and the society's bye-laws. For an NRI, the society is often where a transfer gets stuck.

• On a parent's death, the society can record the nominee as the member. The nominee does not become the owner by that alone; the flat goes to the legal heirs under the will or the law of succession. A release deed, a family settlement or probate settles who keeps it.
• Without a nomination, the society will ask for heirship papers, an indemnity and sometimes a succession certificate or probate. We prepare what your society's bye-laws require.
• A society refusing transfer without good reason can be taken to the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

Day-to-day matters, such as maintenance bills, repairs and letting while you are away, can be managed by someone you trust under a limited attorney. See managing a Mumbai flat through a Power of Attorney.

Builder delays and MahaRERA complaints from abroad

If you booked an under-construction flat in Mumbai and the builder has missed the possession date, you can complain to MahaRERA under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 without coming to India. Section 18 gives a buyer the choice of withdrawing with a refund and interest or staying in the project and receiving interest for each month of delay. In Maharashtra, that interest is linked to the State Bank of India's highest marginal cost of lending rate plus two per cent.

The complaint is filed online, hearings are held largely by video, and a representative can attend for you under a Power of Attorney. Keep every receipt, demand letter and email from the builder; they are the evidence the authority will rely on.

Working with us from overseas

We work at hours that suit your time zone, by video, phone, WhatsApp and email. After the first call you receive a short written plan: what has to be done, in what order, what you sign and where, how long it should take, and the fee. Originals are couriered only when we ask, and you keep scans of everything.

If the property question is tied up with a separation, our page on NRI divorce in Mumbai covers the family side. For property in other cities and for clients in particular countries, see our NRI real estate services. Book a consultation to start.