The government has announced that the existing conversion policy of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for residential properties is currently under review to rationalise and simplify the process and make it more citizen-friendly. According to a written reply by Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu to the Rajya Sabha, the policy review aims to streamline the conversion process for property owners seeking to change their leasehold properties to freehold ownership.
In converting a leasehold property to freehold, the property's ownership status is changed from rental to full ownership. However, as reported by the minister's written response, conversion requests have been put on hold during the ongoing policy review process. The minister's statement does not indicate a specific timeline for completing the review or when conversion requests would resume.
The conversion of DDA properties has been on hold since January this year, following the adoption of new circle rates announced by the Delhi government. According to reports, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal stated in April that the Centre would shortly finalise the registration charge conversion rates, which would open the door for Delhi's leasehold-to-freehold property conversion procedure to resume. The minister had indicated that proposals would be put in the cabinet for approval of conversion charges for DDA and L&DO properties with rates to be finalised very soon.
The policy review is being closely watched by property owners who are awaiting clarity on the conversion process. As reported, the government has not provided any specific timeline for when the review will be completed or when the pending conversion requests may be taken up again. The uncertainty surrounding the conversion process continues to affect property owners seeking to convert their leasehold properties to freehold ownership.
