CIDCO leasehold flat: the flat is yours, CIDCO charges on resale

“It’s leasehold, sir. All of Navi Mumbai is like that.” You’ll hear it from the broker, then from the bank. Does that mean the flat isn’t really yours?

The word sounds like renting, and nobody says what it costs. That’s the part to settle before a token.

My honest answer: leasehold isn’t the risk. You can live in the flat, sell it and take a home loan on it. The risk is a land bill nobody agreed on, or papers that don’t line up.

Here are the official charges and papers. We help families buy new flats, not land transfers, so check each figure at its source.

Leasehold means the land is leased to your building, and the flat is yours

CIDCO (the state company that planned Navi Mumbai’s townships, called nodes) mostly leases its land. It doesn’t sell it. A lease means it rents out the ground for a fixed number of years.

Think of a very long rent agreement for the ground. The builder pays a big one-time sum for it, called the premium. CIDCO’s leases usually run for 60 years.

You own the flat and a share in the housing society. The society holds the land’s lease. It pays CIDCO a yearly lease rent, at a rate CIDCO sets. The society’s last bill will show what it pays.

How CIDCO land turns into your flat, step by step

The papers change name at each stage. Which stage is your building at?

1. Allotment CIDCO gives a plot to a builder or a society. They pay the premium.
2. Agreement to lease A first contract that lets the builder enter and build. In a 2025 stamp-duty case, the Bombay High Court said this isn’t a lease yet.
3. OC The building gets its OC (the certificate that says it’s safe to live in).
4. Lease deed The full lease follows once CIDCO’s conditions are met.
5. Society Usually, the lease then passes to the society of flat owners.
6. Every later sale CIDCO’s written permission, and its transfer charge.

On a resale flat, CIDCO’s transfer charge is the cost to plan for

When a flat changes hands, CIDCO takes a transfer charge. It’s a fee for putting the new owner on its record. This year’s rates are in a CIDCO circular dated 30 March 2026.

The charge goes by carpet area (the floor you can actually walk on). It’s a fixed amount for each size band, not a share of the price.

21–30 sq m (230–320 sq ft)₹43,300

31–40 sq m (330–430 sq ft)₹1,06,400

51–60 sq m (550–650 sq ft)₹2,07,400

61–70 sq m (660–750 sq ft)₹2,58,400

81–100 sq m (870–1,080 sq ft)₹4,42,200

Take a resale 2 BHK in Kharghar with about 700 sq ft of carpet area. Its charge is ₹2,58,400.

Check the carpet area on the agreement. The broker’s figure is often bigger.

How big is that for a family? On an ₹80 lakh flat, it’s about 3% of the price. That’s money you’d otherwise keep for the move or the first school fees.

Who pays it, you or the seller? The circular doesn’t say, so your sale agreement must, before any token.

The circular gives no time limit for CIDCO to record a transfer. A call to the node’s CIDCO office will tell you how long it takes.

• No OC yet? If the building has no OC, CIDCO charges half, with a ₹5,000 minimum.
• Rates are set to rise each April. CIDCO’s board approved 10% a year until March 2028 for flats over 30 sq m.
• Taloja isn’t named in the developed-node list or the other-node list. Check with CIDCO which rates apply.

Your society can charge its own transfer fee too. A 2018 Bombay High Court order mentioned a ceiling of ₹25,000 on it.

The lawyers in that case relied on a 2001 state circular for flats inside a city corporation’s limits. So get your society’s current rate, and the rule behind it, in writing. Asked for more, even as a “donation”? Ask why, in writing.

In September 2026, the court cancelled CIDCO’s charge for two old societies, in Nerul and Vashi. Their leases came before the charge did.

The charge only came in on 8 February 1990, and the order covers those two societies only. We haven’t seen whether CIDCO has appealed. Your society’s lease deed shows its date. If it’s before 1990, ask a lawyer.

A new flat from the builder may meet that charge later, but ask now

On a new flat, you’re the first owner. CIDCO’s circular doesn’t name a builder’s first buyer.

But it also covers adding a new member to a society, and a flat buyer becomes one. So get CIDCO and the builder to say in writing whether you’ll pay it.

We list 216 new or under-construction buildings in Kharghar, Nerul, Panvel and Taloja. A buyer in one of them is a first owner. Older societies, where resale happens, aren’t on our list.

Builders can pass other costs on. One Ulwe builder’s draft agreement we read makes buyers share any premiums it pays CIDCO or other offices. The share goes by carpet area. Ask your builder to list each such amount, with a figure.

What	New flat from the builder	Resale flat
CIDCO transfer charge	No line names a first buyer. Ask CIDCO and the builder in writing	By size, from the list above. Half if the building has no OC
CIDCO permission	Ask the builder which CIDCO papers cover your flat	Needed for your purchase, in writing
Society’s own fee	Ask the builder	Ask the society its rate
Who pays CIDCO	Check the builder’s agreement	Agree it in the sale agreement

Banks read the lease papers first, so get your bank’s list early

CIDCO issues a mortgage NOC (its written OK for the flat to be security for your loan). CIDCO’s housing booklet lists a fee for it on its own flats.

Each bank’s list of papers differs, with no single rule we could find. So get your bank’s list before you pay a token.

Then ask three things. Does the bank need CIDCO’s mortgage NOC, and who applies? Will it lend before CIDCO records the transfer? Will it accept an agreement to lease, if the lease deed isn’t signed yet?

Does leasehold lower a bank’s valuation or the resale price? No source we read says either way. Your bank and two local brokers can tell you.

Ask for these papers before the token, and know who gives each one

Buying resale

• Share certificate: from the society, in the seller’s name.
• Society’s NOC: the society’s written OK for the sale, with its fee.
• CIDCO’s transfer letter: from the seller’s own purchase. Ask CIDCO in writing whether any old dues are pending on this flat.
• Lease deed: the society’s lease with CIDCO, or its agreement to lease.
• OC: for the building, from the planning authority.
• Receipts: maintenance and property tax, paid up to date.

Buying new

• MahaRERA registration: MahaRERA is the state’s register of approved projects. Here’s how to check a MahaRERA registration.
• Land papers: the allotment letter and the agreement to lease. If the plot was sold on, also the three-way agreement CIDCO signed with the old and new holders.
• CC: the CC (commencement certificate) is the permission to start building. Our OC and CC guide shows what to check.
• A list of land costs: every CIDCO amount you’ll repay, with a figure.

Freehold conversion was announced for plots, but the fee isn’t public

Freehold means you own the land outright, with no lease. In July 2025, news reports said the state had allowed CIDCO’s residential plots to convert. The reports say it’s optional, and only for plots whose lease deed is signed.

Reports say CIDCO won’t charge a transfer fee after conversion. For a resale buyer, that would be the real gain.

On 2 November 2026 we searched CIDCO’s website and the news again. We found no notice, fee or form. In a society, the lease is in the society’s name. So ask your society whether it has applied.

“Then shouldn’t we wait for freehold, or buy freehold land?” It’s a fair question. NAINA is the planned area around the new airport, near Panvel. A CIDCO question-and-answer note says plots returned to landowners there are freehold.

A flat there has a different chain of papers, so ask for it. And waiting for a fee nobody has announced isn’t a plan. Don’t pay extra for a flat sold as “freehold soon”.

Before any token, a lawyer and your bank should see the papers

A property lawyer should read the lease chain and your sale agreement. Your bank should confirm, in writing, which CIDCO papers it needs.

The simple rule: leasehold isn’t the risk, unclear CIDCO papers are. Get the transfer charge and who pays it in writing. Have a property lawyer check the papers, and your bank confirm its list, before any token.

So here’s this week’s job. Pick the flat you’re most serious about and ask for the papers above. The form on this page has your area advisor’s name. Send us the flat, and we’ll help you list what to ask CIDCO, the builder and your bank.

Questions buyers ask

What happens when the 60-year lease ends?

CIDCO’s leasing rules date from 1975. By our arithmetic, a 60-year lease from then would run to 2035 at the earliest. The renewal terms sit in the society’s lease deed, so ask a lawyer to read that clause. A 2019 TV report spoke of 99 years, but we couldn’t confirm it.

Does CIDCO’s transfer charge change with the price?

No. It goes by carpet area and node, not by the price you agree.

Do we need a lawyer for a CIDCO flat?

Yes, for the land papers. A property lawyer reads the lease deed, CIDCO’s letters and your agreement.

How we checked: CIDCO’s charges come from its circular of 30 March 2026 and its December 2025 housing booklet. Rulings and the freehold decision come from the dated reports linked above. Building counts are from our project records. The 3% is ₹2,58,400 divided by an ₹80 lakh price. All were read on 2 November 2026.

Buying your first home here? Our six steps to buying a flat in Navi Mumbai put this in order, from the loan to the keys.