Chandigarh, March 3 -- In a major setback to residents living in cooperative housing societies, the administration has put the execution and registration of conveyance deeds on hold, triggering uncertainty among flat owners across the city. According to the Estate Office, the conveyance deed policy introduced in 2018 was valid for two years and expired in 2020. However, despite the lapse of its official tenure, the policy reportedly continued to be implemented until 2025. With no fresh policy in place, the administration has now halted the registration of conveyance deeds until a revised framework is notified. The city has around 115 cooperative housing societies comprising nearly 15,000 flats, most of them located in the southern sectors, including Sectors 48, 49, 50 and 51. In the absence of conveyance deeds, flat owners whose flats are on leasehold basis are making repeated visits to the Estate Office and sub-registrar's office to seek clarity on their pending documents. Residents say the current situation has disrupted property transactions and bank loan processes. Several members of housing societies claim their documents are lying pending with the sub-registrar's office, creating anxiety, especially among those who recently purchased flats or are in the process of securing housing loans. Under existing norms, every flat owner is required to obtain a conveyance deed. Even when a flat is sold by the original allottee to a subsequent buyer, the cooperative society must first issue a no-objection certificate (NOC), following which the conveyance deed is executed through the Estate Office. Without this document, sale and purchase transactions cannot be completed. In addition, buyers are required to deposit unearned profit charges with the Estate Office at the time of execution. Many allottees who have been residing in their flats for years had not applied for conveyance deeds earlier due to financial constraints. The sudden halt has left them concerned about future transactions and compliance issues. Residents have also raised concerns over the prevailing collector rates. At present, the collector rates for leasehold and freehold properties in the city are the same. However, society representatives argue that leasehold properties are generally valued lower in the market and their collector rates should be 40-50% less than those of freehold properties. Chirag Aggarwal, a committee member of the Labour Bureau Society in Sector 49, said the Estate Office should immediately resume the conveyance deed facility for all flat owners. He also demanded a rational differentiation between leasehold and freehold collector rates to reflect actual market conditions. A senior officer of UT Estate office stated that since the original conveyance deed policy expired in 2020, the department has been directed to ensure that the process resumes in accordance with the rules applicable to other city properties. He added that the department is examining the issue to prevent inconvenience to residents and to streamline registrations based on the prevailing collector rates....