Real Estate: Your name is on the property papers, but can you claim joint ownership without proof of your contribution?

The Kerala High Court recently declared a woman the exclusive owner of a house registered jointly in her and her husband’s names after finding that her father had funded the purchase, while her husband failed to provide evidence to substantiate his claim that he had contributed towards buying the house.

The ruling, pronounced on September 26, highlights how the source of funds used to buy a property can become a decisive factor in ownership disputes, even when both spouses are named on the registered sale deed.

What caused the dispute?

The dispute involved a residential property in Kerala’s Manjeri Municipality. As per court filings available online, the woman’s father had contributed ₹30 lakh towards its purchase, including money raised through a ₹25 lakh home loan from Nilambur Co-operative Urban Bank.

Although the sale deed named both spouses as purchasers, the wife’s father’s bank records supported her claim that he had funded the entire transaction.

The woman’s husband, however, argued that his brother-in-law, who had worked with him abroad, had provided the money to buy the house. He subsequently failed to produce documentary evidence to support this claim or establish how the alleged funds had been brought into India.

“Significantly, the respondent admitted during cross- examination that the original title deed of the property is in the possession of the petitioner. He also conceded that it was the petitioner who obtained the sale deed from the Sub-Registry. In view of the above discussion, the petitioner’s claim regarding the purchase of property for her with the funds provided by her father, but in the joint names in the best interests of the family, stands proved,” the ruling read.

The high court, in Kurudankandi Shamseer vs Raslin, directed in favour of the petitioner and asked her husband to vacate the property within three months.

Does source of funds always affect house ownership?

The ruling does not mean that the person who pays for a property automatically becomes its legal owner. Property ownership disputes depend on several factors, including the registered sale deed, the circumstances of the purchase, the parties’ intentions and the evidence of payment.

In the Kerala couple’s case, the court’s decision was based on the specific facts and evidence presented, rather than a blanket rule that financial contribution always takes precedence over a registered deed.

According to Section 45 of the Transfer of Property Act, when an immoveable property is purchased by two or more people, their ownership shares depend on how the purchase amount is paid, unless there is an agreement saying otherwise.

If the payment for the property comes from a fund they jointly own, their respective shares in the property will reflect their shares in that fund. If they pay from their separate funds, their ownership shares will generally be proportional to the amounts each contributed towards the purchase.

However, if there is no evidence establishing each person’s share in the jointly owned fund or the amount each contributed towards the purchase, the law presumes that they have equal interests in the property.