Dear Sir/Madam,

A “partial conveyance” is possible only for a clearly identified portion or undivided share, but it is generally unsafe for redevelopment. A Sale Deed transfers ownership; selling an undivided share may make the developer a co-owner with partition rights.

Prefer a registered Development Agreement with a project-specific Power of Attorney, bank guarantee, timelines and termination clauses. Have all title documents and drafts reviewed by a Mumbai property advocate before signing.

Advocate Saurabh Agrawal

Doing a conveyance /sale deed is not at all safe 

If you do a sale or conveyance,  then what remains with you ? 

The developer becomes the owner and then there is no question of granting any development rights as the developer being the owner himself would be entitled to the development rights of the land 

The only safe option is a development agreement and a power of attorney 

The reason the developer wants a Conveyance/Sale Deed instead of a Development Agreement (DA) is usually financial: it allows them to immediately mortgage the land to raise loans or easily sell off unbuilt portions to investors.

Instead of partial conveyance you can opt for development agreement with conditional power of attorney deed to enable the developer to have business viability while safeguarding your interests.

Instead of conveying the whole plot, the transaction should be structured through a standard Development Agreement. In a DA, you retain ownership of the land while granting the developer the "license to enter" and construct

To satisfy the developer's need to sell or raise capital, the DA can specify a phased transfer of the free-sale component (the extra flats the builder makes to sell for profit).

If the developer pushes back, do not budge on these three non-negotiables then give the developer a Specific/Limited Power of Attorney strictly for getting municipal sanctions, plans approved, and handling utility connections. Do not give them the power to mortgage your shares or your portion of the land.

Ensure the agreement states your family will not vacate the premises or hand over possession until the developer secures the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD) and the building plans are fully approved by the BMC. 

Do not sign any document titled "Sale Deed" or "Conveyance Deed" at this stage. Tell the developer that your family is only comfortable moving forward with a Development Agreement and a Permanent Alternate Accommodation Agreement (PAAA).

Your family's concern is well-founded. In a redevelopment project, a Development Agreement (DA) is generally considered safer for the landowners because ownership of the land remains with them, while the developer is granted only the contractual right to develop the property subject to the terms of the agreement. A registered Irrevocable Power of Attorney is usually executed alongside the DA to enable the developer to obtain approvals and carry out construction.

A Conveyance Deed (Sale Deed), on the other hand, transfers ownership in the property to the developer. Once executed, the landowner's rights are substantially reduced, and protection depends almost entirely on the contractual safeguards. Therefore, executing an outright conveyance at the inception of the project is generally not advisable unless there are exceptionally strong commercial and legal safeguards.

As regards your query on partial conveyance, the law does recognize the concept in appropriate cases. A partial conveyance may be structured to transfer only a specified undivided share or limited rights, while retaining the balance with the owners. However, whether such a structure is feasible depends upon the title, nature of the property, municipal regulations, and the redevelopment model. It is not a substitute for a well-drafted Development Agreement and should not be adopted merely because the developer prefers it.

If the developer insists on some form of conveyance, your interests can be protected by appropriate contractual mechanisms such as escrow arrangements, phased conveyance linked to construction milestones, conditions precedent, bank guarantees, mortgages of the developer's rights, termination clauses, and reversionary provisions in case of default. These protections are far more important than the nomenclature of the document.

Before agreeing to any conveyance, have the complete transaction structure, draft agreements, title documents, and commercial terms independently vetted by a property lawyer experienced in Mumbai redevelopment projects. A redevelopment arrangement should be structured to ensure that ownership or valuable rights are not irreversibly transferred before the developer performs its contractual obligations.

DA is best as sale deed will not any any rights of yous in the property