If you are dealing with court fee calculation for a residential property, this guide sets out the legal position, the documents you will need, the usual steps and the mistakes that cost people time. The firm of Advocate B.K. Singh handles this work from offices in Dwarka, New Delhi and Vaishali, Ghaziabad.
In short. Court fee in a property case is worked out under the Court Fees Act 1870 as amended by each state, read with the Suits Valuation Act 1887. The relief claimed decides the method: possession and specific performance usually attract ad valorem fee on market value or consideration, a bare declaration a fixed fee, and injunctions the plaintiff's own reasoned valuation.
Court fee is the tax the State charges for hearing a civil case, and in property matters it is often the first real decision in a suit. The amount depends less on how valuable the property is and more on what you ask the court to do. A suit asking for possession of a house, a suit asking only for a declaration that a sale deed does not bind you, and a suit asking for an injunction against interference can involve the same property and still carry very different fees.
Getting the calculation right matters for three reasons. The valuation fixes which court hears the case. A wrong calculation gives the other side an easy objection and can lead to rejection of the plaint under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure. And an inflated valuation wastes money that is rarely recovered in full, even if you win. This page explains how the calculation works for common property reliefs, how it changes with the state, the forum, the type of property and the parties, and what to check before you pay.
- Law
- Court Fees Act 1870 with state amendments (Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana each have their own version), Suits Valuation Act 1887, CPC Order 7 Rule 11 and section 149
- Forum
- Fee is paid in the court where the plaint, appeal or application is filed; the same valuation usually decides pecuniary jurisdiction
- Time limit
- Fee is due when the plaint is filed; the court can allow a deficit to be made up later under CPC section 149 within the time it fixes
- Documents
- Title papers, latest circle rate or valuation basis, sale consideration from the agreement, rent receipts, revenue records for agricultural land, and the draft prayer clause
What court fee calculation means in a property suit
Court fee calculation is the exercise of fixing two figures before a suit is filed: the value of the suit for court fee and the value of the suit for jurisdiction. Both are stated in the plaint, usually in a separate paragraph just before the prayer. The first decides how much fee you pay. The second decides whether the case goes to a Civil Judge, a Senior Civil Judge or District Judge, or, in Delhi, the original side of the High Court for suits valued above two crore rupees.
The Court Fees Act 1870 is a central law, but court fee is a state subject and each state has amended it heavily. Delhi applies the Act as it stands for Delhi, Uttar Pradesh has its own long list of amendments, and Haryana follows the Punjab pattern with its own changes. So the same plaint can carry different fees in Saket, in the Gautam Buddh Nagar court at Surajpur and in Gurugram. Any calculation has to start with the question: which state's version applies to this court?
The Suits Valuation Act 1887 links the two values. Under its section 8, in most suits where court fee is ad valorem, the value for jurisdiction and the value for court fee must be the same. That rule stops a plaintiff from showing a low value to pay less fee and a high value to reach a particular court, or the other way round.
The provisions that decide the fee
Section 7, Court Fees Act 1870
Section 7 sets out how fee is computed in different kinds of suits: money claims on the amount claimed, possession of land and houses on the value of the subject matter, declarations and injunctions on the plaintiff's valuation, specific performance on the consideration, and landlord and tenant suits on a year's rent. State amendments add and change clauses, so the clause numbers in Delhi and UP do not always match.
Schedule I and Schedule II, Court Fees Act
Schedule I, Article 1 carries the ad valorem scale, where the fee rises with the value of the claim. Schedule II lists fixed fees, including Article 17(iii) for a suit seeking a bare declaration without consequential relief and Article 17(vi) for suits whose subject matter cannot be valued in money.
Sections 11, 12, 13 and 16, Court Fees Act
Section 11 deals with mesne profits where the decree exceeds what was claimed. Section 12 makes the court's decision on valuation final between the parties, subject to correction in appeal. Section 13 allows a refund when an appeal is remanded on certain grounds, and section 16 allows a full refund when the court refers the dispute under CPC section 89 and it settles.
Order 7 Rule 11(b) and (c) and section 149, CPC
A plaint that is undervalued, or properly valued but short of fee, is first given time to correct. If the plaintiff fails to correct within the time fixed, the plaint is rejected. Section 149 lets the court accept the deficit later, and once paid it counts as if paid at the start.
Section 21, Legal Services Authorities Act 1987
When a pending case is referred to a Lok Adalat and settled there, the court fee paid is refunded in the manner provided under the Court Fees Act.
Court fee by type of relief: a quick reference
This is the general pattern under the Court Fees Act. State amendments change the details, so treat it as a starting map, not a fee chart.
| Relief claimed | Basis of valuation | Type of fee |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery of money, damages, refund of price | Amount claimed in the plaint | Ad valorem |
| Possession of a house, flat or building on title | Market value of the property on the date of filing | Ad valorem |
| Possession of agricultural land paying land revenue | A multiple of the land revenue, as fixed by the state law | Ad valorem on that value |
| Possession from a tenant by a landlord | Rent for the year before the plaint is filed | Ad valorem on that rent |
| Specific performance of an agreement to sell | Amount of consideration in the agreement | Ad valorem |
| Declaration only, no further relief | Not valued for fee | Fixed fee |
| Declaration with consequential relief | Value stated by the plaintiff, subject to state rules | Ad valorem on that value |
| Permanent or mandatory injunction | Value stated by the plaintiff, which must be reasoned | Ad valorem on that value |
| Cancellation of a sale deed by its executant | Value of the property or consideration, depending on the state | Ad valorem |
| Partition by a co-owner still in joint possession | Usually treated as not valued for fee | Fixed fee in most cases |
| Partition by a co-owner who has been ousted | Value of the plaintiff's share | Ad valorem |
| Mesne profits | Amount claimed, with the balance paid if the decree is higher | Ad valorem |
Possession suits: market value, land revenue and rent
For a suit seeking possession of a house, flat, shop or building on the basis of title, the fee is calculated on the market value of the property on the date the plaint is presented. In practice most plaintiffs use the circle rate as the floor and then consider whether the real market value is higher. Courts accept a valuation that is reasonable and supported. They do not accept a figure plucked from the air, and the defendant is entitled to object. If you are unsure what figure to start from, circle rate advice or a short property valuation note helps you defend the number later.
Agricultural land that pays land revenue is treated differently. The state amendment usually fixes the value as a set multiple of the annual revenue. In much of UP and in Delhi's rural belt, revenue is nominal, so a suit for possession of farmland can carry a far lower fee than a suit over a small urban flat. The catch is that many such disputes do not belong in the civil court at all and go to the revenue courts, which are discussed below.
Suits by a landlord to recover possession from a tenant have their own rule: fee on the rent payable for the year immediately before filing. In Delhi, however, premises covered by the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958 go to the Rent Controller and not to a civil suit, so that rule matters mainly for tenancies outside the Act. A suit for possession on title against an unauthorised occupant is valued on market value, not rent.
Declaration and injunction: where most valuation disputes arise
A suit seeking only a declaration, for example that the plaintiff is the owner or that a document is void, attracts a fixed fee under Schedule II. But section 34 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 bars a bare declaration where the plaintiff could have asked for further relief and did not. So most declaration suits also ask for possession, an injunction or cancellation, and the fee then follows the consequential relief.
For declaration with consequential relief, section 7(iv)(c) lets the plaintiff state the value, and the fee is calculated on that. Injunction suits under section 7(iv)(d) work the same way. This is not a free choice. The valuation has to bear a reasonable relation to the right claimed, and some state amendments, including those following the Punjab pattern, tie it to the value of the immovable property. Courts have repeatedly returned plaints where a valuable building was protected by an injunction valued at a token sum.
The Supreme Court in Suhrid Singh v Randhir Singh (2010) drew a line that matters in almost every document dispute. If the person who signed a deed wants it set aside, he must seek cancellation and pay ad valorem fee. If someone who did not sign it wants it out of the way, he seeks a declaration that it is void or does not bind him. If that non-executant is in possession, a fixed fee usually applies to the declaration; if he is out of possession and also seeks possession, ad valorem fee is payable. When Advocate B.K. Singh settles a plaint in a document dispute, this is the first question he answers, because it changes both the wording of the prayer and the fee.
Cancellation of deeds, specific performance and partition
A suit for cancellation of a sale deed under section 31 of the Specific Relief Act is valued by the executant on the value of the property or the consideration in the deed, depending on the state. Uttar Pradesh has a specific clause, section 7(iv-A), for suits for cancellation of documents, and it values them by reference to the value of the property for which the document was executed. A plaintiff in Ghaziabad or Noida who copies a Delhi format here will often pay the wrong fee.
In a suit for specific performance, fee is calculated on the amount of consideration stated in the agreement to sell, not on today's market value and not on the balance still payable. If the agreement shows a low figure and the real price was higher, the plaint value follows the agreement, but that gap may cause other trouble at trial. Alternative claims for refund of earnest money and damages are added according to the state rules.
Partition suits follow a settled pattern. A co-owner who is still in joint possession, even constructive possession through other family members, usually pays a fixed fee because there is no ouster. A co-owner who has been excluded and seeks separate possession of his share pays ad valorem fee on the value of that share. Many families fight over this point for months before the suit moves, so it is worth stating the possession facts clearly in the plaint.
Mesne profits, interest and future claims
A claim for mesne profits, meaning the profits a person in wrongful possession earned or should have earned, is valued on the amount claimed for the past period. Future mesne profits, from the date of suit until possession is delivered, are usually left to an inquiry under Order 20 Rule 12 CPC. Section 11 of the Court Fees Act then says that if the decree awards more than what fee was paid on, the decree will not be executed until the balance fee is paid.
This lets a plaintiff claim a modest past figure, pay fee on it, and pay the difference only if the court awards more. It is a fair approach where the rent figure is uncertain. The mistake is to claim a large round figure for effect: you pay fee on all of it at the start, and if the court awards less, the extra fee is not refunded. Interest on a money claim up to the date of suit is usually part of the amount claimed; interest after the suit is in the court's discretion, and no separate fee is paid on it at filing.
Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram: how the state changes the answer
In Delhi the Court Fees Act 1870 applies with the amendments made for Delhi. The ad valorem schedule has been revised and litigated over the years, including a 2012 Delhi amendment that the Delhi High Court struck down in 2013, so the current schedule should be checked on the day of filing. Court fee in the Delhi district courts and the High Court is now largely paid through e-court fee, generated online and printed with a unique number, instead of physical stamps.
In Uttar Pradesh, which covers Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, the UP amendments govern. They contain their own clauses for cancellation, possession and injunctions, and the market value of urban property is generally taken from the collector's circle rate list. Suits in the Gautam Buddh Nagar civil court at Surajpur and in the Ghaziabad district court follow these rules, and e-court fee is available there too. Haryana, which covers Gurugram and Faridabad, follows the Punjab amendments and its own fee notifications.
Pecuniary limits also differ. In Delhi, suits above two crore rupees go to the original side of the Delhi High Court, while smaller suits stay in the district courts at Tis Hazari, Saket, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka, Patiala House and Rouse Avenue. If the suit is a commercial dispute of specified value, the Commercial Courts Act 2015 also applies, with its own court and procedure, but court fee is still worked out under the Court Fees Act.
Court fee in forums other than the civil court
Not every property dispute goes to a civil court, and the fee question changes with the forum. Revenue courts in UP under the UP Revenue Code 2006 and in Delhi under the Delhi Land Reforms Act 1954 charge court fee on suits and applications as notified, generally lower than civil suits. Mutation applications before a Tehsildar usually carry only a small fixed fee or none.
A consumer complaint under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 does not attract court fee under the Court Fees Act; a separate fee by slab of consideration paid applies, and claims up to five lakh rupees carry no fee. RERA complaints carry the fee prescribed under each state's RERA rules. An Original Application in the Debts Recovery Tribunal carries fee under the DRT procedure rules, on a scale linked to the amount of debt. Arbitration has no court fee for the claim itself, though applications to court under sections 9, 11, 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act carry fee as civil proceedings.
Appeals are a separate calculation. A first appeal against a decree carries fee on the value of the subject matter in dispute in the appeal, which may be less than the full suit value if only part of the decree is challenged. Writ petitions in the High Court carry a fixed fee. Execution petitions generally carry a fixed fee, though some states charge more where money is recovered.
How the type of property changes the valuation
- Flat or apartment in a group housing society. Market value usually follows the circle rate for the locality and floor, plus the proportionate land share where the state rate is built that way. Builder floors and studio apartments often fall in separate circle rate categories, so the right category matters.
- Independent house or kothi. Market value covers land and construction. Courts look at the circle rate for land and the prescribed construction rate, or a valuer's report where the real value is clearly higher.
- Agricultural land and farmhouses. Land paying revenue may be valued on a revenue multiple, but a farmhouse with substantial construction is often treated as a building. In Delhi, agricultural land disputes about bhumidhari rights usually go to the revenue courts under the Delhi Land Reforms Act.
- Shops, offices and commercial property. Commercial circle rates are higher and the fee rises accordingly. If the dispute arises from a commercial transaction and crosses the specified value, it may be a commercial suit.
- Hospitals, schools, hotels and resorts. Valuation is usually based on land and building only, not on the running business. Where a business is also claimed, damages are valued separately.
- Leasehold property (DDA, L&DO, Noida, Greater Noida, GDA). The plaintiff values his interest, which may be less than freehold value. Courts generally accept the market value of the leasehold interest, but the lessor's rights should be kept in mind when drafting.
How the parties change the calculation
A bank or financial institution recovering a secured loan of twenty lakh rupees or more usually files in the Debts Recovery Tribunal, where the DRT fee scale applies and civil court fee does not. Below that figure, the bank files a civil money suit or a summary suit under Order 37 and pays ad valorem fee on the amount claimed. A borrower who sues a bank in the civil court to challenge a SARFAESI step faces a jurisdiction bar under section 34 of the SARFAESI Act, so fee is the smaller problem there; the forum is the real question.
An NRI plaintiff pays the same fee as anyone else, but usually acts through a power of attorney holder, and the attorney's authority to sign the plaint and verify the valuation should be clear. A builder or promoter sued for possession of a flat is usually sued on the agreed consideration or market value, depending on the relief; homebuyers often prefer RERA or the consumer commission precisely because the fee structure is lighter. Suits against the government, a development authority or a municipal body need a two-month notice under CPC section 80 first, and the valuation is the same as for any other defendant.
Several plaintiffs with separate claims are generally treated as separate suits for fee, even in one plaint, while joint claims are valued together. Multiple reliefs in one suit are usually added up, unless one relief is merely ancillary to another.
How to calculate court fee for a property suit, step by step
This is the order in which we work through a calculation before the plaint is finalised.
Fix the reliefs first
Write the prayer clause before touching numbers. Decide whether you need possession, declaration, cancellation, injunction, money or partition, and which relief is the main one and which is consequential.
Identify the court and the state law
Check the court with territorial jurisdiction, which for immovable property is where the property is located under CPC section 16. Then pick the Court Fees Act version for that state and the current schedule.
Value each relief on its own basis
Apply the right clause to each relief: market value for possession, consideration for specific performance, rent for a landlord's suit, a reasoned figure for injunction or declaration with consequential relief. Write down the basis, not just the figure.
Check jurisdiction against the value
Confirm that the total value falls within the pecuniary limits of the court where you plan to file. In Delhi, check whether the suit crosses two crore rupees and must go to the High Court.
Compute the fee from the schedule
Apply the ad valorem scale or the fixed fee as applicable. Generate e-court fee where the court uses it and keep the receipt or printout with the file.
Draft the valuation paragraph
State in the plaint how each value has been reached, with reference to the circle rate, agreement or rent. A short, clear paragraph makes a later objection much easier to answer.
If the defendant objects to valuation, the court frames the issue and decides it, often as a preliminary issue. A plaintiff who has recorded the basis of valuation in writing is rarely forced to pay a large deficit.
A made-up example: one property, three possible fees
Here's a made-up example. Ritu owns a builder floor in East Delhi that she bought in 2015 by a registered sale deed. In 2025 she learns that her cousin has got a GPA and a sale deed executed in his own favour using a forged signature, and he has moved a tenant in. Ritu did not sign the second sale deed, and she is out of possession.
If Ritu sued only for a declaration that the forged deed does not bind her, the fee would be fixed, but the suit would fail the section 34 proviso because she can also ask for possession. If she sued for declaration and an injunction against further transfer, the fee would follow her valuation of the injunction, but that would not get her back into the flat. The proper suit is for declaration that the forged deed is void, possession, and mesne profits for the past period. Since she is out of possession and seeks possession, she pays ad valorem fee on the market value of the floor, plus fee on the mesne profits claimed.
Her lawyer takes the current circle rate for the locality and the built-up area, adds the construction component, and records both in the valuation paragraph. The total is well below two crore rupees, so the suit goes to the Karkardooma district court, not the High Court. Future mesne profits are left for inquiry. The fee is higher than for a bare declaration, but it is the only frame that gives her the relief she actually needs.
Undervaluation and overvaluation: what happens and how to fix it
An undervalued plaint is the most common fee problem. The defendant raises it in the written statement, the court frames an issue, and if it finds the valuation too low, it directs the plaintiff to amend and pay the deficit within a fixed time. Only if the plaintiff fails to comply is the plaint rejected under Order 7 Rule 11(b) or (c). Rejection is not a final bar; a fresh suit can be filed if limitation still allows, but by then months or years may have passed.
Undervaluation can also change the court. If the corrected value crosses the pecuniary limit of the court where the suit was filed, the plaint is returned under Order 7 Rule 10 for presentation in the proper court. In Delhi this happens when a suit valued just under two crore rupees is found, on objection, to be worth more and has to go to the High Court.
Overvaluation is less common but wastes money and can also send the suit to a higher court than needed. If you realise before the first hearing that a relief has been valued too high, an amendment to correct it is usually allowed, though excess fee once paid is not easy to get back. In appeals, the appellate court can correct the valuation adopted below, and section 12 of the Court Fees Act gives it power to require the deficit to be paid.
Documents needed to calculate court fee
Property and title
- Sale deed, conveyance deed, lease deed or allotment letter
- Site plan or layout plan showing area
- Mutation or khata record and property tax receipts
- For agricultural land: khatauni, khasra and jamabandi showing revenue
Value and consideration
- Current circle rate notification for the locality
- Any valuation report you already have
- Agreement to sell showing consideration, earnest money and payments
- Rent agreement and rent receipts for a landlord's suit
Claim details
- Draft prayer clause listing every relief
- Calculation of mesne profits or damages for the past period
- Earlier notices and replies, including CPC section 80 notice for government parties
- Details of any earlier suit or proceeding on the same property
Refunds and getting court fee back
Court fee is not lost in every case. If the court refers the dispute to mediation, conciliation, Lok Adalat or another method under CPC section 89 and the parties settle, section 16 of the Court Fees Act entitles the plaintiff to a certificate for refund of the full fee paid. A settlement in a Lok Adalat on a case referred from court also carries a refund under section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act. Delhi's court mediation centres and the Lok Adalats held regularly in the district complexes make this a real option in property disputes, and mediation and Lok Adalat settlement is worth considering for that reason alone.
If you win, court fee is part of the costs the court may award under CPC section 35, and the decree usually carries it. Recovering costs from the other side is a separate matter in execution. A partial refund is also available in some situations where an appeal is remanded, under section 13. The refund process runs through the court's certificate and the treasury or the e-court fee system, and it can take time, so keep the original receipts safe.
Common mistakes and what to do this week
The mistakes we see most often are simple. People value an injunction over a valuable property at a token figure, copy a Delhi valuation paragraph into a UP suit, forget that a co-owner out of possession must pay on his share, or claim a large round figure as mesne profits and pay fee on all of it. Each of these can be avoided with an hour of careful drafting before filing. In fee objections that come to Advocate B.K. Singh's office after the defendant has raised them, the weak point is almost always that the plaint states a number without saying how it was reached.
This week, collect the title papers, the circle rate for the locality, the agreement or rent documents, and write down exactly what you want the court to order. Check the limitation period for that relief, because no amount of correct fee saves a time-barred suit. Then fix the valuation and the fee together with the draft plaint. If you want the papers checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review them and tell you the next step through the talk to a lawyer page.
Residential property: what changes
Residential property covers houses, builder floors, flats in group housing societies and apartments in developer projects. It is the property people care about most, and the law gives it more protection than commercial premises: consumer remedies against builders, rent control for old tenancies, special rules for senior citizens and family members. It also carries more family disputes than any other kind of asset.
The documents depend on the type. For an independent house or builder floor in Delhi, ask for the chain of sale deeds or the conveyance deed from DDA, the sanctioned building plan, the completion certificate, mutation in MCD records, the latest property tax receipt and electricity and water bills. For a flat in a cooperative group housing society, ownership runs through membership: the share certificate, the society's NOC and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies' approval of the transfer matter as much as the deed. For a flat in a developer project in Noida, Greater Noida or Gurugram, check the RERA registration, the builder-buyer agreement, the occupancy certificate, the tripartite sub-lease or conveyance deed, and whether the builder has paid the land dues to the authority, since unpaid dues have held up registration for thousands of buyers.
Stamp duty is charged on the higher of the price and the circle rate. Delhi charges women buyers a lower rate, and joint purchases fall in between; Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have their own concessions. Registration is at the sub-registrar office for the area, with both parties and two witnesses present. After registration, mutation in the municipal or authority record should be applied for, since it governs property tax and later dealings, even though mutation is not proof of title.
Disputes tend to fall into a few groups. Against builders: delayed possession, reduced area, poor construction and missing amenities, which go to the RERA authority or the consumer commission at the buyer's choice. Between landlord and tenant: old tenancies with rent up to ₹3,500 a month in Delhi are governed by the Delhi Rent Control Act 1958, where eviction for the landlord's bona fide need under section 14(1)(e) is the usual route; newer tenancies are contractual and go to the civil court or the rent authority under any new tenancy law the state has adopted. Within families: partition, wills and succession, and disputes over who may live in the house. Senior citizens can approach the Maintenance Tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007, which in appropriate cases has ordered children to vacate a parent's house. A wife's right to reside in the shared household under the Domestic Violence Act 2005 can also affect who stays in a property.
A few habits prevent most problems. Never buy on a GPA and agreement to sell alone. Insist on the occupancy or completion certificate. Keep original documents safe and certified copies handy. And put family arrangements about a house in writing, ideally a registered partition or family settlement, before a death or a marriage breakdown turns them into litigation.
Frequently asked questions
How is court fee calculated for a property suit?
Court fee depends on the relief claimed and the state where the suit is filed. Possession and specific performance usually attract ad valorem fee on market value or consideration, a bare declaration attracts a fixed fee, and injunctions and declarations with consequential relief attract fee on the plaintiff's reasoned valuation. The state's Court Fees Act schedule then gives the amount.
Is court fee charged on circle rate or market value?
The law speaks of market value. In practice the circle rate is used as the minimum and is often accepted, but if the real value is clearly higher the defendant can object. Record the basis of your valuation in the plaint so you can defend it.
What is the court fee for a declaration suit?
A suit for declaration alone carries a fixed fee under Schedule II of the Court Fees Act. Most declaration suits also seek possession, injunction or cancellation, and then the fee follows that further relief. If you are out of possession and seek possession, ad valorem fee is payable.
Who pays more court fee, the executant or a non-executant of a sale deed?
The person who signed the deed must seek cancellation and pays ad valorem fee. A person who did not sign it seeks a declaration that it is void or not binding, and pays a fixed fee if in possession, or ad valorem fee if also seeking possession. This follows the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Suhrid Singh v Randhir Singh.
What happens if I pay less court fee than required?
The court gives you time to pay the deficit under CPC section 149 or Order 7 Rule 11. If you pay within that time, the suit continues as if the fee was paid at the start. If you do not, the plaint is rejected.
Can court fee be paid online in Delhi and UP?
Yes. Delhi courts and courts in Uttar Pradesh accept e-court fee, which is generated online and printed with a unique number. Check with the filing counter or the e-filing portal for the current method before filing.
Is court fee refundable if the case settles?
Yes, in many cases. If the court refers the matter under CPC section 89 to mediation, conciliation or Lok Adalat and it settles, the full court fee is refundable under section 16 of the Court Fees Act. A Lok Adalat settlement in a referred case also carries a refund.
How is court fee calculated in a specific performance suit?
It is calculated on the amount of consideration stated in the agreement to sell, not the current market value and not the balance amount. Alternative claims for refund or damages are added under the state rules.
Do I pay court fee in a RERA or consumer complaint?
Not under the Court Fees Act. RERA complaints carry the fee set by the state RERA rules, and consumer complaints carry a fee by slab of the consideration paid, with no fee for claims up to five lakh rupees.
What court fee does a co-owner pay in a partition suit?
A co-owner who is still in joint possession usually pays a fixed fee. A co-owner who has been ousted and seeks separate possession pays ad valorem fee on the value of his share. The plaint should state the possession facts clearly.
Does court fee decide which court hears my case?
Yes. The valuation for court fee and for jurisdiction is usually the same, and it fixes the court. In Delhi, suits valued above two crore rupees go to the original side of the Delhi High Court.
Can the defendant object to my court fee?
Yes. The defendant can raise undervaluation in the written statement and the court will decide it, often as a preliminary issue. If the valuation is found too low, you are directed to amend and pay the deficit within a fixed time.
Should I go to RERA or the consumer commission against my builder?
You can choose either, as the Supreme Court held in Newtech Promoters v State of UP (2021), but not both for the same relief. RERA is often quicker for refund or delay interest under section 18; the consumer commission can also award compensation for deficiency in service. The choice depends on the amount, the relief you want and how far the project has progressed.
Can my son be evicted from my house if he harasses me?
In many cases, yes. The Maintenance Tribunal under the Senior Citizens Act 2007 has power to protect a parent's property and life, and courts have upheld eviction orders against children in suitable cases. The parent's ownership of the house and evidence of ill-treatment are the key facts.
Need help with Court Fee Calculation For Property For Residential Property? Send your papers or a short note of what has happened. An advocate from the team of Advocate B.K. Singh will read it and tell you the next step.
