The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 13, 2023, issued a notification regarding Responsible Lending Conduct – Release of Movable / Immovable Property Documents on Repayment/ Settlement of Personal Loans.
In terms of the guidelines on the Fair Practices Code issued to various Regulated Entities (REs) since 2003, REs are required to release all movable/immovable property documents upon receiving full repayment and closure of loan account. However, it has been observed that the REs follow divergent practices in the release of such movable/immovable property documents leading to customer grievances and disputes. To address the issues faced by the borrowers and towards promoting responsible lending conduct among the REs.
The following has been stated-
•The REs shall release all the original movable/immovable property documents and remove charges registered with any registry within a period of 30 days after full repayment/ settlement of the loan account.
•The borrower shall be given the option of collecting the original movable/immovable property documents either from the banking outlet/branch where the loan account was serviced or any other office of the RE where the documents are available, as per her / his preference.
•The timeline and place of return of original movable/immovable property documents will be mentioned in the loan sanction letters issued on or after the effective date.
•In order to address the contingent event of the demise of the sole borrower or joint borrowers, the REs shall have a well laid out procedure for the return of original movable/immovable property documents to the legal heirs. Such procedure shall be displayed on the website of the REs along with other similar policies and procedures for customer information.
•In case of delay in releasing of original movable/immovable property documents or failure to file charge satisfaction form with the relevant registry beyond 30 days after full repayment/ settlement of the loan, the RE shall communicate to the borrower the reasons for such delay. In the case where the delay is attributable to the RE, it shall compensate the borrower at the rate of ₹5,000/- for each day of delay.
•In case of loss/damage to original movable/immovable property documents, either in part or in full, the REs shall assist the borrower in obtaining duplicate/certified copies of the movable/immovable property documents and shall bear the associated costs, in addition to paying compensation as indicated at the paragraph above. However, in such cases, an additional time of 30 days will be available to the REs to complete this procedure, and the delayed period penalty will be calculated thereafter (i.e., after a total period of 60 days).
•The compensation provided under these directions shall be without prejudice to the rights of a borrower to get any other compensation as per any applicable law.
These Directions are applicable to all cases where the release of original movable/immovable property documents falls due on or after December 1, 2023.
[Notification No. RBI/2023-24/60
DoR.MCS.REC.38/01.01.001/2023-24]
