Along with the possession, I/We have handed over all original documents, keys, and related assets.

After three days, Shinde found a carbon copy of the original letter—the builder had submitted a duplicate to the civic body. It was yellowed, coffee-stained, and perfect.

A possession letter, also known as a handing-over letter or possession certificate, is a document that confirms the seller has handed over the physical possession of the property to the buyer. It serves as proof that the buyer has taken possession of the property and is now responsible for its maintenance and upkeep.

That night, he called his mother. “Maa, I’m not a tenant anymore. I’ve taken possession.”

“Possession letter is not just a paper, beta,” Shinde said, sifting through a 2002 register. “It’s proof that the builder gave up the building and the owner took charge. Without it, the flat is neither married nor single. It’s a ghost.”

So began a paper chase through the city’s underbelly of bureaucracy. Rohan took leave from his software job to visit the Municipal Corporation’s archives. He found himself in a dusty room in Bandra East, where files were stacked in towers that leaned like Pisa’s cousins. An old clerk named Shinde took pity on him.