Power of Attorney (POA)

What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document through which one person (the "principal") authorises another person (the "agent" or "attorney-in-fact") to act on their behalf in specified or general matters. In real estate, POAs are used when the property owner cannot personally attend to transactions — typically NRIs, people with health issues, or those residing in a different city or country from the property location.

Types of POA in Property Transactions

• General Power of Attorney (GPA): Broad authorisation covering all acts related to the property — managing, leasing, selling, mortgaging. High risk instrument if granted carelessly.
• Specific or Special Power of Attorney (SPA): Limited to a defined transaction, such as "to execute and register the sale deed for property X on my behalf." Expires when the specific act is completed. Much safer from a buyer perspective.
• Irrevocable POA: A POA that the principal agrees cannot be revoked. These are sometimes used in development agreements but are legally complicated and often disputed.

Risks of POA-Based Property Transactions

The Supreme Court of India in the landmark case Suraj Lamp and Industries Pvt Ltd vs State of Haryana (2012) ruled that GPA/will/agreement-to-sell transactions do not confer ownership or create a valid transfer of title. Property can only be legally transferred through a registered sale deed. POA-based property sales — common in unauthorised colonies in Delhi and in parts of Bangalore — are therefore legally fragile.

Specific risks:

• POA is automatically revoked on the principal death
• Principal can revoke the POA at any time before the sale deed is executed
• If the principal later challenges the POA (claiming coercion, fraud, incapacity), the buyer has no recourse
• Multiple POAs on the same property (a common fraud pattern)

When POA is Legitimate

POA use is legitimate and common in these situations:

• NRI buyer unable to attend Sub-Registrar office in India for sale deed registration — grants SPA to a trusted relative in India
• Seller is an elderly person and grants SPA to an adult child for a specific transaction
• Corporate entity uses authorised representatives with board-resolution-backed POAs

How Brickplot Uses This

Brickplot flags any project where the land title involves a GPA-based transaction in the ownership chain. Buyers are advised to seek independent legal opinion before proceeding on such projects.

Related Terms

• Sale Deed — the registered document that actually transfers ownership
• Title Deed — the title that POA-based transactions often fail to establish
• Sale Agreement — sometimes confused with a POA in informal transactions