Up to four-fold increase in collector rates after 4 years

Buying a property in Chandigarh is set to get costlier from April 1, as the UT Administration has approved a steep hike in collector rates across various property categories.

The revised rates, which were notified today, mark the first increase in four years, with average hike reaching up to 128%. The sharpest increase is for residential properties in villages, where the collector rates have been raised nearly fourfold (400%). In prime city areas, properties in Sectors 1 to 12 will see a 130% hike, while those in Sectors 14 to 37 will witness a 96% increase. Properties in Sector 38 and beyond will see an 80% rise in the collector rates.

The collector rates set the minimum property value below which a transaction cannot be registered and these directly impact stamp duty calculations.

In the commercial sector, collector rates for Industrial Area, Phases 1 and 2, have been raised by 30%. A 25% increase has been applied to SCOs, SCFs and bay shops on Madhya Marg, Sector 22, Sector 34 and the road dividing Sectors 35 and 34. Meanwhile, the rates for SCOs and SCFs in Sector 17 have been raised by 6%. Agricultural land will also see a significant hike, with rates increasing nearly 2.5 times. Minor adjustments have been made for shops, offices in Elante Mall and sites in the IT Park.

Officials said the new rates were determined based on sale deed data from the Sub-Registrar Office, along with market trends and village surveys. The complete notification can be accessed at chandigarh.gov.in/information/public-notices.

Kamaljit Singh Panchhi, president, Property Federation Chandigarh, has condemned the Administration’s decision to increase the collector rates, calling it an undue burden on the middle class. He highlighted that the majority of Chandigarh’s population consists of salaried individuals who cannot afford such a steep hike in the rates.

Panchhi said if the collector rates were not brought down, middle-class families will struggle to secure loans for purchasing property, making homeownership increasingly unattainable.

“The hike in too steep and will lead to litigation between buyers and sellers who have already entered into an agreement,” said Kamal Gupta, president, Property Consultants Association, Chandigarh.