What Is a Leasehold Authority Plot and What Transfer Charges Apply?

Short answer: In Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway area the Authority usually remains the owner of the land and grants a long lease, commonly 90 years for GNIDA residential plots. A buyer acquires the lessee’s rights, pays annual or one-time lease rent, and on every resale must obtain the Authority’s transfer memorandum and pay the transfer charge fixed by its current policy.

Why the Authority stays in the picture

Section 7 of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976 empowers each industrial development authority to sell, lease or otherwise transfer land on terms it thinks fit. Noida, GNIDA and YEIDA have generally chosen leases. The lease deed and the Authority’s regulations, not only the sale deed between buyer and seller, govern what the holder may do with the plot.

Lease rent

GNIDA’s brochure for its residential plot scheme sets annual lease rent at 1% of the plot premium for the first ten years, rising by 50% every ten years, payable in advance from the date of the lease deed, with interest on late payment. As an alternative, the allottee may pay one-time lease rent equal to ten times the annual lease rent at the time of the lease deed. Terms differ by scheme and Authority, so the figures in the buyer’s own lease deed control.

Transfer charges

Transfer charges are levied on secondary sales and are usually borne by the buyer. Reported Noida figures include a residential transfer charge reduced from 5% to 2.5% from 24 September 2021, sector-wise per square metre rates for plots plus location charges, and a doubled charge where the seller holds only a general power of attorney. Greater Noida was reported to have cut resale charges from 5% to 2.5% in June 2021, with group housing flats at 1%.

For industrial plots, the Noida Authority board on 28 October 2026 approved reducing the transfer charge for operational units under its Unified Regulations 2025 from 10% to 7%. Rates change by board decision, so obtain the current figure from the Authority before pricing a deal.

How a transfer works

The usual sequence is: confirm the lease deed is executed and dues are cleared; apply to the Authority with the prescribed documents and charges; receive the transfer memorandum; then execute and register the transfer deed. GNIDA’s brochure requires the transfer deed to be executed within 180 days of the transfer memorandum, failing which extension charges or a fresh application apply. It also does not permit transfer of part of a plot.

Related questions

Can a plot be sold before the lease deed is executed?

Under GNIDA’s residential plot brochure, transfer is permitted only after the lease deed is executed and all dues are paid. Agreements made earlier carry the risk that the Authority will not recognise the buyer.

Are family transfers exempt from transfer charges?

GNIDA’s brochure allows transfers to parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and spouse, and vice versa, without transfer charges, and transfer to legal heirs on death with the CEO’s permission. Noida has its own exemptions and reductions for relatives and heirs, so check the current policy.

What is a transfer memorandum?

It is the Authority’s permission recording the change of lessee. Without it, the buyer’s name is not entered in the Authority’s records, which affects future sale, mortgage and building approvals.

What if lease rent is unpaid?

Unpaid lease rent attracts interest and is usually cleared before the Authority processes a transfer. A buyer should insist on a no-dues certificate.

Practical points

• Read the lease deed for tenure, permitted use, lease rent and restrictions on transfer and subdivision.
• Obtain the Authority’s current transfer charge in writing before agreeing the price.
• Avoid buying on a general power of attorney; it can increase cost and weaken title.
• Clear lease rent and water dues before applying for the transfer memorandum.
• Register the transfer deed within the validity period stated in the memorandum.

Sources: GNIDA residential plot scheme brochure (terms and conditions); Housing.com, Noida transfer charges; H4E News, 28 Oct 2026.

For a confidential discussion on Authority leases, transfers and dues, see Noida Authority Lawyer.

General legal information only; not legal advice or solicitation.