Check the title before the money moves.

No buyer should pay for property until they know the seller holds good title and can lawfully sell. We examine the title papers and trace ownership through the revenue record, the sub-registrar's office and the relevant authority. The client then gets a plain-language report of any defects, gaps or competing claims to be cleared before completion.

For larger purchases and investments, title is only part of the picture. We also look at approvals, mortgages and liens, pending litigation, unpaid dues and planning status. Buyers, lenders and investors can then negotiate price, conditions or protections on the basis of what they have found, rather than what they assumed.

Until title passes, the agreement to sell is the buyer's main protection; the sale deed is what completes the transfer. Sutra Law drafts and reviews both with clear payment stages, completion conditions and remedies for default. Gift deeds and related instruments for transfers within a family are prepared with the same care.

A transfer only takes legal effect when the formalities are done properly. We handle execution, stamp duty under the Stamp Act 1899 and registration under the Registration Act 1908. On the day, we check that documents, identity papers, witnesses and payments are all in order at the sub-registrar's office before anyone signs.

After a sale, gift or inheritance, the official record has to show the new owner. An out-of-date record invites disputes years later. We take clients through mutation at the revenue office or land record centre and record changes with development authorities, and we deal with objections or clerical errors that stall the process.

Plots and houses in development authority areas and housing societies come with their own transfer rules, approvals and dues. We handle transfers, allotments and NOCs, check whether a scheme actually holds the approvals it claims, and represent members in disputes with societies over cancellation, possession or unexplained charges.

A properly drafted lease keeps many disputes away from the rent controller. Our residential and commercial leases deal with rent, security deposit, maintenance, renewal and termination in terms both sides can follow. When defaults, unauthorised subletting or arguments over handover arise, we advise landlords and tenants on where they stand.

Property disputes in Pakistan run from contested title and illegal occupation to forged transfers and family partition. Because we also handle transactions, we understand how the paperwork is meant to work and where it usually breaks. That helps us secure interim protection quickly, build the case from official records and pursue the remedy that restores the client's rights.

Projects between landowners, developers and contractors run for years and tie up serious capital, so the agreement has to plan for delay and default from day one. We draft and negotiate joint venture, development and construction contracts that allocate approvals, contributions, unit sharing and remedies clearly, and we advise when a project falls into dispute.

Holding property in Pakistan while living abroad is a common source of worry, and of fraud. We handle purchases, sales and disputes for overseas clients through powers of attorney limited to the specific task, verify each transaction before money is released, and send copies of every key document so the client always knows where things stand.