MHADA transfer procedure in case of death: who inherits the tenement and what the Board asks for
By Nikunj Sharma5 min readChecked 9 September 2026When a MHADA allottee dies, the tenancy can be transferred to a legal heir listed in section 24 of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act, 1976: the husband or wife, an unmarried son or daughter, a married son and his family, a widowed daughter and her unmarried children, or the parents. The application goes to the Estate Manager with the death certificate and a heirship certificate.
Who can inherit a MHADA flat?
The Mumbai Board's document list for transfer of tenancy rights reproduces the list from section 24 of the Act. Transfer of tenancy rights on death is available to these legal heirs of the original tenement holder:
- the husband or wife
- an unmarried son or daughter
- a married son and his family members
- a widowed daughter and her unmarried children
- the father and mother
That is a narrower list than the ordinary law of succession, and it is worth reading closely. A married daughter is not on it in her own right. A brother or a nephew is not on it at all. Where the person who has been living in the flat and paying for it is not on the list, the transfer is not a formality, and the family should take advice before the application goes in rather than after it is refused.
What the Regulations say
The 1981 Regulations provide that if an allottee dies, the tenement may be permitted by the Chief Officer to be transferred in the name of another member of the allottee's family, provided that member undertakes to abide by the Regulations. It is a permission, granted on application, not an automatic devolution. Until it is granted, the Board's record still shows the deceased as the allottee, and nothing else can be done with the flat: it cannot be sold, let, or mortgaged in anyone else's name.
That is why this transfer comes before every other piece of MHADA paperwork a family might need. A heir who wants to sell or let the flat has to become the allottee first.
The file the Estate Manager wants
The Mumbai Board publishes the list. For a transfer on death, the items that matter most are these:
- The application in the prescribed format, available from the Estate Manager's office at Griha Nirman Bhavan, Bandra East
- The original death certificate of the tenement holder
- A heirship certificate from the competent authority, showing the applicant's relationship to the tenement holder
- The no objection certificate from the cooperative society, or an affidavit that no society has been formed
- An affidavit that the applicant, spouse and unmarried children hold no other land or tenement in Mumbai city and suburbs
- Proof of income: an employer's certificate if in service, otherwise an income affidavit and a copy of the income tax return
- Two attested photographs of the applicant
- The latest rent receipt showing no arrears
- The transfer charges, paid by demand draft or pay order and receipted
The list says the application with documents is to be submitted to the Estate Manager within fifteen days. Where there is more than one eligible heir, the Board will expect the others' consent in writing before it transfers to one of them. This is where these applications most often stall, and it is a family conversation to have before the file goes in.
Are transfer charges payable on a transfer to an heir?
The Board's document list sets the transfer charges as a general item for transfer of tenancy rights and does not carve out an exemption for heirs: 45 rupees per square foot for Low Income Group capped at 15,000 rupees, 55 for Middle Income Group capped at 25,000, and 60 for High Income Group capped at 35,000, as published on mhada.gov.in and checked on 9 September 2026. Our guide to the MHADA flat transfer process has the Board's Form 1 checklist, including the papers for a transfer after a death.
Whether the Mumbai Board applies the full schedule, a reduced charge or no charge to a transfer to a legal heir in practice should be confirmed at the Estate Manager's office for the specific scheme. The published list does not distinguish, and practice has varied.
Is a heirship certificate needed for MHADA transfer?
Yes, per the Board's list. A heirship certificate from the competent authority is the document that establishes the applicant's relationship to the deceased allottee, and the Board asks for it alongside the death certificate. It is issued by the court, and obtaining it takes time, so it is the first thing to start.
A nomination with the society is not a substitute. A society nomination tells the society who to deal with; it does not make the nominee the Board's allottee, and it does not decide inheritance between heirs.
Where to start
Start with the death certificate and the heirship certificate, settle the society's position, and the file follows. If the flat is in Borivali, Kandivali or Malad and you would like the application assembled against the Board's list and taken through the Estate Manager's office, that is what our MHADA paperwork service is for. For the parallel step on the municipal record, read mutation of property.
Common questions
- Who can inherit a MHADA flat?
- The heirs listed in section 24 of the Act: the spouse, an unmarried son or daughter, a married son and his family, a widowed daughter and her unmarried children, and the parents. Anyone outside that list needs advice before applying.
- Is a heirship certificate needed for MHADA transfer?
- Yes. The Mumbai Board's document list asks for a heirship certificate from the competent authority alongside the original death certificate. Start it first, because it takes the longest.
- Are transfer charges payable on a transfer to an heir?
- The published schedule applies to transfer of tenancy rights generally and does not exempt heirs on its face. Confirm the charge for your scheme at the Estate Manager's office.
- Can the heir sell the flat straight after the transfer?
- Selling is a separate application with its own conditions: the Board's and society's permission, the buyer's income group, and the five year rule counted from allotment. Read can we sell a MHADA flat before pricing it.
- What if the family was already living in the flat?
- Living there does not change the record. Until the transfer is granted, the Board's allottee is the person who has died, and the family should apply rather than wait.
Words you will see
Plain meanings for the terms used above.
- Allottee
- The person MHADA allotted the flat to, in whose name the Board's record stands until a transfer.
- Estate Manager
- The Mumbai Board officer who handles transfers, NOCs and dues for the flats in a division, at Griha Nirman Bhavan in Bandra East.
- Heirship certificate
- A court document naming the legal heirs of someone who has died, used when there is no registered will.
- Mutation
- Updating the municipal record so the tax bill comes in the new owner's name. It follows a sale, it does not create ownership.
- Society
- The co operative housing society: the body of flat owners that collectively runs the building.
Senior Associate at Shree Giriraj Real Estate, handling marketing and sales across Borivali, Kandivali and Malad. Writes the articles here from the questions clients actually ask.
- MHADA Mumbai Board, documents to be submitted for transfer of tenancy rights, including the section 24 list of legal heirs
- MHADA, Estate Management, Sale, Transfer and Exchange of Tenements Regulations, 1981, extract published on mhada.gov.in
- MHADA, E-MITRA, Transfer of Tenements
- DataForSEO, Google search volume for MHADA transfer terms in India, measured 9 September 2026
Read next
- MHADACan we sell a MHADA flat? The five year rule, the permissions, and what voids a sale
Yes, a MHADA flat can be sold, but only with the previous written permission of the Board and of the housing society, and only once five years have passed from allotment, the buyer falls in the same income group as the scheme, and all dues are paid. A sale without that permission can be declared invalid and the buyer evicted.
- PaperworkMutation of property in Mumbai: the tax record, the property card, and what neither proves
Mutation updates the local authority's records to show you as the person liable for the property, so tax is billed in your name. It does not create or prove ownership. The courts have repeatedly held that revenue records are not documents of title: ownership comes from your registered deed.
- MHADAMHADA office in Bandra East: which desk handles your flat, and what to take
MHADA's head office is Griha Nirman Bhavan, Kalanagar, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051, main number 022 6640 5000. Transfers and NOCs for Mumbai Board flats are handled there by the Estate Manager for your area, from Borivali, Malad and Goregaon in the west to Kurla, Ghatkopar and Mulund in the east, so the first step is to know which desk your flat belongs to.
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