The Power of Attorney for Property in Pakistan

Introduction

The real estate sector is valued at $1.5 trillion, becoming one of the fastest-growing businesses in the country. Furthermore, it increases GDP by around 3%. Despite the great potential and well-financed industry, many purchasers in Pakistan are uninformed of the country's property legislation. They are unfamiliar with Pakistani real estate deals.

In Pakistan, there have been countless examples when the property owner is in another state and a person from Pakistan has purchased their property. This is feasible if the foreign-resident property owner has authorized others via power of attorney to sell their property on their behalf.

Power of attorney for property registration in Pakistan

A Power of Attorney is a legal instrument that grants someone the legal authority to act as their representative on their behalf.

A power of attorney (POA) is a legally enforceable document that allows one person, known as the Principal, to allow another person, known as the Attorney, to appear in their capacity. The Power of Attorney empowers the attorney to serve as the principal's legal representative and undertake specific actions on his or her behalf. The attorney gains full or limited legal control over the person's property, assets, or medical care. In most cases, a family member, spouse, or friend is designated as an Attorney via a Power of Attorney (POA) to decide things in the event of in capacity, disease, or illness.

TERMINOLOGIES RELATED TO THE POWER OF ATTORNEY

Here are a few key legal words linked to the power of attorney that you need to understand.

Principal/Donor/Grantor:

Someone who delegated limited or broad legal authority to another person to make choices or act on his or her behalf.

Agent/Attorney-in-fact:

A power of attorney grants the ability to act as an agent on behalf of the principal. As previously indicated, an agent or Attorney-in-fact has limited or broad legal jurisdiction over the principal's belongings, funds, and other legal affairs.

Types of Power Of Attorney in Pakistan

In general, there are two different kinds of Powers of Attorney: General Powers of Attorney and Special Powers of Attorney.

General Power of Attorney

Initially look at the general power of attorney. It is a legal document signed by the principal in support of a legal agent or attorney-in-fact. As it includes the word "general," this instrument empowers the agent to handle a wide variety of matters on behalf of the principal for a set amount of time, particularly while the principal is unwell or absent.

Attorney Special Power

A special power of attorney gives limited legal authority to an agent. It is a particular or restricted sort of power of attorney that empowers an attorney-in-fact to make choices on the principal's behalf in a particular incident only.

 Few examples of when a special letter of attorney is issued.

  Allow a member of the family to manage your property as you are abroad and unable to come to Pakistan.

· Allowing someone to look after/sell your belongings while you are away.

· To grant someone legal authority to watch for your family while you are ill or away.

· Giving someone the power to sell/purchase rental properties on your behalf

As long as an individual is sound of mind, he can terminate a power of attorney at any time. The annulment should be given in the form of a formal document certified by oneself in the presence of a notary public. Following that, it must be provided to the authorized agency and third parties.

Power of Attorney for Sale of Property

The selling of property using a zpower of attorney has been legalized in Pakistan by the courts. The Lahore High Court declared in (PLJ) 2016 LHR 881 that an agent cannot sell a property without a Power of attorney from the  owner of the property

So power of attorney could be used to sell the property. Moreover, it should be emphasized that a Power of attorney is only legal if it is established under Section 17 of the Registration Act. Moreover, the 2016 Civil Law Case (CLC) 1338 states that the property being sold must be fully indicated in the POA.

Overseas Pakistanis And The Power Of Attorney

The majority of Pakistanis who live in other countries, whether temporarily or permanently, buy or have a property in Pakistan. As a result, they find it difficult to go back and forth between Pakistan and their place of residence every time they need to conduct a property transaction. In such a circumstance, they seek a legal solution and allow one of their friends or family members to handle property problems on their behalf using a letter of attorney.

Power Of Attorney Filing

As per Section 17 of the Registration Act of 1908, if the aim of the Power of Attorney is to sell or lease any immovable property, it must be filed with the Sub-office Registrars in the region where the person lives.

All Power of Attorney papers should be verified by a Notary Public, any Court, Judge, Judicial officer, Pakistani Consul or Deputy, or a person nominated by the Federal Govt before they may be deemed legal.

Eligibility and Qualifications for a Power of Attorney

Every Pakistani native who is a major, mature, and lawfully able to enter into a contract, either residing within or outside Pakistan, is entitled to delegate authority to another person using the power of attorney. If power of attorney is carried outside the state then the Pakistani Embassy or representative office authorized officer will validate it and if the power of attorney refers to the exchange of property then it must be filed in Pakistan with the appropriate registrar. Powers of attorney issued through embassies or consulates are validated by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prerequisites regarding Power of attorney for property registration in Pakistan

· The original power of attorney paperwork, along with some duplicates.

· Document for attesting power of attorney.

· The principal's passport, as well as copies of the passport are to be provided.

· Original and photocopies of (CNIC) / (NICOP).

· Added to the letter of attorney, right alongside the sign, are two current passport-size pictures.

· Copies of the authorized person's and witness' CNICs are required.

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