Specific Relief Act (SRA)
Rights of a Purchaser or Lessee Against an Imperfect Title: Section 13
A buyer of land is at the seller's mercy in one respect: he cannot see the state of the seller's title until he investigates it. What happens if the seller turns out to have no title at all, or only an imperfect one? Section 13 answers this. It does not leave the buyer to walk away with nothing; it arms him with a set of rights, either to force the seller to perfect the title or to recover what he has paid, with interest and a lien. This note works through Section 13(1)(a) to (d), the extension to movable property in Section 13(2), and the comparison with Section 43 of the Transfer of Property Act.
Figure: Section 13: the four rights a buyer or lessee has where the seller has no title or an imperfect one, and two further points
1. The Setting of the Section
Section 13(1): the opening words ▪ The situation. A person contracts to sell or let property, knowing that he has no title, or only an imperfect title, to it. ▪ The consequence. The buyer or lessee has, in addition to any other right he may have, the rights set out in clauses (a) to (d), which follow. ▪ Why it matters. The section prevents a seller from escaping the contract by pleading his own defective title; it turns that defect into a set of remedies for the buyer. |
2. The Four Rights: Section 13(1)(a) to (d)
What the buyer may do ▪ (a) Compel conveyance of an after-acquired interest. If the seller later acquires an interest in the property, the buyer may compel him to make good the contract out of that interest. The after-acquired title feeds the earlier contract. ▪ (b) Compel the procuring of concurrence. Where the concurrence of other persons is necessary to validate the title, and they can be required to concur at the seller's expense, the buyer may compel the seller to procure that concurrence and to do the acts needed to convey. ▪ (c) Compel redemption of a mortgage. Where the property is mortgaged for an amount not greater than the purchase money, and the seller is able to redeem it, the buyer may compel the seller to redeem the mortgage and to obtain a valid discharge and conveyance. ▪ (d) Return of the deposit, with a lien. Where the seller sues for specific performance and the suit is dismissed for want of title, the buyer is entitled to the return of his deposit, if any, with interest, to his costs, and to a lien on the seller's interest in the property for those sums. |
3. Extension to Movable Property: Section 13(2)
- The rule. The provisions of Section 13(1) apply, with the necessary changes, to a contract for the sale or hire of movable property.
- The effect. A buyer or hirer of goods against a seller with no title or an imperfect title enjoys the same protection, adapted to movables.
4. Section 13 and Section 43 of the Transfer of Property Act
Basis | Section 13(1)(a), Specific Relief Act | Section 43, Transfer of Property Act |
|---|---|---|
Doctrine | A contractual right to compel the seller to make good the contract | Feeding the grant by estoppel: the later-acquired title enures automatically |
How it works | The buyer sues to compel conveyance out of the after-acquired interest | The transferee may, at his option, take the property once the transferor acquires the interest |
Trigger | The contract, plus the seller's later acquisition of an interest | A fraudulent or erroneous representation of authority to transfer |
Nature of remedy | A right to specific performance out of the new interest | An operation of law that passes the interest, subject to a bona fide purchaser |
5. Practical Points
i. Knowledge is assumed. Section 13(1) is framed for the case where the seller contracts knowing of his want of title; the buyer's rights do not depend on proving fraud, only on the state of the title.
ii. The lien is real security. The lien under clause (d) attaches to the seller's interest in the very property, so the buyer's claim for his deposit is not merely a personal one against the seller.
iii. Perfecting the title is preferred. Clauses (a) to (c) aim first at giving the buyer the property with a good title; clause (d) is the fallback when the seller's own suit fails for want of title.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What does Section 13 protect the buyer against?
A. Against a seller who contracts to sell or let property while having no title, or only an imperfect title, to it.
Q. Can the buyer take advantage of a title the seller acquires later?
A. Yes. Under Section 13(1)(a), if the seller later acquires an interest in the property, the buyer may compel him to make good the contract out of that interest.
Q. What happens if the seller sues but has no title?
A. Under Section 13(1)(d), if the seller's suit for specific performance is dismissed for want of title, the buyer gets back his deposit with interest and costs, and a lien on the seller's interest for those sums.
Q. How does Section 13 differ from Section 43 of the Transfer of Property Act?
A. Section 43 feeds the grant automatically once the transferor acquires the interest and the transferee elects; Section 13(1)(a) gives a contracting buyer the right to compel the seller to make good the contract out of the later-acquired interest.
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