Thanks to stamp duty discount, 55% UP houses owned by women
In Uttar Pradesh, over 55% of property is now registered in women's names, boosted by a stamp duty rebate policy aimed at empowering women.
Brajendra K Parashar
bkparashar@htlive.com
Lucknow: A small but significant policy change introduced two decades ago has steadily emerged as a big tool of socio-economic empowerment of women in Uttar Pradesh, where more than 55% of houses and other properties are bought and registered in favour of a female member of families to avail of the stamp duty discount, as per official data.
In 2006, the state government allowed a 1% rebate on stamp duty on a property valued up to ₹10 lakh and a maximum benefit of ₹10,000 if the property was purchased and registered in the name of a woman. The move has since encouraged lakhs of families to transfer property ownership to women.
“In more than 50% of the cases, families now prefer to buy a house, plot or any other property in the name of a woman to avail of the rebate and this has no doubt proved to be an effective medium of women empowerment in UP,” Stamps and Registration IG Neha Sharma said, adding “The expansion of scope of the policy by the current government in July this year will encourage even a greater number of families to buy property in name of a woman.”
With a view to promoting Nari Shakti in the state, the Yogi Adityanath government in July extended the 1% stamp duty exemption for women buying property valued up to ₹1 cr, capping the benefits at ₹1 lakh.
Official data of the past three years shows that more than half of all property transactions in the state were registered in the name of women. In 2022, 58.07% of total property transfers were in women’s names. The trend remained strong in 2023 (56.03%) and 2024 (55.75%).
Of the total 26,19,823 property sales deeds executed across the state in 2024, 14,63,939 were done in favour of women.
This has naturally reflected in stamp duty collections. In 2022, women accounted for 50% of stamp duty receipts from property registrations. The share stood at 47.33% in 2023 and 45.48% in 2024.
The same data reveals that women’s property registrations accounted for stamp duty collections of ₹88,552 crore and registration fees of ₹15,847 crore during 2024.
The data for the current year (from January to July) shows a similar trend continuing.
A district-wise analysis of 2024 data shows Lucknow emerged as the frontrunner with 78,986 property registrations in women’s names, collecting ₹9,800 crore in total fees. The state capital was followed by Ghaziabad with 68,982 registrations generating ₹12,354 crore.
Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) recorded 43,900 registrations worth ₹2,789 crore, while Mathura saw 43,727 properties registered in women’s names, amassing ₹3,220 crore. Prayagraj rounded out the top five with 39,397 registrations and ₹3,405 crore in revenue.
In the current year, too, Lucknow is leading with the highest (50,853) sales deeds in favour of women during the first 7 months of the year. Lucknow is followed by Ghaziabad (39,317), Agra (32,643), Noida (27,194) and Mathura (25,750).
At the other end of the spectrum in 2024, Chitrakoot recorded the lowest 5,411 registrations ( ₹228 crore), followed by Bhadohi with 5,533 registrations.
The trend shows that women’s property ownership is no longer confined to urban centres, with districts across the state showing significant registrations, though urban and peri-urban areas continue to lead in absolute numbers.
“The stamp duty concession has genuinely empowered women. Now, when disputes arise, women have real ownership and can assert their rights,” said a senior official of the Stamp and Registration department. “Before the rebate in 2006, not more than 10-15% of the properties were purchased and registered in favour of women,” he recalled.
