Most Dhaka flat buyers sign the most important document of the purchase before the building exists. The deed of agreement, known as the baina nama, is the contract between the buyer and the developer. It records what is being bought, what it costs, when each payment falls due, when the flat will be handed over, and what happens if things go wrong. The booking form comes first and is short. The deed of agreement is the document that binds both sides, and it deserves a slow reading with a lawyer beside you.
REHAB publishes a standard form of the deed, and most member developers use a version of it. Every clause in it matters, and the ones buyers skip are usually the ones they need later.
What must be in the agreement
A sound deed of agreement names the project, the flat number and floor, the approximate size in square feet, the proportionate share of the project land that goes with the flat, and the car parking space, usually in the basement or ground floor. It states the total price and the payment schedule, instalment by instalment. Good practice ties each payment to a construction milestone, such as roof casting, brickwork or plastering, rather than to a calendar date alone. A buyer who pays on dates while the site stands still has paid for progress that has not happened.
The agreement should also carry the specifications in detail: the brands and grades of rod, cement, tiles and sanitary fittings, the make of the lift, and the capacity of the standby generator. Vague words such as "standard fittings" leave the buyer with nothing to point to when the finished flat arrives with cheaper material. The RAJUK approval number and the approved plan should be referred to in the agreement, and the buyer should ask to see the approval before signing.
The handover date and what delay costs
The handover date is the clause buyers remember longest, because delays in Dhaka are common. The agreement should state a firm completion and handover date, and it should state what the developer pays if that date passes without handover. A clear compensation clause, with a rate and a start date, is the difference between a delay that costs the developer and a delay that costs only the buyer.
The Real Estate (Development and Management) Act, 2010 sets the frame around the agreement. A developer must be registered with the relevant authority before doing real estate business, and a project cannot be marketed or sold before its approval and registration. The developer cannot change the agreed design, size or common facilities without the buyer's written consent, and cannot mortgage the property after part or full payment has been made without the purchaser's written consent. These are the buyer's statutory protections, and the agreement should reflect them rather than quietly work around them.
Registration is not optional
Under the Registration Act, a contract for the sale of immovable property must be in writing, executed by the parties and presented for registration within sixty days of execution. The agreement must state the time within which the sale deed will be executed and registered; if it states no time, six months is deemed to apply. An unregistered agreement leaves the buyer with a weaker claim, and a developer who discourages registration is giving the buyer a reason to pause.
Before signing, the buyer should check the papers behind the project: the title deeds of the landowner, the registered joint venture agreement between the landowner and the developer, and the registered irrevocable power of attorney the landowner has given the developer to build, market and sell. The agreement itself should be signed on each page by both parties, with two witnesses, and stamped and registered as the law requires. The final sale deed, which transfers ownership, is registered separately at the sub-registry office, with stamp duty and registration fees to pay.
Red flags before you sign
A few signs should stop a buyer before the pen moves. A one-page agreement for a purchase worth crores is not a contract, it is a risk. A payment schedule tied only to dates, with no link to construction, asks the buyer to trust the calendar instead of the site. Missing specifications, a missing handover date, or no compensation clause all point the same way. So does a developer who will not show the RAJUK approval, the title papers or the joint venture agreement.
None of this replaces a lawyer. The deed of agreement is a legal document, and an independent property lawyer reading it before signing costs far less than a dispute after. Ask the lawyer to check the title chain, the approval, the payment schedule and the delay clause, and to confirm the agreement matches the prospectus on size, materials and amenities.
A flat bought off plan is a promise written on paper. The deed of agreement is where that promise is kept or lost. Read it as if the building will be late and the handover will slip, because that is when each clause earns its place. If the agreement survives that reading, the purchase can proceed on solid ground. Before signing, work out the full cost of the purchase with the "registration-cost calculator", check "what to verify before paying for a plot", and see "what a Tk 1 crore home loan really costs".
