Desai & Diwanji is reputed for its expertise in the real estate segment for almost a century. Real estate is probably the oldest practice areas at the Firm, next only to litigation. The conventional real estate practice of the Firm has kept pace with the demands of the changing times, driven by population explosion, rapid urbanisation, the IT boom, growth of the SEZ sector, launch of the smart cities programme and development of sophisticated logistical solutions. The Firm advises on all phases and aspects of real estate projects across all geographies in India, including: financial investments (both equity and debt), acquisition of stressed assets, sale and purchase of land; residential projects, commercial projects, township projects, slum rehabilitation projects, factories and other industrial projects; ; joint developments; financing and refinancing transactions; leasing; project development, construction and management; debt restructuring; as well as litigation.
The work done by our team of lawyers includes due diligence and title verification, structuring of real estate transactions and varying kind of documentation such as investment agreements, collaboration agreements, development agreements, sale deeds, lease agreements ( by private parties, governmental authorities and quasi-governmental bodies), construction agreements, project management agreements, escrow agreements, financing agreements and mortgage / hypothecation documentation. The Firm regularly advises on various real estate related regulations including RERA as well as state and city-specific development control regulations, rent control legislations and the like. Our strength lies in our understanding of conventional issues related to varied land tenures, laws related to different species of land, intricacies around laws of succession and rights of inheritance, tort, rights of way and easements and the like. The Firm also has a specialist real estate litigation team that has extensive experience in handling varying kinds of real estate disputes.
The Firm acts for several institutional investors, real estate funds, developers, land owners, lenders, corporates, landlords, occupiers and tenants across varying asset classes including residential, office, commercial projects, malls, warehousing, townships and special economic zones.
Lawyers from the Real Estate & Construction practice collaborate with members of the Firm’s other practice areas in order to provide clients with in-depth as well as domain-specific legal advice and solutions coupled with a seamless service experience, resulting in an efficient realisation of client objectives.