What is a Deed of Assignment

In Malaysia, we have the Torrens System in respect of our Land Law. Modelled just like the system used in Australia, immovable properties are issued Documents of Title (some call them “Grants”) to prove ownership of such properties. It is just like the Registration Card for motor vehicles which endorses the ownership of the vehicle. Now, what happens when the property – say, a newly constructed landed house or apartment, has not been issued the relevant Document of Title? This may happen because when a developer develops a piece of land, the developer usually has not submitted an application to the Land Office to carve out the piece of land into individual lots. This is where a Deed of Assignment comes into place.

A Deed of Assignment is a document or agreement which an assignor (the transferor) states his promise that from the date of the assignment or any date stipulated therein, the assignor assigns his ownership in that property to the assignee (transferee). A simple illustration would be when the developer signs a Deed of Assignment to transfer their ownership of that piece of property to the purchaser. When that purchaser decides to sell that property to a subsequent purchaser and the Document of Title has yet to be issued, the purchaser will sign a Deed of Assignment assigning his rights under the original Deed of Assignment to the subsequent purchaser. This will go on until the Document of Title is issued.

The Deed of Assignment stipulates what kind of rights have been assigned and usually in the case of sale and purchase of immovable property, full rights are assigned. It also documents the flow of ownership from owner to purchaser and subsequent purchasers where applicable. So, if a property has changed hands, say 10 times, the Deed of Assignment in the hands of the 10th owner would have a recital (usually on the 1st page) which talks about the history of this property changing hands from A to B to C and so forth till the current owner.

It goes without saying therefore that the Deed of Assignment is a very important document which should be kept in a safe and secure place. When the Document of Title is issued, you will need it to prove that you are the current owner and that you have the full rights to have the ownership transferred from the original owner (as shown on the Document of Title) directly to you, as the current owner.

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20 Responses to “What is a Deed of Assignment”

  1. Nikhil on April 20th, 2008

    can a deed of assignment be created for a tax refund issue as well ? i am a non – resident, and the company i was working for in malaysia has asked me to sign on a deed of assignment document which gives them the right to claim any tax refunds i might get from the IRB post my tax calculation being done. Is this particular form of the deed of assignment document really neccessary for the purpose of filing tax return and completing the income tax clearance process in malaysia ?

  2. Leslie Ooi on September 12th, 2008

    I just bought a double story link house where the individual title just been issued and yet to transfer to the vendor? Eventually we like to do the transfer of title directly from the Vendor to me, but unfortunately we cant get consent from the Land office as the developer refuse to pay some penalty served to them.

    Is Deed of Assignment can be applied in this case? since the individual title has already out but the vendor yet to do title transfer.
    What is the different between direct transfer and thru assignment?
    Is that risky to me?

  3. pablopabla on September 18th, 2008

    Leslie : If the title has been issued, then your solicitor must insist that the property be transfered to you by registering your name on the title, rather than assignment. The Vendor has to follow up with the developer to ensure that the individual title is issued. If assignment is used, then you may have to bear the burden later.

  4. jamili on October 14th, 2008

    can a deed of assignment be created for tenancy contract ? i ve signed a tenancy agreement with a landlord and later sign a back2back sub tenant agreement with another 3rd party (non – resident). Upon finding out that i had sublet the house a 3rd party. The landlord asked me to sign on a deed of assignment document which gives him the right to claim the rental from the 3rd party. Is this particular form of the deed of assignment can be applied in this case?

  5. A D King on December 10th, 2008

    I asked a debt collecting ageny for the deed of assignment off the lending bank and was told by thm they didn’t need one as the bank had mearly refered the debt to them
    Can this be true

  6. Jennifer on April 9th, 2010

    Could the process of assigning a title or deed be processed when the car title is in the name of a decease person?

  7. Ho on August 9th, 2010

    I am a Purchaser of a unit of leasehold apartment in Shah Alam.
    Currently, the developer is going to issue the title but the date is yet to confirm. Therefore the Vendor is waiting for the transaction to be carried out so that the title can issue directly to Purchaser instead of the Vendor.
    My questions are:
    1. If we both agreed to do the transaction before the issuance of title, both Vendor and Purchaser has to pay for the Deed of Assignment, right? Then, once the title is issued, the Purchaser needs to pay another fee for the transfer from the developer to the Purchaser, right?
    2. If we both agreed to do the transaction after the issuance of title, only Purchaser needs to pay for the fee of transfer. Am I right? However, we don’t know when is this going to happen…

  8. Lorraine on August 30th, 2010

    We handed over the keys of our condo to the new buyer as the buyer already paid the balance to our lawyer but we still have not get the moeny yet as the deed of assignment has not been signed by the developer. Is this common? We dont understand why tour lawyer holding our money as the developer will sign the deed anyway since the buyer already paid. Anyboy can explain and who entitle for the bank interest for the payment made by the buyer at our lawyer?

  9. pablopabla on September 2nd, 2010

    Ho : The legal fees and stamp duty for the deed of assignment is usually borne by the purchaser. In this case, it is you. If the vendor’s name is already endorsed onto the individual title, there is no more deed of assignment to enter into. Rather, both you and the vendor will execute a Memorandum of Transfer. You will still need to pay the stamp duty. If the vendor’s name is not endorsed yet, your lawyer will have to write to the developer to ask if they consent to a direct endorsement of your name as the new owner.

  10. pablopabla on September 2nd, 2010

    Lorraine : That’s odd. I assume you are in Peninsula Malaysia. Usually, the buyer need not pay the balance purchase price until and unless the property is fully registered in his name. In order to get registered, all documentation (including the deed of assignment) must have been perfected. And the seller need not release the keys until and unless full payment is made. So, I am a bit perplexed at your situation.

  11. Steven on November 5th, 2010

    I plan to purchase a townhouse(subsale) but unfortunately NOT ABLE to secure a loan from any bank. This is because the developer has not done their part to get the letter of consent for Vendor’s name to be endorsed onto the Stata Title from the Land Office. I plan to pay cash for it and the Vendor’s lawyer managed to get the Developer to agree to the Sale and Purchaser Agreement being concluded by way of a Deed of Assignment. I understand that I have to follow up with the developer to get my name endorsed onto the Titlle later. Is it true that a DOA is the only solution and costly or not? Thanks.

  12. laney on November 30th, 2010

    what would happen if the parties insist on going by way of assignment and not by charge even when title has been issued (refering to the security for loan given to the purchaser). how will it affect the purchaser’s financier? first of all, is it even allowed?

  13. yui on April 4th, 2011

    Hello, is the Deed of Assignment same as the Deed of Re-assignment? If not, what are the differences?

    Also what are the legal fees involved for preparing the Deed of Assignment?

    Thankyou.

  14. OLUBUNMI on April 6th, 2011

    Mr A sells a property to Mr B, and there is a deed of assignment between them. Now Mr B wants to sell the property to Me but the deed of assignment is not registerd by Mr B and the title document is still in Mr A’s name. Can i sign a deed of assignment directly with Mr A? If yes do i need another agreement with Mr B so that his children will not lay claims on the land tomorrow

  15. pablopabla on April 13th, 2011

    Yui : Deed of Assignment is to assign to the assignee. Deed of Reassignment is for the Assignee to assign back to the Assignor. Legal Fees would depend on the transaction value and it is guided by the Solicitors Remuneration Order.

  16. pablopabla on April 13th, 2011

    Olubunmi : You should refer the documents to a lawyer for further advise. I am not in a position to advise without looking at the deed of assignment made between A and B.

  17. Diana on June 6th, 2011

    Hi

    Can I just confirm that the consent&signature of the Developer & Land Proprietor are not required for the Deed of Assignment . Where is this stated? I’m selling a my house and the purchaser’s solicitor is being a pain in the ass going about that the above are needed for our DoA.

    Thanks

  18. pablopabla on June 6th, 2011

    Diana : Hi, please direct the Purchaser’s solicitor to Section 22D(4) and (5) of the Housing Developments’ (Control and Licensing) Act 1966.

  19. Jan on July 27th, 2011

    Can a deed of assignment be provided upon the signing of S&P and can it be used to withdraw from the EPF department?

  20. pablopabla on July 29th, 2011

    Jan : I believe EPF only requires a copy of the S&P for withdrawal. The Deed of Assignment is usually only dated upon full payment as per the terms of the S&P.