Initiative to amend Transfer of Property Act, bill introduced in parliament

Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman has introduced a new bill in the Jatiya Sangsad aimed at amending the Transfer of Property Act of 1882. In the proposed amendment an opportunity will be created to retain the right to enjoy the property during the lifetime of the donor even after gifting the property among parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren or husband-wife.

Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman introduced ‘The Transfer of Property (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ in the parliament on Thursday (August 27). Later the bill was sent to the parliamentary standing committee related to the Ministry of Law for detailed examination and to give a report to the parliament.

It has been proposed in the bill that even if property is gifted to someone within specific family relations, the donor will be able to enjoy that property as long as he remains alive. That is, even after transferring the ownership of the property, the donor will be able to preserve the right to use and enjoy the property until his lifetime.

According to the proposed provision, if the recipient of the property dies during the lifetime of the donor, the donor’s right of enjoyment will remain in force. Later the right of enjoyment of that property will be transferred to the heirs of the recipient according to law.

Regarding the objectives and reasons of the bill the law minister said although the current law has provisions for various methods of transferring property, there is no specific provision regarding gift by preserving the right of enjoyment of the property during the lifetime of the donor. Through the proposed amendment a separate method of gifting property by preserving the lifetime right of enjoyment will be introduced.

The law minister further informed that this new provision will be equally applicable to all citizens irrespective of religion. It will not have any negative impact on the transfer of property through conventional general gift, heba under Muslim law or any other legally recognized method. At the same time no conflicting situation will be created with any existing law.