Regarding Gifted Deposits, which statement is true about registration?

• A. The donor is added as joint owner
• B. The giver does not go on the title
• C. The donor must sign a deed of trust
• D. The gift is repayable on demand

Answer: (B)

Gifted deposits are funds given to the buyer to use as a deposit with no obligation to repay. In the land register, registration records ownership based on who is entitled to the property, not who supplied the funds for the deposit. Since there is no repayable loan or intention to share ownership, the donor’s name generally does not appear on the title; the property is registered in the buyer’s name (or names) alone. A lender may require a gift letter to confirm the money is a true gift and not a loan, but that does not make the donor a registered owner. A deed of trust is used to create or acknowledge a vested interest or to secure repayment, which isn’t needed for a pure gift. If the funds were repayable on demand, that would convert the arrangement from a gift into a loan, which is inconsistent with how a gifted deposit works.