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Property & land

Checking a property before you buy

The records and approvals people usually look at before buying land, a house or a flat in India, and where those records come from.

Reviewed by Anjali, Naveen & ZiyanaUpdated 6 min readRules vary by state ↓

In short

  • A registered sale deed does not by itself prove the seller owned what they sold. Buyers usually trace the chain of earlier title documents.
  • An encumbrance certificate (EC) from the registration department lists registered transactions on a property, such as sales and mortgages, for the period asked for.
  • Revenue and municipal records (khata, patta, RTC and similar) show whose name the property is recorded in for tax and revenue purposes. They are not proof of ownership on their own.
  • Most real estate projects being sold in units must be registered with the state RERA authority, and the builder must show the registration number in its advertisements.
  • Before an agreement for sale is registered, a builder cannot take more than 10% of the price as an advance.

Reviewed by 3 advocates · 2 Bar Councils

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02What the law says

Ownership of immovable property usually passes by a registered document, such as a sale deed or gift deed. But registration only records the transaction. The Supreme Court has said that a registered sale deed does not give the buyer good title if the seller's own title was defective. In Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana, it held that "sales" through a general power of attorney, an agreement and a will do not transfer ownership. This is why people check the history of a property, not just the latest deed.

For new flats and plots sold by builders, the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) applies. Projects must be registered with the state Real Estate Regulatory Authority unless they are small: the Act exempts projects where the land does not exceed 500 square metres or the number of apartments does not exceed eight, including all phases (states can set lower limits). Registered projects' details, including approvals and timelines, are put up on the authority's website. Advertisements must carry the project's registration number and the authority's website address.

RERA also says a builder cannot accept more than 10% of the cost of the apartment, plot or building as an advance without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it.

Revenue and municipal entries (often called mutation records) show who pays tax or holds land in the revenue records. The Supreme Court has said many times that these entries are for fiscal purposes and do not confer title. Each state keeps these records under its own laws and portals.

Your state

General information for India. State-specific notes are listed below.

Karnataka · Registration and property records in Karnataka

The Department of Stamps and Registration says its Kaveri 2.0 registration system fetches property details from the Bhoomi, e-Swathu and e-Aasthi records systems. So the revenue or municipal record for a property often needs to be in order before a sale can be registered.

Department of Stamps and Registration, Karnataka (opens in new tab)

Keralam (Kerala) · Records and checks in Keralam

In Keralam, the Registration Department issues encumbrance certificates. You can apply on its PEARL portal (opens in new tab), pay online and download a digitally signed certificate. The department's procedure says this takes at least 3 working days for periods whose records are digitised and at least 14 working days for periods that are not. Certified copies of registered documents can also be applied for on PEARL. The Revenue Department keeps land records. On its e-services portal (opens in new tab) you can verify land, pay land tax and get thandaper extracts. Ente Bhoomi is the citizen portal of the state's integrated land information system, which links the Survey, Registration and Revenue departments. For builder projects, K-RERA says every promoter must register a project with it before advertising, marketing, booking or selling it. Registered projects can be searched on K-RERA's website (opens in new tab).

Registration Department, Kerala (encumbrance certificates); Revenue Department, Kerala (land records); Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (projects) (opens in new tab)

Tamil Nadu · Land records in Tamil Nadu

Patta, chitta and A-register extracts for rural and urban land can be viewed, and web-issued copies verified, on the Revenue Department's e-Services land records portal.

Revenue Department, Tamil Nadu (opens in new tab)

03Where you can go

  1. Sub-Registrar's office or the state registration portal. For an encumbrance certificate and certified copies of registered documents.
  2. State RERA website. To look up a project's registration, approvals and the builder's quarterly updates.
  3. Revenue department / land records portal. For agricultural land records and mutation entries.
  4. Municipal body or panchayat. For khata or property tax records and building plan approvals.
  5. An advocate. Many buyers ask an advocate for a title search and a written title report, especially for land.

04How it usually works

  1. 01

    People collect copies of the seller's title documents, going back through earlier owners.

  2. 02

    They get an encumbrance certificate for a long period to see registered sales, mortgages and other transactions.

  3. 03

    They check the revenue or municipal records to see whose name the property is in, and whether taxes are paid.

  4. 04

    For a building or flat, they check the approved plan, and for a completed building, the occupancy or completion certificate. For a project under construction, they check its RERA registration.

  5. 05

    For land, they check the land use and whether any conversion (for example, from agricultural to non-agricultural use) has been approved.

  6. 06

    Many buyers also search court records and public notices, and confirm the seller's identity and any power of attorney.

05Time limits

  • There is no legal time limit for doing checks before buying. But once an agreement for sale is signed and money is paid, backing out can be harder and depends on the agreement.

06Documents to gather

  • Sale deed or other title deed of the seller, and earlier deeds in the chain (sometimes called the "mother deed")
  • Encumbrance certificate for a long period
  • Revenue or municipal records: khata, patta, RTC or equivalent, and property tax receipts
  • Approved building plan, and occupancy or completion certificate where relevant
  • RERA registration number and project page printout, for a builder project
  • Land conversion order, if agricultural land is being used for other purposes
  • Any power of attorney the seller is acting under, and identity documents of the seller
  • No-dues or no-objection letters from the housing society or bank, if the property is mortgaged

07Common questions

Not always. An EC only shows transactions registered with the registration department. Unregistered agreements, some court cases and some dues may not show up.

These records are important, but courts have held that revenue and municipal entries do not by themselves prove ownership. People usually check them together with the title deeds.

Each state RERA authority has a website with a project search. The registration number should also appear in the builder's advertisements.

A power of attorney lets someone act for the owner. People usually check that it is valid, registered where required, covers the sale, and that the owner is alive, since a power of attorney ends on the owner's death.

08Questions to ask an advocate

If you speak to an advocate, these questions can help make the conversation useful.

  • How far back should the title search go for this property, and which records should be checked?
  • Are there any gaps or defects in the chain of title, and can they be fixed?
  • Does the project or layout have the approvals it needs, and is it RERA registered?
  • Are there any pending cases, claims of heirs, or mortgages on the property?

09Sources

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This guide is general legal information for India, not legal advice. Laws and procedures change and can differ by state. For advice on your situation, speak to a qualified advocate.

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