Most property disputes in India begin long before the buyer pays: they begin with a document nobody checked. A clean-looking plot can have an unpaid loan on it, several heirs who never agreed to sell, or no permission to build. This checklist covers the papers worth examining, what each one proves, and the red flags to look for. Use it alongside a local lawyer, not instead of one.
1. The title: who really owns it?
Sale deed and chain of title. The current owner’s sale deed shows how they got the land. Ask for the earlier deeds too, so that you can trace ownership back through each transfer. Many lawyers go back around 30 years. Every link should be a registered document and every seller should have had the right to sell.
Other ways land is acquired. If the owner got it by inheritance, ask for the will, the succession certificate or the legal heir certificate. For a gift, ask for the registered gift deed. For a partition within a family, ask for the registered partition deed.
Red flags: the seller cannot show how they got the land, a deed is unregistered, a name or survey number changes between deeds, or someone other than the owner is negotiating.
2. Encumbrance certificate
An encumbrance certificate (EC) lists registered transactions on the property over a period, such as sales, mortgages and charges. A clean EC shows no outstanding loan or claim recorded against the land. Ask for one covering at least the last 13 to 30 years, depending on local practice and your lawyer’s advice. It does not show unregistered claims, so it is a check, not a guarantee.
3. Revenue records
These show who the government treats as the holder of the land and what the land is classified as. The names vary by state: records such as the 7/12 extract and property card in Maharashtra, the RTC or pahani in Karnataka, the patta and chitta in Tamil Nadu, the jamabandi and fard in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, and the khatauni and khasra in Uttar Pradesh are all examples. Check that the owner’s name, the survey number and the area in the record match the sale deed. Look at the land-use classification too: farmland, residential, commercial or something else.
4. Mutation
Mutation is the update of the revenue record after a transfer. A seller whose own name is not yet on the revenue record may still be in the middle of an earlier transfer. Ask for the mutation entry or order, and plan to get the property mutated in your name after you buy.
5. Tax receipts and dues
Ask for recent property tax or land revenue receipts, and electricity and water bills if the plot has connections. Unpaid dues can pass to the buyer in practice, and old receipts also show who has been treated as the owner.
6. Approvals and land use
- Approved layout. For a plot in a layout, check that the layout was approved by the right authority and the plot appears on the approved plan.
- Conversion order. Farmland usually needs an official change of land use before you can build houses on it. Ask for the order and check the survey number.
- Building rules. Ask what you may build: height, set-backs and the permitted floor area ratio.
- RERA registration. Larger layouts and projects must be registered with the state’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Look up the registration number on the authority’s website.
7. Seller identity and authority
Match the seller’s identity documents with the names on the deeds. If a power of attorney is being used, check that it is registered, current and actually covers the sale. If the land belongs to a company, a trust or a minor, extra approvals are usually required. If the land is co-owned or ancestral, all the co-owners, including those living elsewhere, normally need to sign.
8. Loans, litigation and notices
- If the land is mortgaged, ask for the lender’s written clearance and a no-objection certificate.
- Search for court cases and notices against the property or the seller, and ask your lawyer to publish a public notice inviting objections.
- Check whether any part is marked for road widening, acquisition or a protected zone.
9. The land itself
Visit the plot. Compare the boundaries on the ground with the survey sketch, check who is in possession, and talk to neighbours. A surveyor’s fresh measurement is the best way to confirm the area on paper matches the area you can walk. For help turning local units into a standard one, see our guide on Indian land units.
A simple order of work
- Collect all the papers above before you pay any token amount.
- Have a lawyer in the same state read them and draw up a short report.
- Measure the land and compare it with the record.
- Agree the price and sign an agreement that records the area, the conditions and the date of registration.
- Pay duty, register the sale deed, then update the revenue record and tax record in your name.
The Plotwise buying guide turns this into a checklist for each property type that remembers your progress on your device. Keep any tool or article as a guide only: documents and procedures differ by state.
General information, not legal advice. Hire a qualified local lawyer for your purchase.