Property paperwork in Karnataka uses a vocabulary that nobody teaches you and everybody assumes you know. The gap is expensive: most costly property mistakes here are not bad negotiation, they are someone signing a document whose implications they did not understand. This glossary defines the terms in plain English, and says why each one matters.

Ownership and title documents

Sale deed

The registered document that actually transfers ownership from seller to buyer. It is the primary evidence that you own the property. Until a sale deed is executed and registered at the sub-registrar office, no amount of payment, agreement or possession makes you the owner.

Mother deed

The earlier document, or chain of documents, that traces how the property came to the current seller. Lawyers use it to establish an unbroken chain of ownership. A missing link in that chain is a genuine risk, because it means someone in the past may still have a claim.

Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

A statement from the sub-registrar listing the transactions registered against a property over a chosen period, such as sales and mortgages. A clean EC suggests the property is not mortgaged and has not been quietly sold to someone else. Its limitation is important: it only shows registered transactions, so an unregistered agreement or an oral arrangement will not appear.

RTC or Pahani

The Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops, Karnataka’s revenue record for agricultural land. It shows the owner, the extent of the holding and how the land is classified. If you are looking at land on the city’s outskirts, this is where you check what the government thinks the land is, which is frequently not what the seller says it is.

Khata

A municipal record identifying who is liable to pay property tax on a property. It matters enormously, but it is not proof of ownership. A khata in someone’s name does not make them the owner, and a sale deed remains the document that establishes title. Treat khata as the property’s civic identity and the sale deed as its ownership.

A-khata and B-khata

An A-khata property sits on the main municipal register and is treated as compliant: it can obtain building plan sanction, is straightforward for a home loan, and is simpler to resell. A B-khata property sits on a separate register maintained for properties with deviations or missing approvals. Historically B-khata properties have faced restrictions on plan sanction and lending, which is why the discount they trade at is not free money. If you are offered a B-khata property, get legal advice on the specific path to regularisation before you pay anything.

e-khata

The digitised khata record. It is now required to register property inside city corporation limits, which makes it a precondition for a transaction rather than paperwork to tidy up afterwards. On Bangalore’s outer corridors, where many layouts began under panchayat administration, obtaining an e-khata is one of the most common places a sale stalls.

Khata transfer

Updating the khata into your name after you buy. It is a separate step from registration and it is easy to forget in the relief of completing a purchase. Leaving it undone creates problems later with tax receipts, utilities and your own resale.

General Power of Attorney (GPA)

A document authorising someone to act on an owner’s behalf. Property is sometimes offered on a GPA basis as a cheaper, faster alternative to a proper sale. A GPA is not a transfer of ownership, and buying this way leaves your position materially weaker than a registered sale deed. If a deal is structured around a GPA, ask why.

Land use, approvals and compliance

DC conversion

An order from the Deputy Commissioner converting agricultural land to non-agricultural use. It is necessary before land can be developed, and it is not sufficient on its own. Thousands of plots around Bangalore have a conversion order but no layout sanction, and those plots cannot get a building plan approved. Conversion changes what the land may be used for; sanction is what lets you build.

Layout sanction

Approval of the layout plan by the authority for that area, which may be BDA, a planning authority such as Anekal, Kanakapura, BIAAPA around the airport or BMICAPA along the Mysore Road corridor. Always verify the approval number with the authority itself rather than trusting a brochure. Our area pages name the authority for each corridor.

Building plan sanction

Approval of your building drawings before construction starts. Building without it creates unauthorised construction, which can attract penalties and demolition of the unauthorised portion, and it obstructs utilities, occupancy and loans. See our plan approval checklist.

Commencement Certificate and Occupancy Certificate

The Commencement Certificate permits you to begin construction. The Occupancy Certificate, issued after completion, certifies that the building matches the sanctioned plan and is fit to occupy. The OC is the one people skip and later regret: it is commonly required for utility connections, and its absence complicates resale and lending for whoever buys from you.

Betterment charges

Charges levied by the local authority towards infrastructure, typically payable when a property is brought onto the records or at the time of plan sanction. Budget for them alongside scrutiny fees and cess rather than treating approvals as a free step.

RERA

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act framework, under which qualifying projects must be registered and certain disclosures made to buyers, including carpet area. It is most relevant when buying from a developer rather than building on your own plot.

Measurement and planning

FAR or FSI

Floor Area Ratio, also called Floor Space Index: the total built area across all floors as a multiple of the plot area. In Bengaluru it is 1.75, and it did not change in the 2026 amendment even though height and setbacks did. It is usually the real limit on how much house you get. Try the FSI and FAR calculator.

Setback and ground coverage

Setback is the open space you must leave between your building and the plot boundary, on each side. Ground coverage is the proportion of the plot the building footprint may occupy. Along with FAR these are three separate limits that all apply at once. Use the setback calculator to see what your plot actually yields.

Carpet, built-up and super built-up area

Carpet area is the usable floor space inside your walls. Built-up adds the walls. Super built-up adds a share of common areas and is usually what you are quoted on. Comparing two flats on price per carpet square foot is the only reliable comparison. See the area calculator.

Guntha, cent and acre

Land units you will meet constantly around Bangalore. One acre is 43,560 sq ft, which is 40 guntha or 100 cents. Guntha is the standard subdivision for agricultural land in Karnataka, cent is common across South India, and sites in layouts are sold in square feet. Convert with the land unit converter.

Plinth

The raised base of the building above ground level. Plinth height matters more than it sounds in Bangalore: on low-lying plots, particularly near lakes and storm-water drains, a higher plinth is a basic defence against water entering the house.

Money, tax and valuation

Guidance value

The government-notified minimum value for a property in a given area, used as the floor for stamp duty. Duty is charged on the higher of your agreement value and the guidance value, so negotiating below the guidance value does not reduce your duty. Values across Bengaluru were revised upward during 2026, so use a current figure.

Stamp duty and registration

The statutory cost of transferring property, payable in cash at registration and not funded by your home loan. In Karnataka it comprises slab-based duty plus cess and surcharge calculated on the duty, plus registration on the property value. Work out yours with the stamp duty calculator.

Unit Area Value (UAV)

The per-square-foot rate, set by zone and property category, used to compute property tax on a notional rent rather than on market value. Your zone rate is what drives your bill. See the property tax calculator.

Sump and overhead tank

Underground and rooftop water storage. Not paperwork, but worth defining because they are a real line item in Bangalore, and on plots without piped supply the sump is often larger and therefore more expensive than first-time builders expect, particularly where it has to be cut into rock.