Almost every property dispute in Bengaluru was avoidable at the verification stage. Not by finding a defect nobody could have found, but by reading a document that was always available and asking one more question. This is the checklist we run before a client pays an advance, and the same one we run backwards when a dispute has already started, to work out where it went wrong.
Part of the property and real estate practice at S Jain & Attorneys, Bangalore.
Work through it in order. The sequence matters: there is no point measuring the site before you know whether the seller can sell it. If you would rather have this done for you, our property and real estate practice does title verification and due diligence in Bengaluru and across Karnataka.
What actually transfers ownership, and what does not
Before the checklist, the rule that decides most of it. Under Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, tangible immovable property worth one hundred rupees or more can be transferred only by a registered instrument, and a contract for sale by itself creates no interest in or charge on the property. Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 makes registration of a conveyance compulsory, and Section 49 provides that an unregistered document which was required to be registered does not affect the immovable property or operate to confer any right.
That is why the Supreme Court in Suraj Lamp and Industries (P) Ltd. v. State of Haryana held that the sale agreement, general power of attorney and will combination conveys no title at all. Nothing about a GPA sale improves with age. A person holding under a twenty-year-old GPA transaction is in no better position today than they were on the day they paid.
Two qualifications are worth knowing, because sellers cite them loosely. Section 53A of the Transfer of Property Act protects a transferee who has taken possession in part performance of a written contract and has performed or is willing to perform their part, but it is a shield in defence of possession, not a source of title, and it does not let you sell on. And a registered agreement to sell is still only an agreement; the deed is what moves ownership.
What actually moves ownership of immovable property, and what only looks like it does.
Section 54, TP Act
Tangible immovable property worth one hundred rupees or more can be transferred only by a registered instrument. A contract for sale by itself creates no interest in it.
Sections 17 and 49
Registration of a conveyance is compulsory, and an unregistered document that required registration does not affect the property or operate to confer any right.
The GPA route conveys nothing
In Suraj Lamp the Supreme Court held that the sale agreement, general power of attorney and will combination conveys no title. Age does not improve it.
Section 53A is a shield
It protects a transferee who took possession under a written contract and has performed or is willing to perform. It is not a source of title and you cannot sell on.
Start with the question that decides everything
Before any document, establish how the seller got the property. There are only a few possibilities, and each has a different failure mode.
- Purchase: the cleanest. Verify the chain backwards.
- Inheritance: the most common source of litigation. Every legal heir must join the sale, or release their share by a registered deed.
- Gift or settlement: check whether it was accepted and acted upon, and whether any condition attaches.
- Partition: check whether the partition was registered and whether all coparceners were parties. After Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma, (2020) 9 SCC 1, daughters are coparceners by birth, so an old partition that excluded them is a live risk.
- Government grant or allotment: check the conditions and any non-alienation period.
Key takeaway. The single most common defect we see in Bengaluru is an inherited property sold by one or two heirs while a sister or an absent brother was never made a party. It surfaces years later, and it is expensive. Always ask who else could have inherited.
The documents, and what each one actually proves
| Document | What it proves | Where it comes from | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mother deed and chain of title | Unbroken ownership back at least 30 years | Seller, plus certified copies from the sub-registrar | A missing link, or a photocopy where the original should exist |
| Encumbrance Certificate | Registered transactions and charges on the property | Sub-registrar or the Kaveri online portal | A subsisting mortgage; a gap in the period; a transaction nobody mentioned |
| Khata and khata extract | That the municipal record recognises the owner and the property for tax | BBMP or the local body | B khata, meaning the property is recorded but not fully regularised |
| Latest tax paid receipts | No arrears, and the name matches | BBMP or panchayat | Name different from the seller; arrears carried forward |
| Sanctioned plan and commencement certificate | The building was permitted as built | BBMP, BDA or the planning authority | Construction that does not match the plan; extra floors |
| Occupancy or completion certificate | The completed building was cleared for occupation | The sanctioning authority | Occupied building with no OC, which is very common and not harmless |
| Conversion order | Agricultural land lawfully converted to non-agricultural use | Deputy Commissioner | Layout on unconverted land; conditions in the order not complied with |
| RTC or pahani, mutation register | Revenue record of possession and cultivation for agricultural land | Bhoomi and the village accountant | Tenancy entries; grant land conditions; names that do not match |
| RERA registration | The project is registered and the promoter is accountable | Karnataka RERA | Unregistered project being sold as pre-launch |
| Bank NOC and loan closure | Any existing mortgage is discharged | The lender | Original title deeds "with the bank" and no written confirmation |
The Encumbrance Certificate, read properly
Most buyers obtain an EC and glance at it. Three things are worth doing instead.
Take a long period, not thirteen years. Ask for at least 30 years where the chain allows it. A defect introduced in 1992 is still a defect.
Read the nil periods. An EC records registered transactions. A period showing nothing may mean nothing happened, or may mean the transaction was recorded against a different survey number or a different spelling of the name. Cross-check the survey number, not just the name.
Remember what the EC cannot show. It does not capture unregistered agreements to sell, oral family arrangements, pending litigation, tax dues or possession. A clean EC is necessary and nowhere near sufficient. Our separate guide explains how to view an encumbrance certificate online in Karnataka.
Khata, and the A versus B problem
In Bengaluru the khata is where a great many transactions come unstuck. An A khata means the property is in the municipal register as fully compliant. A B khata means the local body records the property and collects tax on it but treats it as not fully regularised, typically for a building or layout deviation or unconverted land.
A B khata property can usually still be bought and sold, but the consequences are real: most mainstream lenders will not finance it, building plan sanction is difficult, and the resale market is narrower. Karnataka has moved khata records onto an electronic e-khata system, and property owners are being required to obtain the digital record. Confirm the current requirement and the status of the specific property before you commit, since the administrative position has been changing.
Common mistake. Treating the khata as a title document. It is not. Khata records who pays tax on a property; it does not prove ownership. Sellers routinely offer a khata extract as though it settles title. It settles nothing.
Buying from a builder: the RERA layer
An under-construction flat is a different exercise. You are not checking one seller's chain, you are checking a project and a promoter. Three provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 do most of the work.
Section 11 is your free due diligence. The promoter must upload and keep current the project details on the authority's web page, including sanctioned plans, layout plans, the approvals obtained, and the stage-wise time schedule of completion. Read the Karnataka RERA project page before you read anything the sales office hands you, and compare the two. Quarterly progress updates that stopped eighteen months ago tell you more than any brochure.
Section 13 caps what the builder can take before there is a contract. A promoter cannot accept more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment, plot or building as an advance or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale, and that agreement has to be registered. A demand for thirty per cent at "pre-launch" with only a booking form is not a grey area.
Section 18 is the remedy when the date slips. If the promoter fails to complete or is unable to give possession by the date in the agreement, the allottee can withdraw and claim the full amount back with interest and compensation, or, choosing to stay in the project, claim interest for every month of delay until handover. Complaints go to the authority or the adjudicating officer under Section 31.
Our separate guide covers builder delay and homebuyer rights under RERA in more detail.
The checks nobody does, and should
- A litigation search. Check the eCourts services portal against the seller's name and, where possible, the property description. A pending suit for partition or specific performance changes the whole picture.
- Public notice in a newspaper. Inexpensive, and it flushes out claimants before you pay rather than after.
- The prohibited property list. Karnataka maintains a register of properties barred from registration under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, largely government and grant land. Check it.
- Physical inspection and measurement. Walk the site with the sketch. Confirm boundaries, access and actual extent against the deed. Encroachment and a shortfall in extent are found on the ground, never on paper.
- Who is in possession. A tenant, a caretaker or a relative in occupation is a separate problem from title, and it will be yours after the sale.
- Identity of the seller. Match photo ID to the name in the chain. Where a power of attorney is used, verify that it is registered, still subsisting, and expressly authorises sale.
If the property is inherited
Ask for the death certificate, then map the heirs. Every heir must either join the sale deed or execute a registered release or relinquishment deed. An unregistered "no objection" letter is not enough.
Two points that are frequently got wrong. Daughters are coparceners in Hindu joint family property by birth, regardless of when the father died, following Vineeta Sharma. And where a Hindu male dies intestate leaving self-acquired property, it passes by inheritance rather than survivorship, with the daughter inheriting ahead of collaterals such as a brother's sons, following Arunachala Gounder v Ponnusamy, (2022) 11 SCC 520. Family assumptions about the male line do not survive either decision.
The time limits that quietly decide property disputes
Buyers think about defects. Courts think about dates. Almost every property remedy has a limitation period under the Limitation Act, 1963, and once it has run, the strongest case on the merits is worth nothing. These are the ones that come up most often.
| What you want to do | Period | Runs from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enforce an agreement to sell, that is, sue for specific performance | Three years | The date fixed for performance, or if none is fixed, when you had notice that performance was refused | Article 54, Limitation Act |
| Cancel or set aside a deed, or rescind a contract | Three years | When the facts entitling you to have it set aside first became known to you | Article 59 |
| Obtain a declaration of your right | Three years | When the right to sue first accrues | Article 58 |
| Recover possession of immovable property based on title | Twelve years | When the possession of the defendant becomes adverse to you | Article 65 |
The last row is why a thirty-year search matters and why possession is checked on the ground. Somebody who has held adverse possession openly for twelve years can defeat a paper owner, and the paper owner often has no idea the clock has been running.
Deadline warning. If a defect surfaces after you have paid an advance, the three-year clock on specific performance or on cancellation starts from the refusal or the discovery, not from the day you decide to do something about it. Send a written demand, keep the acknowledgement, and take advice within weeks. We routinely see buyers who negotiated politely for two and a half years and then found the remedy they wanted had almost expired.
What I tell clients
Two things. First, verification is cheap and litigation is not. A full title check costs a fraction of one per cent of a Bengaluru property price and takes a couple of weeks. A partition suit takes years. Clients who skip the check are almost always under time pressure created by the seller, and that pressure is itself the warning.
Second, be suspicious of urgency and of discounts. In my experience the two most reliable predictors of a defective title are a price meaningfully below the local rate and a seller who needs the advance this week. Neither proves anything on its own. Together, they mean you slow down and read the chain.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many years should the title chain go back?
Aim for at least 30 years, which is the period over which most defects and adverse possession claims will surface. Where the chain is shorter, understand why.
Is a clean Encumbrance Certificate enough?
No. An EC records registered transactions only. It does not show unregistered agreements, pending litigation, tax arrears, possession or family claims.
Can I buy a B khata property?
Usually yes, but understand the consequences: limited home loan options, difficulty with plan sanction, and a narrower resale market. Price it accordingly and take advice on whether regularisation is realistic.
What is the difference between khata and title?
Khata is a municipal record for property tax. Title comes from the registered deeds and the chain behind them. A khata extract is not proof of ownership.
Do I need an occupancy certificate for a flat?
You should insist on one. Occupation without an OC is widespread in Bengaluru, but it exposes the buyer to enforcement action, difficulty obtaining connections, and problems on resale.
The seller is selling under a power of attorney. Is that safe?
Only if the POA is registered, expressly authorises sale of that property, is still in force, and the principal is alive. Verify all four, and prefer that the owner executes the deed personally where possible.
How long does proper title verification take?
Typically one to three weeks for a straightforward urban property, longer where the chain is old, the land was agricultural, or heirs must be traced. Indicative, not a commitment.
What if a defect is found after I have paid an advance?
Your position depends on what the agreement to sell says about defective title and refund of advance. This is exactly why the agreement should be drafted before the advance is paid, not after. Note also the three-year limitation for specific performance and for cancellation, which runs from refusal or discovery.
Is a registered agreement to sell the same as ownership?
No. Section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act says a contract for sale does not by itself create any interest in or charge on the property. Registering the agreement gives you a better record and better enforcement, but ownership passes only on the registered sale deed.
Can I buy a property held under a general power of attorney arrangement?
Treat it as a red flag rather than a discount. In Suraj Lamp the Supreme Court held that the agreement, GPA and will route conveys no title. If a GPA is genuinely being used, insist that it is registered, that it expressly authorises sale of that specific property, that the principal is alive, and preferably that the owner executes the deed personally.
This article is general legal information about the verification process and is not advice on any specific property. Karnataka's revenue and municipal procedures change, so confirm the current position for the specific property before you commit.
