A home in Bengaluru is verified in a fixed order: the project’s registration, the land’s record, the sanctioned plan, the documents the seller must hand over, and the dates. Done in that order, each check narrows the next one, and nothing has to be taken on trust.
1. The RERA record, and the phase it covers
Every project marketed in Karnataka must be registered with the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority, and the registration number must appear in its advertising. Open rera.karnataka.gov.in, search the number printed on the brochure or the website, and read the certificate itself: the registered project name, the promoter, the phase or towers it covers, and the completion date the promoter has declared. A number that belongs to a different project, or a phase that does not include the tower you are buying in, is the most common finding; it is also the easiest to catch.
On this website each ongoing project carries its number at the top of its page with a link to the portal, and the Approval Vault lists every certificate the company holds for it.
2. The land: khata and the title chain
The khata is the municipal account for the property. Ask which office issued it and whether it is an A khata (the property is in a sanctioned layout and tax records are regular) or a B khata (recorded in a separate register, usually because the layout or conversion was incomplete). Then ask for the encumbrance certificate for the land for the last thirty years, which lists registered transactions and charges, and the mother deed and conversion order. A property lawyer reads these in a day; the point of asking early is that the answers decide whether the next checks are worth doing.
3. The sanctioned plan and the approvals that go with it
Ask which authority sanctioned the building plan and ask to see the sanctioned drawing, not a marketing plan. Then match what is being sold to it: the number of floors, the number of homes, the parking and the amenities. Other approvals follow from the location: airport-height clearance near flight paths, fire clearance above a certain height, a pollution-board consent, a water and sanitation connection, and for larger projects an environmental clearance. A builder who keeps these in one place, with the issuer and date on each, is telling you how the project is run.
4. The documents at booking, agreement and handover
At booking you should receive a cost sheet that separates the base price from charges and taxes, and a copy of the RERA certificate. At agreement, the agreement for sale in the RERA-prescribed form, the schedule of payments linked to construction stages, and the specifications. At handover, the completion certificate from the authority, the occupancy certificate, the khata transfer and the sale deed. A developer’s possession letter is a welcome note; it is not the authority’s certificate.
5. Two dates, in writing
The certificate carries the completion date the promoter has declared to the regulator. The builder will also have a construction target for your tower. Ask for both in writing. A builder who states both, and explains the gap, is telling you how it manages time; one that offers only the earlier date is not.
What to do if a check fails
Stop at that check and ask for the document that would resolve it. Most failures are paperwork delays rather than problems, and a good team produces the paper in days. If the answer is that the document “will come later”, decide with that in mind: the home may still be right, but the risk is now yours to price.
The guides on this site cover each document in more depth: how to check Karnataka RERA, khata and property records, the encumbrance certificate, and what happens at handover.
How to check Karnataka RERA Khata and property records Approval Vault