Real estate glossary
120 property terms that confuse buyers, sellers and tenants in India, each explained with an example and the catch to watch for.
Area & measurement
1 RKOne room, one separate kitchen and an attached bathroom: that's a 1 RK. The single room does duty as bedroom and livi…BHKBHK means bedroom, hall and kitchen. A 3 BHK has three bedrooms, one hall (the living-dining room) and a kitchen; bat…Builder floorWhen a builder rebuilds a house on a residential plot and sells each storey as a separate home, each of those units i…Built-up areaBuilt-up area is the carpet area plus the space taken by the flat's walls, and usually its balconies. It tends to run…Carpet areaCarpet area is the floor space you can actually use inside your flat. Under the RERA Act it counts the internal parti…Carpet area under RERAUnder Section 2(k) of the RERA Act, carpet area is the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding external wall…DuplexA duplex is a home on two floors joined by an internal staircase and owned as a single unit. In an apartment block it…FAR / FSIFSI (floor space index), called FAR (floor area ratio) in Delhi, Haryana and much of north India, is the total floor …Gated communityA gated community is a residential complex with a boundary wall, a controlled entry and shared amenities, run by a re…Loading factorLoading factor is how much a builder adds to the carpet area to reach the super built-up area, shown as a percentage.…PenthousePenthouse is the sales name for a flat on the top floor, or top two floors, usually larger than the flats below and w…Plot areaPlot area is the total land inside a plot's boundaries, as recorded in the sale deed and the revenue records. It deci…Plotted developmentIn a plotted development the developer sells serviced land, not homes: it gets a layout approved, lays roads, drains …RERA carpet areaRERA carpet area is the net usable floor area of a flat as defined in Section 2(k) of the RERA Act, 2016. It includes…Saleable areaSaleable area is the area a seller charges you for. For flats it has usually meant the super built-up area, and in Mu…SetbackBuilding bye-laws make every structure stand back from its plot boundaries by a minimum distance at the front, sides …Studio apartmentStudio apartments put sleeping and living into one open room, with a kitchenette along one wall and a separate bathro…Super built-up areaSuper built-up area is your flat's built-up area plus a proportionate share of the building's common spaces, such as …TownshipTownships are large planned developments, usually 100 acres or more, where homes come with schools, shops, offices an…UDS (undivided share of land)UDS is the fraction of the project's land that legally belongs to you when you buy a flat. You own a share of the who…VillamentVilla plus apartment gives you the word. A villament, most common in Bengaluru, is a low-rise block in which two or m…
Money, charges & payment plans
All-inclusive priceAn all-inclusive price bundles the basic price with the builder's add-ons, such as PLC, parking, club membership and …Booking amountThe booking amount is what you pay a developer to reserve a specific unit in a new project before the agreement for s…BSP (basic sale price)Think of BSP as the price of the flat alone: the builder's per-sq-ft rate before location charges, parking, club fees…Car parking chargesCar parking charges are what a builder asks for allotting a covered, basement or podium parking slot with a flat. Und…Circle rateStamp duty in north India is never charged on less than the circle rate, the minimum value per square metre that the …Club membership chargesMost new projects charge a one-time club membership fee, usually ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh per flat, for access to the clubh…Construction-linked plan (CLP)On a construction-linked plan you pay the builder in instalments tied to construction milestones such as the plinth, …Cost sheetAsk for the cost sheet before you book: it is the builder's itemised breakup of what one specific flat will cost, fro…Demand letterA demand letter is the builder's formal request for the next instalment, sent when a milestone in your payment plan i…Down-payment plan (DPP)Under a down-payment plan you pay most of the price, usually 90% to 95%, within 30 to 60 days of booking, in return f…Earnest moneyWhen an agreement to sell is signed, the buyer usually pays about 10% of the price as earnest money. The seller can f…Floor rise chargesFor every floor above a set level, many builders add a fixed amount per sq ft to the price. That is the floor rise ch…Guideline valueKarnataka, Tamil Nadu and several other southern states fix a minimum value for every street or survey number, called…IFMS (interest-free maintenance security)IFMS is a one-time refundable deposit a builder collects at possession as a reserve for major repairs and maintenance…Maintenance chargesEvery owner pays maintenance charges, monthly or quarterly, to run the building: security, housekeeping, lifts, commo…PLC (preferential location charges)Builders add PLC, or preferential location charges, to units in a better position, such as park-facing, corner, road-…Possession-linked plan (PLP)A possession-linked plan lets you pay a small part of the price at booking, often 10% to 30%, and the rest when the b…Ready reckoner rateMaharashtra's government-fixed minimum value for land and buildings, published zone by zone by the Inspector General …Registration chargesThe fee you pay the sub-registrar's office to record a sale deed or agreement in the government register, making the …Sinking fundHousing societies build up a sinking fund over the years to pay for big, predictable expenses such as structural repa…Stamp dutyStamp duty is a state tax on documents that transfer property, paid by the buyer before the sale deed or agreement is…Subvention schemeIn a subvention scheme the bank disburses most of your home loan to the builder early, and the builder pays the inter…Token amountPaid to take a resale property off the market, the token amount is a small first payment, usually ₹51,000 to ₹1 lakh …
Legal & documents
Affidavit (property transactions)A sworn written statement of facts, made before a notary, oath commissioner or magistrate. Property deals use affidav…Agreement to sellA signed promise by the seller to transfer the property on a later date, once conditions such as full payment are met…Allotment letterOnce you've paid the booking amount, the developer issues an allotment letter confirming which unit is yours, at what…Builder-buyer agreementThe contract between a developer and the buyer of an under-construction flat, covering price, payment plan, specifica…Conveyance deedA conveyance deed is the registered document that transfers ownership, either from a builder to a flat buyer or from …Encumbrance certificateAn EC is the sub-registrar's extract of every registered transaction on a property over a chosen period, such as sale…Freehold propertyA freehold property is one you own outright, land and building, with no time limit and no lessor to answer to. You ca…General power of attorney (GPA)A GPA authorises an agent to handle a wide range of matters for the owner. In property, a 'GPA sale' means the old De…Gift deedProperty can be given away without payment through a registered gift deed, which the recipient must accept while the …Indemnity bondA written promise to cover another party's loss if they suffer for having relied on you, for instance when a society …Leasehold propertyA leasehold property sits on land you hold on a long lease, usually 90 or 99 years, from a development authority or o…No-dues certificateWritten proof that nothing is owed, whether to a bank on a home loan, to the housing society for maintenance, or to t…NOC (no objection certificate)Written confirmation from a person or authority that it doesn't object to a transaction: a society to a flat sale, a …Partition deedCo-owners use a registered partition deed to split jointly held property so that each gets a defined portion as sole …Possession letterThe developer's letter handing over, or offering, physical possession of your flat once it's ready and dues are paid.…Power of attorneyWith a power of attorney, you authorise someone else to act for you, for example to sign a sale deed, appear before t…Relinquishment deedWhen a co-owner, usually an heir, gives up their share in favour of the other co-owners, they sign a registered relin…Sale deedThe sale deed, called the registry in much of North India, is the registered document that actually transfers ownersh…Share certificate (housing society)In a cooperative housing society, the share certificate shows you're a member holding shares in the society that owns…Title deedWhatever registered document put the property in the current owner's name, usually a sale, gift or partition deed, re…Will and probateA will says who gets your property after you die; probate is a court's certificate that the will is genuine, granted …
Approvals & RERA
Building plan approvalBuilding plan approval is the local authority's sanction of a building's drawings: footprint, floors, height, setback…Change of land use (CLU)Change of land use (CLU) is government permission to use land for something other than the use fixed for it in the ma…Commencement certificateBefore the first pillar goes up, a builder needs a commencement certificate: the planning authority's go-ahead to sta…Completion certificateThis certificate is the authority's confirmation that a building or layout was built according to the sanctioned plan…Delayed possession compensationWhen a builder misses the possession date in the agreement, Section 18 of the RERA Act lets you stay on and receive i…DTCP licenceIn Haryana, a DTCP licence is the permission from the Director, Town and Country Planning that a developer needs to b…EDC and IDCEDC (External Development Charges) and IDC (Infrastructure Development Charges) are fees Haryana charges licensed dev…Environmental clearance (EC)Environmental clearance is prior approval under the EIA Notification, 2006 that larger building and township projects…Fire NOCIssued by the state fire service, a fire NOC certifies that a building meets fire safety norms. High-rise and larger …Force majeure under RERAThe RERA Act defines force majeure, in the Explanation to Section 6, as war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquak…Occupancy certificate (OC)An occupancy certificate is the local authority's permission to live in or use a building. Section 2(zf) of the RERA …Partial occupancy certificateWhere only some towers, wings or floors of a project are ready, the authority can issue a partial occupancy certifica…RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority)RERA is the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and the state authority it created to register projec…RERA 70% escrow accountSection 4(2)(l)(D) of the RERA Act requires a builder to deposit 70% of the money collected from buyers in a separate…RERA agent registrationSection 9 of the RERA Act requires a property broker to register with the state authority before helping sell plots o…RERA complaintBuyers, agents and even builders can file a RERA complaint, a case under Section 31 of the RERA Act before the state …RERA project extensionA RERA project extension keeps a project registered beyond the completion date the builder first declared. Section 6 …RERA registration numberIt's the number a state RERA authority gives a project when it registers it under Section 5. The builder has to print…Structural defect liabilitySection 14(3) of the RERA Act makes the builder fix, free of charge and within 30 days, any structural defect or defe…
Home loans & tax
Capital gains on propertyProfit on selling a house, flat or plot is a capital gain, taxed as short-term or long-term depending on how long you…CIBIL scoreLenders read your CIBIL score, a three-digit number from 300 to 900 built from your borrowing and repayment history, …DisbursementDisbursement is the release of your sanctioned home loan money, paid by the lender straight to the builder or seller.…EMIAn EMI (equated monthly instalment) is the fixed monthly amount you pay to repay a home loan, covering both interest …FOIR (fixed obligation to income ratio)FOIR is the share of your monthly income that goes on loan EMIs and other fixed commitments, including the new home l…GST on propertyOnly under-construction homes attract GST: 5% (without input tax credit), or 1% for affordable housing. Ready-to-move…Home loan balance transferA balance transfer moves your outstanding home loan to another lender that offers a lower interest rate or better ter…Home loan sanction letterYour lender's written approval of a home loan, stating the amount, interest rate, tenure and conditions, is the sanct…IndexationIndexation raises a property's purchase cost for inflation using the Cost Inflation Index, shrinking the taxable gain…Joint home loanA joint home loan is one loan taken by two or more people, typically spouses or a parent and child, who are all liabl…LTV (loan-to-value)No bank can fund a home's full price. Loan-to-value is the share it may lend: RBI caps it at 90% for home loans up to…PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana)Families earning up to ₹9 lakh a year can get an interest subsidy on the home loan for their first pucca house under …Pre-EMIWhile an under-construction flat is being built, you pay interest only on the part of the loan released so far; that …Section 54 exemptionSection 54 lets you avoid tax on the long-term gain from selling a house if you put the gain into another residential…Section 54EC bondsLong-term capital gains from selling land or a building can be parked in 54EC bonds, issued by government-owned compa…TDS on property purchaseWhen you buy property worth ₹50 lakh or more from a resident seller, you must deduct 1% as TDS from the payment and d…Top-up loanA top-up loan is extra money a lender gives you on top of your existing home loan, secured against the same property.…
Land records
7/12 extractThe 7/12 extract (satbara utara) is Maharashtra's land record for a survey number. It combines Village Form VII, whic…A khata and B khataIn Bengaluru, an A khata property is legally approved and fully compliant, while a B khata property is taxed by the c…Agricultural land conversionAgricultural land conversion is the legal process of changing the recorded use of farmland to residential, commercial…Chitta and adangalChitta and adangal are Tamil Nadu village revenue records kept by the Village Administrative Officer. Chitta records …E-khataE-khata is Karnataka's digital khata: a computer-generated property record with a unique ID, linked to the owner's Aa…JamabandiJamabandi is the record of rights for land in Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. It na…KhasraA khasra number is the number given to one specific plot of land on the village map. It is used in UP, Uttarakhand, M…Khata certificateIn Karnataka, and especially in Bengaluru, a khata certificate is the municipal record that shows a property is asses…KhatauniThe khatauni is Uttar Pradesh's (and Uttarakhand's) record of rights: it shows who holds each khata, which gata or kh…Lal doraLal dora is the inhabited core of a village (the abadi) that was marked with a red line on revenue maps during land s…Mutation entryA mutation entry is the note made in the land revenue record when ownership changes through sale, inheritance, gift o…Mutation of propertyMutation updates the owner's name in revenue or municipal records after a property changes hands by sale, gift, inher…NA plot (non-agricultural)An NA plot is land that has been permitted for non-agricultural use such as housing, commercial or industrial buildin…PattaA patta is the revenue record in Tamil Nadu (and, in a different form, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) that names th…Property cardA property card is the land record for plots in areas that have been through a city survey, most commonly in Maharash…Tehsil and sub-registrar officeThe tehsil (or taluk) office runs the land revenue records, while the sub-registrar's office registers documents like…
Renting
Leave and licence agreementA leave and licence agreement lets someone occupy a property for a fixed period without creating a tenancy. It is the…Lock-in periodIn a rental agreement, the lock-in period is the stretch during which neither side can end the agreement without payi…Security deposit (rent)A rental security deposit is the refundable amount a tenant pays the landlord at the start, to cover unpaid rent, bil…