What is a khata and B khata?
Also called: A-khata, B-khata, A register, B register
In Bengaluru, an A khata property is legally approved and fully compliant, while a B khata property is taxed by the corporation but has a defect, such as an unapproved layout, missing land conversion or a building plan violation. The difference affects loans, resale value and building permissions.
The names come from two registers. Properties that meet every rule, with converted land, an approved layout and a sanctioned building plan, go into the A register. Properties the city chose to tax without regularising go into the B register, which exists so the corporation can collect property tax from them. So a B khata owner pays tax but still can't get most of what an A khata owner can.
In practice B khata covers revenue sites (plots carved out of agricultural land without conversion), layouts that never got BDA or BMRDA approval, buildings that exceed the sanctioned plan, and sites on the city's edges that were added from village panchayats. With a B khata you generally can't get a building plan sanctioned, many banks won't lend, and resale buyers push the price down. Some lenders do finance B khata homes, but they cap the loan lower and ask for more paperwork.
Karnataka ran a drive in 2024-25 to issue B khata in electronic form to such properties, largely to bring them into the tax net and into the e-khata system. Getting a B khata under that drive didn't regularise the violation; it just recorded the property. Moving from B to A needs the underlying defect cured: land conversion, a betterment charge or layout approval, or regularisation if a scheme is open.
Buyers should also check the rural side. In gram panchayat areas the equivalent split is between Form 9 and Form 11A (for approved properties) and Form 11B (for unapproved ones), issued through E-Swathu.
Two similar 30x40 plots in a Sarjapur Road layout are on offer, one with A khata at ₹92 lakh and one with B khata at ₹68 lakh. The ₹24 lakh gap is roughly what an owner would pay in conversion and betterment charges, plus the risk that regularisation is never allowed.
Believing a B khata turns into A khata automatically after a few years of paying tax. It doesn't; the defect behind it has to be fixed.
Questions people ask about a khata and B khata
Can I get a home loan on a B khata property?
A few banks and housing finance companies lend on B khata, usually for completed homes, at a lower loan amount and a higher rate. Most large lenders prefer A khata, so check with the lender before paying a token.
Can I build a house on a B khata plot?
You usually cannot get a building plan sanctioned on a B khata site until the underlying defect is regularised. Building without sanction adds a second violation.