Buying a home
Corpus, maintenance deposit and other charges at possession: what's in the agreement
The RERA Act does not cap possession-time charges, but it says who pays what and what the builder must pass on. Who keeps each charge, what Telangana and Haryana regulators have ordered, and a worked demand on an ₹85 lakh flat.
Delhi property tax explained: unit area method, colony categories A to H and the rebates
How MCD works out your property tax from a value per square metre, your colony's category and four multipliers, what renting out does to the bill, which 30%, 10% and 2% rebates exist, and how to estimate the bill on a flat before you buy.
Fire NOC and lift licence in a high-rise: which papers a flat buyer can ask to see
What the fire certificate and the lift licence are, when a building counts as high-rise, how often Delhi and Maharashtra require renewals and declarations, what a lapsed lift licence can cost a society, and the documents to ask a builder, seller or society for.
Brochure says 28 floors. Does the commencement certificate? Four checks before you pay a token
RERA makes the promoter file the commencement certificate and sanctioned plan and show the RERA number in every advertisement. Compare floors across the brochure, the plan and the allotment letter. Booking before registration is barred by section 3, with a penalty up to 10% of project cost.
41 buildings razed in Nalasopara: how to check a building is legal before you book a flat
The Bombay High Court refused to protect 41 Nalasopara buildings on land reserved for a sewage plant and dumping ground, and they were demolished. Buyers' registered agreements did not save them. Check the RERA number, sanctioned plan, land use, OC and title with the corporation before you pay.
How to read a project's RERA page in 15 minutes: registration, updates, encumbrances and the 70% account
What the RERA Act makes a builder put on the project's page, and what each field shows: whether the registration is current, whether the land is mortgaged, how far construction has got, and whether buyers' money in the 70% account is being drawn down in step with the work.
GST on an under-construction flat: 1% or 5%, the one-third land deduction, and why ready flats have none
The notification rates are 1.5% and 7.5%, charged on two-thirds of the price. Here is how that becomes 1% and 5%, which flats qualify as affordable city by city, and when a completed flat falls outside GST altogether, with the arithmetic for an ₹80 lakh and a ₹42 lakh flat.
Buying at a bank auction under SARFAESI: the discount is real, so are the risks
How a SARFAESI auction runs, from reserve price and the 25% deposit to the 15-day balance and the sale certificate; what "as is where is" leaves you holding; why symbolic possession matters; and a worked example of what a ₹62 lakh winning bid really costs.
Carpet, built-up or super built-up area: how to measure your flat and what RERA lets you claim if it's short
Only carpet area has a legal definition under RERA. Find out what it includes, how to measure it yourself, how to work out a refund at your agreed per-sq-ft rate if the flat is short, and where state rules on area variation differ.
IOD, commencement certificate, OC: what each Mumbai redevelopment approval proves, and the dates to check
When your PMC shows the society its approvals file, here is what an IOD, a plinth CC, a further CC and an occupation certificate each prove in law, the one-year lapse rule in section 48 of the MRTP Act, and a worked example of what a late OC costs in transit rent.
Buying a resale flat in Chennai: the title checks, from encumbrance certificate and patta to association dues
What to collect from the seller, where Tamil Nadu keeps each record online (TNREGINET, the revenue e-services portal, GCC), what to compare in the EC and patta, why a dues statement protects you under the 2022 apartment law, and how the 2% registration fee works out on an ₹85 lakh flat.
OC vs CC vs possession letter: what each proves, and what you can't do without an OC
Only two of the three handover documents come from a government authority. Here is what the completion and occupancy certificates prove under RERA, why 'CC' means something else in Maharashtra, how the OC decides GST and delay interest in rupees, and what the Supreme Court said in 2022 and 2026.