A khata and B khata in Bengaluru: what they mean when you buy

This is general information, not legal advice. Khata rules, the offices that issue it and the process of converting one kind to another change. Confirm the current position with the authority and a lawyer.

In Bengaluru, a khata is the city authority's record of a property, used mainly to collect property tax. You will hear buyers asked whether a site or flat has an A khata or a B khata. The difference says a lot about how the property is treated by the authority, by banks and by the next buyer.

A khata

• Generally given to a property that stands on an approved layout and meets the authority's rules.
• Treated as fully legal in the authority's records.
• Easier to get a bank loan against, to get a building plan sanctioned for, and to resell.

B khata

• Generally given to properties that lack some approval, for example a site in an unapproved layout or a building with deviations.
• The owner can usually still pay property tax, but the property is not treated as fully approved.
• Banks may refuse to lend, new building permission can be hard to get, and resale is harder. Karnataka has run schemes to move some B khata properties to A khata, so ask what is possible for the one you are looking at.

Why this makes an approved property more credible

A khata is a sign that the layout and the building have passed the authority's checks. That is why the questions about BDA approved sites, a sanctioned building plan and an occupancy certificate usually come together with the khata question.

What a khata does not prove

• It is a tax and records entry, not proof of ownership. Ownership comes from the sale deed and the chain of earlier deeds.
• It does not show whether the property has loans or claims against it. That is what an encumbrance certificate is for.
• A khata can be in someone else's name by mistake, so check the name against the sale deed.

What to ask for

1. The khata certificate and the khata extract, and check which kind it is.
2. The latest property tax receipts.
3. The sale deed and an encumbrance certificate.
4. The layout approval and, for a building, the sanctioned plan and occupancy certificate.

See the full list in our documents checklist. Bhavano does not verify khata or other documents; read how we check listings. To see what is listed, browse Bengaluru.