BDA approved sites in Bengaluru: what the approval means for a buyer

This is general information, not legal advice. Bengaluru's civic and planning bodies, and their names, change over time. Confirm the current position with the authority and a lawyer.

BDA is the Bengaluru Development Authority, the body that plans the city's growth and forms or approves layouts of residential sites. A BDA approved site is one in a layout that the authority formed itself, or that a private developer built with its sanction. In Bengaluru this is one of the first things a site buyer is asked about.

Why it matters in Bengaluru

• A site in a sanctioned layout usually has an approved plan, defined roads and civic spaces, and is easier to get permission to build on.
• It is also the usual route to an A khata, the municipal record that shows a property is fully approved. See A khata and B khata.
• Banks are more comfortable lending against a site or a house in an approved layout.
• Sites carved out of farmland without layout approval, often sold as revenue sites, can run into trouble with building permission, loans and resale.

Do not mix up the different approvals

• A BDA approved layout is about the land: whether the plots are sanctioned.
• A sanctioned building plan is about the building you put on it, and the city's municipal authority handles that.
• On the edges of the city, other planning bodies can be the relevant authority instead of the BDA, so ask which one covers the site.

How to check a BDA approved site

1. Ask for the layout approval and the approved plan, and match the site number and dimensions to it.
2. Check the allotment letter or sale deed, and the chain of ownership behind it.
3. Ask for the khata certificate and extract, the property tax receipts and an encumbrance certificate.
4. Confirm with the BDA office or its official records that the layout is approved, and that the land is not caught in an acquisition or a dispute.
5. Be careful with an advertisement that only says BDA approved. Ask for the paper and check it yourself.

What it does not tell you

A layout approval does not prove the seller's title or the fairness of the price. Read our documents checklist and the guide to buying a plot. Bhavano does not verify approvals; see how we check listings.

To look at what is listed, browse Bengaluru or plots for sale.