Bhoo Guarantee Relief in Bengaluru: Building Deviations, B-Khata Conversion and Buyer Due Diligence
May 2026 brought a relief drive for Bengaluru property owners, widely referred to as Bhoo Guarantee. It let buildings stray further from their sanctioned plans, set up a one-time settlement on regularisation fees and made khata conversion cheaper for a short spell. This guide sorts the lasting change from the expired offers and lists what a buyer should verify before buying a property marked by a plan deviation, or one that holds only a B-Khata.
Which Benefits Have Already Lapsed
Two concessions carried deadlines, and by October 2026 both are over. The lower khata conversion fee was open to applications filed in a hundred-day window starting 16 May 2026, so it closed in late August. The 50% discount under the settlement scheme ran for three months beginning 15 June 2026, finishing in mid-September.
Regularisation and conversion remain possible, but at standard rates. A seller who missed the deadlines cannot pass a discount to the buyer. Raise that extra expense during price talks, ahead of any token payment.
Everything the Drive Included
The announcement combined four separate measures:
- A tolerance of 15% for plan deviations, up from 5%
- OTS, a one-time settlement, halving regularisation charges for three months beginning 15 June 2026
- A conversion fee of 2% of the guidance value, down from the usual 5%, available for a hundred days starting 16 May 2026
- Coverage restricted to properties that entered the B-register no later than 30 September 2024
Only the first item alters the building rules. The rest were offers with an end date.
Understanding a 15% Deviation
A deviation is any gap between the structure as built and the drawings the authority sanctioned. Typical examples are a house that rises too near the boundary and breaches the setback rule, a floor slightly larger than planned or a little extra height. Under the earlier 5% tolerance, many owners could not get an occupancy certificate at all.
On 1 April 2026 a draft amendment to Bengaluru's building bye-laws was notified, and the 15% tolerance came afterwards. An owner inside the tolerance pays a compounding fee to regularise the gap, and can then apply for the occupancy certificate. A floor added without any sanction is not eligible.
Buildings the Tolerance Cannot Rescue
Once a structure crosses 15%, it falls outside the relief and may never obtain an occupancy certificate. An unsanctioned top storey, or a building that has swallowed most of its setback, would be an example. The fault stays attached to the property, and each later owner inherits it.
Two Kinds of Khata, Explained Simply
A-Khata is for homes built on approved land under sanctioned plans, and it makes home loans, building plans and resale far easier. B-Khata is only a tax record, issued where approvals are incomplete, for instance in a layout that was never approved. Lenders often turn such homes down.
After the fee is paid, conversion moves an eligible property to the A-register. The fee is a percentage of guidance value, so three points make a real difference. Take Rs. 1 Crore of guidance value: 5% costs Rs. 5 Lakhs, while 2% would have cost Rs. 2 Lakhs.
Due Diligence Before You Pay
The drive offered a way to cure some defects, but only a finished cure counts. Unfinished regularisation is the seller's responsibility, to be completed with proof in hand before the sale deed is signed. Work through this list:
- Obtain the sanctioned plan and have an architect or surveyor measure the building against it.
- State the gap as a percent figure, then confirm it falls under 15% with no unsanctioned floor.
- Find out whether an occupancy certificate exists, or whether the application is still pending.
- For a B record, confirm the register entry is dated 30 September 2024 or before.
- Demand the receipt for conversion or regularisation, plus the new khata itself, not a promise.
- Examine the encumbrance certificate, tax receipts and e-Khata before registration.
- Write each unfinished step into the agreement as a condition that the seller pays for.
What It Means for Negotiation
Defective homes normally trade below clean ones, because the discount covers risk and repair cost. With the concessions over, a buyer should assume the whole compounding or conversion fee and some waiting time. A seller asking a clean-title price for a home on the B-register is pushing that cost onto the buyer.
New apartments are safer when they come with a sanctioned plan, a RERA registration and an A-Khata. Compare projects in one area, say Whitefield, on those three points, and the shortlist needs no regularisation at all.
When to Call a Professional
Orders on regularisation get revised, and rules on eligibility can differ from a news report. Ask a property lawyer to read the order that covers your building and set it beside its papers. To view homes with clear approvals in Bangalore, contact us before you book.
