Is the Building Plan Approved? A Bangalore Buyer's Verification Guide

A flat in Bangalore is only as secure as the permission behind its building. That permission is recorded in an approved set of drawings, and every claim a seller makes about floors, parking or area can be tested against it. This article covers who signs these drawings, how a buyer gets hold of them and what to compare on a site visit.

Understanding What the Drawings Fix

An approval is granted for one specific plot and one specific design, together with a building licence. Each set carries a reference number and an issue date. Taken together, the sheets decide the height of the building, the gap left around it and the floor area allowed.

Typical sheets cover the following:

• The site layout: plot dimensions, adjoining road and margins on all four sides
• One floor drawing per level, with the dwellings on it marked out
• Cross-sections and elevations, from which the storey count can be read
• A tabulated area statement: plot area, built-up area floor by floor and FAR consumed
• The parking scheme, in a basement, under stilts or in the open
• Owner, architect and engineer names, plus the terms on which approval was granted

Read the area statement first. A single table there tells the permitted floors and total built-up area, and the other sheets show how the space is organised.

The Offices Behind the Stamp

A stamp matters only when the office applying it has power over that location. In and around the city, authority is split as follows.

Five city corporations, set up in September 2025 as successors to the BBMP, pass drawings for their wards and answer to the Greater Bengaluru Authority. The BDA looks after layouts it formed itself. Outer towns like Hoskote, Nelamangala and Anekal fall to the BMRDA's local planning bodies.

BIAAPA is the planning body for Devanahalli and the land near the airport, while KIADB clears construction on the industrial plots it has allotted. A gram panchayat only keeps village records and levies local taxes, so its paper is a poor foundation for a multi-storey block. Inside the city corporations, a fresh approval has needed an e-khata since 1 July 2025.

Where a Buyer Gets the Copy

Projects registered with Karnataka RERA upload the approved drawings and the commencement certificate at registration. Open the project's page on the portal and download both, with no login. At booking, the developer must also provide the approved layout along with the plan.

Smaller buildings and resale homes depend on whoever owns the building or runs its residents' body. If their copy is lost, the approving office will issue another against the reference number. Someone selling a home with no drawing to show has already told the buyer more than any brochure would.

A Site Walk With the Drawings in Hand

Carry the printed set to the property, ideally with a civil professional for an hour. Look at six things in turn:

1. Floors: count them outside and compare with the drawings, plus any rooftop rooms.
2. The flat itself: identify it on the floor drawing and compare its number, location and size.
3. Unit count: a level split into more dwellings than the approved number counts as a deviation.
4. Margins: pace out the clear space around the structure and set it against the drawn setbacks.
5. Parking: confirm the basement and stilt floor still hold vehicles rather than shops, rooms or stores.
6. Area: weigh the built-up figure in the area statement against what the seller states.

Extra storeys deserve the most scrutiny. In small apartment buildings, a top floor beyond the approved count is the most frequent serious breach. The drawings carry no entry for the home up there, however identical it looks to the ones below.

Validity and Revised Versions

A building licence is valid for a fixed term, and unfinished work needs it renewed. The date on the drawings should therefore agree with the construction timeline. If the licence had lapsed before work started, ask to see the renewal in writing.

Large developments frequently modify their plans along the way, so request the most recent revision and check that the flat is shown. The RERA Act bars a registered project from altering its sanctioned plan or common areas unless two-thirds of purchasers agree in writing. Altering one flat needs only that buyer's consent.

How a Mismatch Hurts Later

Once construction ends, the approving office inspects the finished building against the drawings before issuing the occupancy certificate (OC). If the finished structure departs a long way from the drawings, the certificate can be refused. All its owners then inherit the problem.

Banks grow cautious about lending on such flats, and resale demand dwindles. In December 2024 the Supreme Court directed that electricity, water and sewer connections follow only a completion certificate or occupancy proof. The unapproved portion also remains exposed to fines and, in grave cases, a demolition order, and the building's khata and tax entries could be placed in a lower category.

Some minor departures can be legalised by paying a charge, and in 2026 Karnataka moved to broaden the tolerance for certain buildings. Added floors were excluded from that relief. Until the regularising order is issued, the defect stands, and a verbal promise is no substitute.

The Order That Saves Time

Follow this sequence before paying a token:

1. Use the plot's address and khata to identify its planning body.
2. Request the approved drawings, the licence and the commencement papers.
3. Verify that the stamp and reference carry that authority's name.
4. Run the site walk above.
5. Obtain the latest revision, and the OC or its expected date for a project in progress.
6. Show any discrepancy to a property lawyer before the agreement is signed.

This effort is tiny against a home's price, and far simpler to complete before an advance changes hands. For help collecting these papers on a property under consideration, drop the team a message.