Who Can Buy Agricultural Land in Karnataka? A 2026 Guide for Buyers
Agricultural land around Bangalore, from Hoskote to Kanakapura, appeals to people planning a farm retreat, a long hold or a house in later years. The short answer on eligibility is that most resident Indians may now buy it, while NRIs may not. The longer answer involves ceilings, conversion and protected land, and this guide covers each one as the rules apply in October 2026.
Eligibility at a Glance
Three groups of buyers face three different positions under the current rules:
- Resident Indian citizens may buy farmland whatever their job or income
- Companies, trusts, societies and partnerships need legal advice on the ceiling and land use before any deal
- NRIs and OCIs may not buy farmland, plantations or farmhouses, but may inherit them
The NRI restriction comes from national foreign exchange rules, so no state amendment changes it. NRIs looking for land near the city generally pick a plot that has been converted and is part of an approved layout.
How Karnataka Opened Farmland to Non-Farmers
Until 2020, the state's 1961 land reforms law limited farmland mostly to people who farmed. Its Section 79A disqualified buyers with non-farm income above a cap, and Section 79B blocked most institutions and companies. Section 79C made false declarations around those rules an offence.
That year, an amendment omitted Sections 79A, 79B and 79C together. A Bangalore professional with a salary and a family that farms for a living now have the same standing as buyers.
The change has been debated ever since, and a return of the old limits has come up in public discussion. As of October 2026 the sections remain out of the Act. Any reversal would need the legislature to pass a new amendment, so a lawyer's confirmation of the rule near the purchase date is worth keeping on file.
Rules That Still Bind Every Buyer
Opening up eligibility did not lift the other controls on agricultural land.
The family ceiling
Section 63 of the same Act caps the farmland a family may own. Holdings of a husband, wife or minor child count towards the cap, so an existing holding anywhere in Karnataka has to be added before a new purchase.
Granted land
Land the state allotted to SC and ST families is protected by a 1978 state law on transfers. Selling it needs government permission, and a sale without that permission can be cancelled with the land taken back, even years afterwards. The RTC (pahani) and mutation entries usually show a grant, and the original grant order, the survey papers and an endorsement from the Tahsildar clear up any doubt.
Land that is not for sale
Tank beds, gomala pasture, B-kharab land and forest all belong to the government. A private seller has no power to transfer them, whatever the paperwork offered.
Turning Farmland into a Home Site
An agricultural classification allows farm structures only, for example a farm shed, a store or a pump house. Building a house, laying out villa plots or putting up a commercial building all need the land converted first.
The application goes to the revenue authorities under Section 95 of the state's Land Revenue Act of 1964. The intended use must agree with the zoning in the area's master plan. A building or layout plan then has to be approved by the planning authority, and a residential plot layout should produce its conversion order alongside the sanctioned plan.
Seven Checks Before Paying an Advance
Farmland deals go wrong mostly on records, so these steps come before any token amount:
- Go through RTC (pahani) and mutation records spanning at least 30 years for ownership and land type.
- Check whether the land was ever granted by the government, and obtain the grant order if so.
- Confirm the survey number carries no gomala, forest, tank bed or B-kharab classification.
- Ask a licensed surveyor to verify the sketch and boundaries.
- Total the family's farmland holding and test it against the ceiling.
- Confirm what the master plan allows if a house or layout may come later.
- Obtain EC records and a lawyer's title report in writing.
When the goal is a house rather than a farm, a plot already converted and placed within an approved layout removes most of this work. Plotted layouts in Devanahalli, close to the airport, are one place where such approvals are already done.
