Reading the Paper Trail Behind a Converted Plot in Karnataka
Behind the phrase "DC converted" in a plot brochure there is a whole trail of paperwork, and buyers in Bangalore and its outer belts need to follow all of it. This guide walks the trail from the first revenue entry to the final khata. It also explains who grants conversion after the amendments of September 2025 and what a buyer should insist on seeing in writing.
Six papers, six offices
Every plot is vouched for by several offices at once, never by one. Each stage of the trail comes from a different body, and the table lists them in the order they normally arrive.
| Document | Office | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Registered sale and title deeds | Sub-registrar | Who owns the parcel |
| Conversion order | Deputy Commissioner, or the planning body within a master plan | Whether housing is allowed on it |
| Sanctioned layout | Planning authority | Whether the road network, open spaces and numbered sites are approved |
| Release order | Planning authority | Whether drains, roads and utilities are finished |
| Khata | Local body | Whether each plot is in the property register |
| RERA registration | RERA authority | Whether the layout is registered as a project, where the Act applies |
Conversion answers one of these six questions. A bank, a building plan and a future buyer will all want the other five answered too.
What the order is
Karnataka's land records presume farmland unless shown otherwise. Section 95 of the 1964 Land Revenue Act makes the occupant seek the Deputy Commissioner's sanction before using land in any other way. The sanction comes as an order stating the village, the area, the purpose and the survey details, once a fee is paid.
People also call it a land conversion certificate. Use of the land is the only thing it alters, since proof of ownership comes from deeds and permission to form sites comes from the planning body.
The September 2025 amendments
Karnataka amended its rules by a notification dated 17 September 2025, and the route now depends on the land.
- Parcels within an approved master plan whose zoning fits skip the separate DC order, because the plan approval carries conversion and the fee goes to the planning body
- Parcels outside master plans still go to the Deputy Commissioner, and silence for 30 days counts as approval
- Every application attaches a sketch of the parcel, an extract of the master plan, the mutation record and the RTC, along with a notarised affidavit
- An automatic route serves renewable energy projects and industrial units of two acres or less
Zoning remains the real test. A master plan that marks a parcel as green belt, lake buffer, road alignment or agricultural zone leaves no route to housing.
A deemed approval carries no signature, so the owner should ask for a certificate documenting it. Banks and later buyers expect paper, and the seller's assurance is not paper.
Four traps near the airport belt and beyond
Some patterns recur in plot sales around Devanahalli and similar belts. Each has a simple test.
Revenue sites
In a revenue site, an owner divides a parcel and registers each slice by sale deed without any sanctioned layout. Roads and open areas never pass to a public body. Refusal of a proper khata and a construction licence is common, and the land may or may not have been converted, so the buyer carries the risk in both cases.
Partial conversion
An owner with five acres may convert just two while the plots spread over all five. Overlaying the conversion sketch on the layout plan shows whether the chosen plot falls within the cleared part.
Wrong purpose, wrong name
Housing is not covered by an order that grants commercial or industrial use. The applicant named in the order should also appear among the previous owners, and the village and survey details, down to a sub-division such as 45/2, must match the deeds.
Conversion skipped altogether
Agricultural land put to housing use without permission remains agricultural in the revenue records, and Section 96 provides for a penalty and a direction to stop. Trouble begins earlier in practice, with building plan refusals, banks declining plot and construction loans and delays in getting power and water to a new house.
Non-agriculturists have been free to buy farmland in Karnataka since 2020. That change concerned who may own such land, and the rules on its use stayed as they were.
Verifying in three places
A seller's copy is a lead, and three other records should agree with it.
- Bhoomi land records: the RTC entry for the parcel should read as non-agricultural, with an area matching the order
- The Revenue Department's online conversion service: the request number printed on the order should be found there
- The issuing office: a lawyer can apply for an attested copy, whether it is the DC's office or the planning body
The area master plan should then show a zone that permits housing, and the sanctioned layout should carry the plot number on offer. A lawyer's written opinion that ties these papers together is inexpensive next to the price of the land.
Final checklist for the token amount
Before the advance moves, the items below should be in hand. Missing any one of them is a reason to pause.
- Current RTC and mutation record for the parcel
- The complete conversion order with its annexures and sketch
- A layout plan and release order showing the plot
- The individual khata with a recent tax receipt
- An encumbrance certificate covering at least three decades
- Registration of the layout on the Karnataka RERA portal
- A lender's view on eligibility, even for a cash deal
Lenders routinely reject plots that have gaps in conversion or sanction, which makes their answer a worthwhile cross-check. Help with the papers of one layout is available from the team through the contact page.
