Title deed verification: how to check the builder's land title

2.11.1 What is a title deed, and what is a mother deed?

A title deed is the registered deed that shows how a person came to own a piece of land. A sale deed is one type of title deed. K-RERA’s Land Details tab uses the label “Sale/Title/Gift Deed”, so a gift deed can also be the title deed. For a new flat, the title that matters first is the title to the project land. That land belongs to the builder, or to a landowner who works with the builder. Many buyers also hear the term “mother deed”. The RERA Act and the Karnataka RERA Rules do not use that term. Sachi uses it here to mean the earlier deeds that show how the land passed to the present owner. Together, these deeds form the “chain of title”. Rule 3(1)(d) of the Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017 asks the builder for an authenticated copy of the legal title deed. It also asks for “legally valid documents for chain of the title”. A break in that chain is the main risk that a title check looks for.

Your own deeds come later. You sign an agreement for sale at booking. You get a registered sale deed after the occupancy certificate. Your sale deed is only as good as the title of the land under the building. For a resale flat, the chain of title also includes each earlier sale of the flat itself. This guide covers a new flat bought from the builder.

Document	What it shows	Who holds it
Title deed (for example, a sale or gift deed)	How the present owner got the land	Builder or landowner, and the Sub-Registrar’s record
Earlier deeds (“mother deed”)	How the land passed from owner to owner	Builder or landowner
RTC (pahani)	The owner and land details in the Revenue Department record	Bhoomi portal
Mutation register	Each change of name in the revenue record	Bhoomi portal
Encumbrance certificate (EC)	Registered deeds on the land for a period	Sub-Registrar, through Kaveri 2.0
Title search report	An advocate’s opinion on the title	The advocate who prepared it

2.11.2 What does K-RERA make the builder show about the land title?

The RERA Act makes the builder declare its title to the land before K-RERA registers a project. Section 4(2)(l) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 asks for a declaration, supported by an affidavit. Under clause (A), the builder states that it has a legal title to the land. If another person owns the land, the builder adds “legally valid documents with authentication of such title”. Under clause (B), the builder states that the land is free from all encumbrances. If it is not, the builder gives details of the encumbrances and of any party with a right in the land. Form B of the Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017 is the format for this affidavit. The Rules add more documents. Rule 3(1)(d) asks for the title deed and the chain of title. Rule 3(1)(e) asks for the details of encumbrances on the land. If applicable, it also asks for the conversion order under section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. Rule 3(1)(f) covers land that the builder does not own.

For that land, Rule 3(1)(f) asks for the owner’s consent and the development agreement or joint development agreement. It also asks for the owner’s title documents. Rule 15(1)(F) lists the legal documents that K-RERA must show on its website for each project. The table sets them out.

Rule 15(1)(F) item	What K-RERA must show
(a)	Proforma application form, allotment letter, agreement for sale and conveyance deed
(b)	Authenticated copy of the legal title deed of the promoter to the land
(c)	Land title search report from an advocate with at least ten years of experience in land matters
(d)	Details of encumbrances, or a nil EC from the Sub-Registrar for the past twelve years
(e)	If the promoter does not own the land: the collaboration, development or joint development agreement, and the owner’s title documents
(f)	Details of any mortgage or charge on the land and the project

Source: Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017, rule 15(1)(F), checked 11 October 2026. These are disclosure rules for the builder. The twelve-year EC in item (d) does not set the period for your own search. The encumbrance certificate guide covers that period.

2.11.3 How do you check the land title on the K-RERA page?

On newer K-RERA project pages, the land papers sit in the Land Details tab. On older pages, they sit in the Uploaded Documents tab. The Karnataka RERA guide explains both layouts. In the Land Details tab, each survey number has its own block. Take the CASAGRAND ESTANCIA page, checked on 11 October 2026. Its block lists the survey number, the type of land, the tenure, the number of land owners, the extent and the guidance value. It links the RTC (Annexure-43), the mutation (Annexure-44) and the EC (Annexure-46). It gives the conversion order (Annexure-40) with its number, date and authority. It gives the sale, title or gift deed (Annexure-41) with the deed number, the execution date and the Sub-Registrar office. It also gives the extent and the names of both parties to the deed. It also shows the JDA (Annexure-42), the khata (Annexure-45), the land owners and a “Land Litigation Details” question with an affidavit.

The fields tell you what the builder claims. The files prove it. Open each file and read it.

1. Open the K-RERA page with the project’s registration number.
2. In Land Details, write down every survey number and its extent.
3. For each survey number, note whether a sale deed or a JDA is marked “YES”.
4. Open the title deed, and check the seller, the buyer, the date and the extent.
5. Open the RTC and the mutation, and check that the owner name matches the deed.
6. Open the EC, and check the period and any mortgage.
7. Read the answer to “Is there any Litigations on Land/Property/Khatha?” and open the affidavit.
8. Match the survey numbers and the extent with your agreement for sale.

Two pages show why each step matters. On Adarsh Parkland Phase 1, survey number 41/2 is marked “JDA Land”. Its sale deed field reads “NO”, and its JDA field shows a registration on 23 March 2011. This suggests that the title for that survey number stays with the landowner, so the JDA is the key document. On one older project page, the “Title Deed” field holds a file named “KATHA CERTIFICATE.jpg”. A khata certificate is not a title deed. If a field holds the wrong document or a placeholder, ask the builder for the real file.

2.11.4 How do you check the RTC and mutation on Bhoomi?

The RTC is the Revenue Department’s record of a survey number. Bhoomi calls it the “Records of Rights, Tenancy & Crops (RTC)”. Many people call it the pahani. The Bhoomi portal of the Karnataka Revenue Department, at landrecords.karnataka.gov.in, shows it online. Select the district, the taluk, the hobli, the village and the survey number. Then select the surnoc, the hissa number, the period and the year. The same Bhoomi page offers Form 16, the Mutation Register, the Mutation Status and the Khata Extract. The Mutation Register shows how the name on the RTC changed over time. Compare those changes with the deeds in the chain of title. Sachi’s reading: each sale in the chain needs a matching change in the revenue record. If the RTC still shows an old owner, ask why the mutation is pending. Bhoomi also links a service for the original, digitally signed RTC and MR. Use a signed copy if your lawyer asks for one.

The Bhoomi page links two more services. Revenue court cases can be viewed on rccms.karnataka.gov.in. The eChawadi service at rdservices.karnataka.gov.in/echawadi/ lets you register as an interested party in ongoing transactions and get SMS updates. Sachi’s reading: register the project’s survey numbers on eChawadi after you book.

Record	Where to check it	What to match
RTC (pahani)	Bhoomi, View RTC	Owner name, extent and survey number against the title deed
Mutation register and status	Bhoomi, Mutation Register and Mutation Status	Each sale in the chain has a matching name change
Khata extract	Bhoomi, Khata Extract	Owner name against the RTC
Revenue court cases	rccms.karnataka.gov.in	No pending case on the survey numbers
Registered deeds	EC from Kaveri 2.0	Every deed in the chain appears, and no unknown mortgage

Source: Bhoomi portal, Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka, checked 11 October 2026. If the land is now inside a city corporation, the property record can also sit on the GBA e-Aasthi portal. The e-khata guide explains that record.

2.11.5 What does a lawyer’s title search report add?

A title search report is an advocate’s written opinion on the title to the land. Rule 15(1)(F)(c) of the Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017 lists a land title search report among the documents that K-RERA shows for a project. The rule asks for a report “from an advocate having experience of at least ten years in land related matters”. So a builder’s K-RERA page can already hold a title report. That report is the builder’s disclosure, and the builder chose the advocate. Sachi’s reading: hire your own lawyer as well. Your lawyer works for you, reads every deed in the chain, and checks the Sub-Registrar and revenue records. Your lawyer can also check court cases against the owners and the survey numbers. An EC cannot show these. The encumbrance certificate guide explains why. Ask your lawyer to put the result in writing before you pay the booking amount.

Give your lawyer the K-RERA registration number, the survey numbers and the builder’s documents. If the project is a JDA project, give the JDA and any power of attorney too.

If the title fails after you buy, the RERA Act gives you a remedy. Section 18(2) says the promoter must compensate the allottees for a loss caused by a defective title of the land. This covers land on which the project is being developed or has been developed.

Check	Who does it	What it covers
Builder’s title search report on K-RERA	An advocate chosen by the builder	The title as the builder presents it
Your lawyer’s title search report	An advocate that you hire	The chain of title, revenue records, ECs and court cases

Source: Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017, rule 15(1)(F)(c), and RERA Act, 2016, section 18(2), checked 11 October 2026. Sachi reads the land documents that builders file on K-RERA for Bangalore projects. To get the list of land files for your project, Ask Sachi.