How to buy a plot or farmland in Tamil Nadu – safely.

How to select a residential plot

Start with how you will use the plot: when you plan to build, who will live there and what you need nearby. Then compare shortlisted plots on the same criteria.

• Location & daily life: travel time to work, schools, hospitals and markets at the times you actually travel.
• Approval: whether the layout is approved by the planning authority, and whether the specific plot number appears in the approved layout plan.
• Plot specifics: dimensions, shape, facing, road width in front of the plot and corner/frontage.
• Infrastructure: internal roads, drainage, street lights, electricity and water – what exists today versus what is promised.
• Neighbourhood: what surrounds the layout – water bodies, high-tension lines, industries, burial grounds or other features that may matter to you.

How to evaluate farmland

Farmland needs a different lens. The most common problems are not about the soil – they are about title, access and permitted use.

• Classification: revenue records describe the land type (for example wet or dry land). Confirm the classification and any restrictions that come with it.
• Legal access: make sure there is a documented right of way to a public road, not just a path across a neighbour’s land.
• Water: ask for borewell/open well details and, if possible, test water yield and quality yourself.
• Eligibility & limits: state laws can regulate who may buy agricultural land, how much, and for what use. Ask your lawyer to confirm for your situation.
• Expectations: treat any promise of guaranteed income, yield or appreciation with caution.

Title and ownership checks

Title is the legal right to own and sell the land. You want an unbroken, lawful chain of ownership leading to the current seller.

• Review the sale deed chain (“parent documents”) going back as far as available – a period of around 30 years is commonly reviewed.
• Check how each owner acquired the land: sale, gift, partition, settlement or inheritance. Inheritance may need legal heir documents and consent of all heirs.
• Ask for original documents to be shown, and match the seller’s identity documents with the names on the deed.
• Be careful with sales through a power of attorney – verify that the power is valid, registered where required, and not revoked.
• Check for pending court cases, mortgages or acquisition notifications affecting the land.

Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

An Encumbrance Certificate lists the registered transactions on a property – sales, mortgages, gifts and similar – for the period you request. In Tamil Nadu it can be searched and applied for through the Registration Department’s portal, tnreginet.gov.in.

• Request an EC for a long period (commonly 30 years) for the exact survey number and sub-division.
• Every transaction in the deed chain should appear in the EC, and there should be no unexplained entries.
• An EC shows registered transactions only. It will not show unregistered agreements or every court case – which is why legal due diligence is still essential.

Patta and Chitta

Patta is the revenue record showing who holds the land in government records; chitta records details such as extent and land type. Together with the A-register and the FMB (Field Measurement Book) sketch, they help confirm that the land you are buying matches the government’s records.

• The patta should be in the seller’s name (or the legal heirs’), for the same survey number and extent as the sale deed.
• Land records can be viewed online through the Tamil Nadu Revenue Department’s e-services portal, eservices.tn.gov.in.
• After purchase, apply for patta transfer into your name.

Survey numbers and boundaries

• The survey number and sub-division should be identical across the sale deed, EC, patta and FMB sketch.
• Ask a licensed surveyor to measure the land and fix the boundary stones before registration.
• Compare the measured extent and dimensions with the documents, and check for encroachments by neighbours or onto public land.

Layout approval verification

Plotted layouts are approved by the relevant planning authority – in the Chennai Metropolitan Area this is generally CMDA, and elsewhere in the state generally DTCP, along with the local body.

• Ask for the approval letter and the approved layout plan, and check that your plot number is in it with the same dimensions.
• Verify the approval number with the issuing authority.
• In approved layouts, roads and open spaces are generally handed over to the local body – ask for proof.
• Plots in unapproved layouts can face difficulties with building permission, utility connections, bank loans and resale. Ask directly whether the layout is approved or regularised, and verify it.

Access roads and easements

• Confirm the plot or land touches a public road, or that there is a registered right of way to one.
• Check the actual road width on site against what the documents and layout plan show.
• Look for easements over the land – pathways, drainage channels or power lines – that may restrict use.

Registration and stamp duty

Sale deeds are registered at the jurisdictional Sub-Registrar’s office. In Tamil Nadu, stamp duty is 7%, plus a registration fee, calculated on the higher of the government guideline value and the sale price.

• Registration fees and concessions are revised from time to time. Check the current rates and the guideline value for the survey number on tnreginet.gov.in before you finalise your budget.
• Budget separately for legal fees, survey charges, patta transfer and any bank charges.
• Make payments through traceable banking channels and make sure every payment is recorded in the agreement and the deed.

RERA applicability and disclosures

Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, real estate projects – including plotted developments – must generally be registered with the state authority before they are advertised or sold, unless they fall within the Act’s small-project exemptions (broadly, land not exceeding 500 sq m, or not more than eight units). In Tamil Nadu the authority is TNRERA.

• Search the project on the official TNRERA website, rera.tn.gov.in, and match the promoter’s name, project name and location.
• Real estate agents dealing in registered projects are also required to register with the authority.
• If a project does not appear to be registered, ask why and confirm with your lawyer whether an exemption genuinely applies.

Legal due diligence

An independent property lawyer is the most cost-effective protection you can buy. Ask them for a written legal opinion covering title, encumbrances, approvals and any risks.

• Share the full set of documents early – before you pay a significant advance.
• Have the sale agreement reviewed: payment schedule, timelines, what happens if either side defaults, and who pays which costs.
• Keep copies of everything, and collect the original documents at registration.