Checking the Sanctioned Building Plan Before You Buy in Bengaluru

A buyer in JP Nagar was days from paying for a fourth floor flat when his engineer friend counted the floors from the street and then read the sanctioned plan. The plan approved three floors. The fourth, the very one he was buying, had never been sanctioned. It was unauthorised construction, the kind BBMP can order pulled down, and no bank would fund it cleanly. The building looked solid and lived in. On paper, the floor he wanted did not legally exist.

The short answer. A sanctioned building plan is the local authority's approval that a building's design meets the bylaws, the floor area ratio and the setback rules, and for a buyer it is the document that separates legal construction from unauthorised construction. Always ask for the sanctioned plan and compare it against the actual building, counting floors and checking setbacks, before you pay. The trade-off is stark. A property that matches its sanctioned plan and holds an occupancy certificate is clean and financeable, while one with unapproved floors or reduced setbacks can face penalties, a demolition order for the offending portion, and banks that refuse to lend, so this is one check you never skip.

What is a sanctioned building plan, and who issues it?

A sanctioned building plan is the formal approval that a proposed building complies with the building bylaws, the zoning rules, the floor area ratio and the required setbacks. For a property within the city, it is generally sanctioned by the municipal corporation, BBMP, while a property in a layout developed by the Bangalore Development Authority is sanctioned by the BDA, and peri-urban land can fall under a local planning authority. Bengaluru's civic administration is being reorganised under the Greater Bengaluru Authority, but the buyer's task does not change with the nameplate: get the sanctioned plan and check the building against it.

The plan is the root document from which every later approval draws its legitimacy. The commencement certificate that lets construction begin, and the occupancy certificate that certifies a finished building, both refer back to this sanctioned plan. If the sanction itself is missing or the building strays from it, everything built on top of that gap is on shaky legal ground, which is why the plan is the first thing to ask for.

Why should a buyer see the sanctioned plan?

Because the sanctioned plan tells you what the builder was legally allowed to build, which is not always what the builder actually built. A developer who quietly adds a floor beyond the sanctioned count, or shaves the setback to squeeze in more area, has created unauthorised construction, and in Bengaluru that is a common enough problem that a buyer cannot assume compliance. Seeing the plan lets you count the approved floors and check the approved footprint yourself.

This check is closely tied to how much can be built on the plot in the first place, which our guide on FSI, FAR and buildable area explains. For an under construction purchase, ask the developer for the sanctioned plan and match it against the unit and tower you are buying, so a project such as Godrej Vanantara on Bannerghatta Road is judged on its approvals rather than its brochure.

What is a deviation, and why does it matter?

A deviation is any difference between what was sanctioned and what was built, whether extra floors, reduced setbacks, or covered area beyond the approved footprint. It matters because a deviation is, in law, unauthorised construction, and the authority can act against it. The most common deviations in Bengaluru involve setbacks and the number of floors, and they are precisely the ones a buyer can spot with the plan in hand and a walk around the building.

The state allows minor deviations within a threshold to be regularised on payment of a penalty, while deviations beyond that threshold remain unauthorised and can face a demolition order for the offending portion. Because the rules and thresholds are periodically revised, do not assume a given deviation is safely regularisable; confirm it against the current bylaws and, ideally, with an advocate. A deviation you inherit becomes your problem, not the seller's, once you own the flat.

Deviations also come in quieter forms than an extra floor. A balcony enclosed into a room, a stilt parking area converted into shops, or a basement used as habitable space can all sit outside the sanctioned plan. When you inspect a flat, notice whether the use of each space matches what the plan shows, because these conversions are easy to miss on a quick visit and can surface years later when the authority inspects or when the society seeks its occupancy certificate. A calm second visit with the plan in your hand is worth far more than a rushed first one guided by the seller.

How does the plan connect to the commencement and occupancy certificates?

Think of the three as a chain. The sanctioned plan approves the design, the commencement certificate permits construction to start, and the occupancy certificate, issued after an inspection, certifies that the finished building matches the sanctioned plan and is fit to occupy. Each depends on the one before it, and the occupancy certificate is the payoff that ties the whole chain together for a buyer.

This is why a sanctioned plan alone is not enough. A plan can be perfectly in order while the building that went up ignored it, which is exactly what the occupancy certificate is meant to catch. Our guide on the occupancy and completion certificates explains why the occupancy certificate is the document that confirms the building was actually built as approved.

What happens to your loan and resale if the plan is violated?

Unauthorised construction narrows your options in ways that cost real money. Banks are cautious about lending against a property that deviates from its sanctioned plan or lacks an occupancy certificate, so your loan can be reduced, delayed or declined outright. That same caution follows the property, so when you later try to sell, your buyer's bank runs into the same wall you did, which softens your price and your pool of buyers.

Beyond finance, an unauthorised portion can attract penalties and, in serious cases, a demolition order, and it can hold up utility connections and the occupancy certificate. None of this is hypothetical in Bengaluru, where the authority does act on flagrant violations. The safe position is to buy a property whose building matches its sanctioned plan and which holds a clean occupancy certificate.

Karnataka has run amnesty style schemes in the past to regularise older unauthorised construction, but you should never buy on the assumption that a future scheme will rescue a violation. Such schemes are irregular, conditional and often litigated, so a deviation that is unauthorised today may stay unauthorised for years. Price the property on its current legal status, not on a hoped for regularisation that may never arrive.

How do you verify the sanctioned plan before buying?

Start by asking the seller or developer for a copy of the sanctioned plan, the commencement certificate and, for a completed building, the occupancy certificate. Then do the simple physical check that catches most problems: count the floors, look at the setbacks, and compare the built structure against what the plan approved. Where anything does not match, treat it as a deviation to investigate rather than a detail to ignore, and get the authority's records rather than relying on the seller's copy alone.

The municipal authority's portal at bbmp.gov.in is the reference point for building approvals within the city, and an advocate can help you confirm the sanction and read any deviation against the current bylaws. Do not treat the khata or the property tax receipt as proof of building legality, because those records can exist for a property that still carries plan deviations. Work through the checklist below before you commit.

1. Ask for the sanctioned building plan from the seller or developer.
2. Ask also for the commencement certificate and the occupancy certificate.
3. Count the floors in the plan and compare them with the actual building.
4. Check the setbacks and covered area against the approved footprint.
5. Flag any extra floor, reduced setback or extra area as a deviation.
6. Confirm the approvals against the authority's own records, not just the seller's copy.
7. Take legal advice on any deviation before you pay a token.

Frequently asked questions

What is a sanctioned building plan in Bengaluru?

A sanctioned building plan is the approval from the local authority, usually BBMP for city properties or the BDA for its layouts, confirming that a building's design meets the bylaws, floor area ratio and setback rules. Every later approval, including the occupancy certificate, depends on the construction matching this sanctioned plan.

Why should I check the sanctioned plan before buying a flat?

Because it tells you what the builder was legally allowed to construct. If the building has extra floors or reduced setbacks compared with the sanctioned plan, that is unauthorised construction, which can attract penalties, block the occupancy certificate, and make banks reluctant to lend. Compare the sanctioned plan with the actual building before you commit.

What happens if a building deviates from the sanctioned plan?

Deviations from the sanctioned plan are unauthorised. Minor deviations may be regularised on payment of a penalty under state rules, but larger ones can lead to a demolition order for the offending portion and denial of the occupancy certificate. Unauthorised construction also makes a property harder to finance and to resell later.

Does a sanctioned plan mean the building is legal to occupy?

Not by itself. The sanctioned plan approves the design, and the commencement certificate permits construction to start, but only the occupancy certificate confirms the building was completed as per the sanctioned plan and is fit to occupy. Ask for all three, and check the occupancy certificate before you move in.

Last updated 2026-09-01. PropNewz Team.