e-Khata and B-Khata to A-Khata: the 2026 checklist before you buy in Bengaluru

Picture a buyer in Kasavanahalli in May 2026, ready to register a resale flat, who discovers at the Sub-Registrar counter that the seller has only a paper Khata and no e-Khata on record. The registration stalls. This is the single most common reason Bengaluru deals slip in 2026, and it is entirely avoidable if you understand two distinct rules that are often confused: the e-Khata mandate, and the separate B-Khata to A-Khata regularisation scheme.

The short answer. Since mid-2024, a valid e-Khata is mandatory for new registrations, property transfers and building plan approvals inside Bengaluru urban limits, and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA, the successor to BBMP) says more than 25 lakh e-Khatas have already been issued. Separately, Karnataka has opened a window to upgrade qualifying B-Khata properties to A-Khata, but only for plots, buildings and flats registered before September 30, 2024, and only after the property is first migrated to e-Khata. The trade-off: regularisation gives you full legal status and loan eligibility, but it costs a penalty of roughly 5 percent of guidance value and the property must clear conditions, so budget for it rather than assuming it is automatic.

What exactly is e-Khata, and why is it now mandatory?

The Khata is the municipal account that records a property in the tax rolls and identifies who is liable to pay property tax. It is not a title document, but no Bengaluru transaction is clean without it. In 2024 the civic body moved Khata issuance and transfer fully onto the digital e-Khata platform, run through the e-Aasthi portal. Paper Khatas already issued remain valid, but any new registration, transfer or bifurcation now flows through the digital system.

The practical force of the rule comes from where it bites. Since mid-2024, e-Khata is required for new registrations and transfers, and building plan approval has required e-Khata since July 2025. If you are buying to build, the seller must hold a current e-Khata before you transact, or your plan sanction will not move.

There is a useful distinction between a draft e-Khata and a final e-Khata that buyers should not gloss over. A draft is auto-generated from existing records and may carry errors in extent, owner name or measurements. The final e-Khata is the version that has been verified and approved, and it is the one a Sub-Registrar and a lender will rely on. When a seller hands you a printout, check whether it is the draft or the final, and insist on the final before you treat the documentation as complete. The civic body has been pushing to clear the backlog, with directions to process applications for final e-Khata within seven days, new Khata registrations within sixty days, and corrections or disputes within roughly a month, but timelines slip in practice, so start the process early rather than at the registration counter.

What is the difference between A-Khata and B-Khata?

An A-Khata identifies a property that fully complies with municipal byelaws, zoning and tax norms. A B-Khata, by contrast, is essentially a separate register the city maintains for properties in unapproved layouts or with deviations. A B-Khata property can be bought, sold and taxed, but historically it could not get a building plan sanction easily and many lenders declined home loans against it. That financing gap is why A-Khata commands a premium and why the upgrade route matters.

The practical consequences flow from that gap. A buyer of a B-Khata flat may struggle to raise a home loan, which shrinks the pool of future buyers when they want to exit, and that thin demand tends to cap resale value. A B-Khata also signals that the underlying layout or building may carry a deviation from sanctioned plans, which is precisely the risk a careful buyer wants to price in rather than ignore. None of this makes a B-Khata property unbuyable, but it does mean you should treat the lower headline price as compensation for a real, quantifiable risk, and you should know exactly what it would take to clear that risk before you commit.

Who can convert a B-Khata to A-Khata in 2026?

Karnataka passed a one-time measure allowing qualifying B-Khata properties to be regularised to A-Khata in urban local bodies. The scheme covers plots, buildings and flats in unapproved layouts that were registered before September 30, 2024. A 100-day campaign to drive these upgrades, run jointly by the state and the civic body, began on November 1, 2025. Crucially, the property must first hold a valid e-Khata before A-Khata can be granted, so the two reforms are sequenced, not parallel.

The cost is real. Owners typically pay a penalty of around 5 percent of the guidance value to obtain conditional regularisation and full legal status. Always confirm the figure and the conditions for your specific property with the jurisdictional GBA office before you sign, because eligibility turns on the layout status and the registration date.

It also helps to understand why the state opened this window at all. A very large share of Bengaluru's housing stock sits on layouts that grew faster than formal approvals, leaving lakhs of households with B-Khata records and limited access to credit. By offering a one-time regularisation, the government brings these properties into the formal tax net and gives owners a clearer legal footing, while collecting the penalty as the price of that comfort. For a buyer, the message is to verify the property's exact status against the campaign rules rather than relying on a broker's assurance that an upgrade is a formality. The campaign has a defined life, the cutoff date is fixed, and a property that misses the eligibility tests will not become A-Khata simply because money changes hands.

How does this change a resale or under-construction purchase?

For a resale flat, insist the seller produces the e-Khata in their name before you pay the token, not after. For an apartment, the official position clarified in 2026 is that B-Khata apartments can be converted to A-Khata only after they are first migrated to e-Khata, so a building still on B status is a flag to slow down and verify, not a reason to panic. For an under-construction unit, ask whether the project land carries A-Khata and a sanctioned plan, because that determines how smoothly your own Khata will be created on possession.

How do these documents compare for a buyer?

What can go wrong, and how do you protect yourself?

The biggest risk is assuming regularisation is guaranteed. It is conditional, it has a registration-date cutoff, and it carries a cost. A second risk is paying a B-Khata premium price on the assumption you can flip it to A-Khata cheaply. Verify the layout status, the cutoff and the penalty in writing from the GBA before you commit funds. Treat any seller resistance to producing the e-Khata as a reason to pause.

A third trap is mismatched details. The e-Khata, the sale deed, the property tax records and the encumbrance certificate should all describe the same property with the same extent and the same owner. A discrepancy in measured area or a spelling difference in the owner's name can stall registration or a loan, and it is far cheaper to fix before you pay than after. Build a short buffer into your timeline for exactly this, because corrections, even when straightforward, take time at the counter. The single best habit is to insist that every document is current, consistent and in the seller's name before any money moves, and to let your lender and lawyer see them together rather than piecemeal, well before the agreed registration date.

Your seven-point Khata verification checklist

1. Ask the seller for the current e-Khata extract from the e-Aasthi portal and confirm the name matches the title deed.
2. Confirm whether the property is A-Khata or B-Khata, and get that in writing, not verbally.
3. If it is B-Khata, check eligibility for A-Khata regularisation, including the September 30, 2024 registration cutoff.
4. Budget for the regularisation penalty, commonly around 5 percent of guidance value, before agreeing a price.
5. For an apartment, verify the building is migrated to e-Khata, since A-Khata can only follow e-Khata.
6. Cross-check the Khata against the latest property tax paid receipt and the sanctioned building plan.
7. Get your lender to confirm in writing that the Khata status is acceptable before you release the token amount.

Is a paper Khata still valid in Bengaluru in 2026?

Yes, paper Khatas issued earlier remain valid as records. However, any new registration, transfer or bifurcation now happens through the digital e-Khata system. If the seller holds only a paper Khata, ask them to migrate it to e-Khata before the transaction, otherwise the registration cannot be completed.

Can every B-Khata property become A-Khata?

No. The regularisation scheme applies to qualifying plots, buildings and flats in unapproved layouts registered before September 30, 2024, and the property must first hold a valid e-Khata. Eligibility and conditions vary, so confirm your specific case with the Greater Bengaluru Authority before assuming an upgrade is possible.

How much does B-Khata to A-Khata regularisation cost?

Owners typically pay a penalty of around 5 percent of the guidance value to obtain conditional regularisation and full legal status. The exact amount depends on your property and layout, so verify it with the jurisdictional GBA office. Budget for this cost before negotiating the purchase price, not afterwards.

Do I need e-Khata for a home loan?

In practice yes. Most lenders now require a valid e-Khata, and A-Khata or a regularised A-Khata is treated more favourably than B-Khata, which many banks decline. Get your lender to confirm the Khata status is acceptable in writing before you pay any token amount on the property.

Last updated 2026-06-07. PropNewz Team.