A buyer in Bachupally almost wired her booking amount before she asked one question that stalled the deal for a week. She wanted to see the building permission for the tower. The sales team showed her a colourful brochure and a plan, but not the sanctioned permission with its approval number. When she finally traced it through the Telangana approval system, the sanctioned plan showed eleven floors while the tower on site was rising to thirteen. That gap, two unapproved floors, is exactly the kind of problem TS-bPASS was built to expose, and exactly the kind of thing a Hyderabad buyer needs to check before any money moves.

The short answer. TS-bPASS is Telangana's online building permission and self certification system, live since February 2021, and every legal residential building in the state should carry an approval through it. As a buyer you should confirm three things: a valid building permission, a sanctioned plan that matches what is actually built, and an occupancy certificate once the project is complete. The trade off with a self certification system is speed for scrutiny, so the responsibility to verify shifts onto you, and skipping that check to close faster is where buyers get hurt.

What is TS-bPASS and why does it matter to a buyer?

TS-bPASS is the Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self Certification System, an online single window that replaced the older permission process in February 2021, as described by this explainer. It matters to a buyer because the approval it issues is the document that proves a building is legally sanctioned. A TS-bPASS permission is what banks look for when they fund a home, what utility providers rely on for clean water and power connections, and what protects you from buying into a structure that authorities can later treat as unauthorised. In short, it is the spine of a flat's legal standing, and a brochure is not a substitute for it.

Which approvals should I actually ask to see?

Ask for the building permission, the sanctioned plan, and, for a completed project, the occupancy certificate. The building permission carries an approval number you can note down and check. The sanctioned plan tells you how many floors, blocks, and units were approved, which you can then compare against what is being built on the ground. The occupancy certificate, issued after completion, confirms the finished building matches the approval and is fit to occupy. If a seller can show a permission but the plan does not match the site, treat that mismatch as the real story, because unapproved additions are among the most common defects in fast growing Hyderabad corridors.

What are the TS-bPASS approval categories?

TS-bPASS sorts applications into tiers based on plot size and building height, and the tier decides how much scrutiny applies. The smallest plots fall into an instant registration category, mid sized plots into an instant approval category cleared by self certification, and larger plots and taller buildings into a single window category that collects multiple no objection certificates through a common application form. The exact plot size and height cut offs for each tier are set by the rules and have been described slightly differently across guides, so rather than rely on a number from a blog, confirm the current thresholds and the specific approval for your property on the official TS-bPASS portal at tsbpass.telangana.gov.in. What matters for a buyer is not memorising the tiers but knowing which one your building fell under and whether it cleared that path properly.

What is self certification and why does it put the onus on me?

Self certification means the builder and their licensed technical person certify that the plan follows the rules, and the system grants approval quickly on the strength of that certification rather than a slow manual review upfront. The upside is speed. The catch is that the checking that used to happen before approval now largely happens after, through inspections and enforcement, so a permission on paper does not guarantee the building on site actually complies. For a buyer this is the crucial shift. You cannot assume that because an approval exists, everything is in order. You have to compare the sanctioned plan against the real structure yourself, or have a professional do it, before you commit. A practical way to do this is to hire an experienced property lawyer or a licensed engineer for a short due diligence review. They can read the sanctioned plan, count the approved floors and blocks, and flag any addition that was never sanctioned. The few thousand rupees such a review costs is trivial next to the size of a home purchase, and it is far cheaper than discovering a problem after you have paid a booking amount or, worse, after registration. Treat that review as part of the cost of buying, not an optional extra.

What happens if the building deviates from the sanctioned plan?

A building that departs from its sanctioned plan can face enforcement action, and in serious cases authorities can order demolition of the unauthorised portions. That risk does not stay with the builder alone. If you buy a flat in an unapproved floor or an unauthorised block, the exposure travels to you as the owner, and it can surface years later when you try to sell, mortgage, or regularise the property. Unauthorised construction can also complicate a future home loan on resale, because a careful buyer's bank may refuse to fund a unit that sits outside the sanctioned plan. This is why the two floor gap in the Bachupally example was not a technicality. Buying into an unapproved part of a building means buying a legal weakness, so if the plan and the structure do not agree, pause and get the position clarified in writing before proceeding.

How does TS-bPASS relate to RERA, OC, and my home loan?

TS-bPASS approval, RERA registration, and the occupancy certificate are separate checks that together tell you a project is sound. TS-bPASS covers the building permission itself. RERA registration is the project's disclosure and accountability layer, and you can cross check it the way our Telangana RERA verification guide explains. The occupancy certificate, covered in our Hyderabad OC guide, is the final sign off that the completed building matches its approval. A lender will usually want to see the approval and, for a ready flat, the OC, so getting these in order also smooths your home loan rather than holding it up at the last minute. Thinking of the three checks as a set is useful because a project can clear one and stumble on another. A tower may be registered with RERA yet still carry an unapproved floor, or hold a building permission yet lack a valid occupancy certificate at handover. Each document answers a different question, so seeing all three, and confirming each independently rather than accepting a single reassuring letter, is what gives you a complete picture of the property's legal health before you commit your savings to it.

What should a Hyderabad buyer verify before booking?

Match the paper to the property before you pay. The table below lists the documents that carry weight and what each one proves, and the checklist that follows sets a practical order for the verification.

Use this seven step order when you are close to booking a Hyderabad home.

1. Ask the seller for the TS-bPASS building permission and note the approval number.
2. Get a copy of the sanctioned plan and read off the approved floors, blocks and units.
3. Walk the site and compare the actual structure against the sanctioned plan.
4. Confirm the building permission on the official TS-bPASS portal rather than trusting a brochure.
5. For a completed project, ask for the occupancy certificate and check it against the plan.
6. Cross check the project's RERA registration and its disclosures separately.
7. Get any plan versus structure mismatch explained in writing before you pay a booking amount.

Is TS-bPASS approval the same as an occupancy certificate?

No. TS-bPASS approval is the building permission that allows construction to begin on a sanctioned plan, while the occupancy certificate is issued after the building is finished to confirm it was completed as approved and is fit to occupy. A buyer of a ready flat should see both, because a permission alone does not prove the finished structure matches what was sanctioned.

Can I check a TS-bPASS approval myself?

Yes. You can verify a building permission on the official TS-bPASS portal at tsbpass.telangana.gov.in using the approval details the seller provides. Doing this independently, rather than relying on a printed brochure or a verbal assurance, is the single most useful check, because it confirms the approval is real and lets you compare the sanctioned plan against the actual construction.

Why does self certification increase my risk as a buyer?

Self certification grants approval quickly on the builder's own certification, with detailed checking shifting to inspections after approval rather than before. That speed means a permission on paper does not guarantee the building complies on the ground, so the responsibility to compare the sanctioned plan against the real structure moves onto the buyer before committing money.

What if the sanctioned plan does not match the building?

Treat a mismatch as a serious issue, not a formality. Unauthorised floors or blocks can face enforcement action, including demolition of the unapproved portion, and that exposure passes to you as the owner. Pause the transaction, get the discrepancy clarified in writing, and avoid buying any unit that sits in an unapproved part of the structure.

Approval rules and portal thresholds can change, so confirm the current position and your property's specific approval on the official TS-bPASS portal, and consult a property lawyer for your own case. This guide is buyer education and not legal advice.

Last updated 2026-08-25. PropNewz Team.