8 property documents every seller must give you

Every legitimate Indian property transaction produces a specific set of documents. If the seller can't or won't produce all of them, that itself is a red flag. Missing documents rarely mean "we forgot" — they usually mean something is legally amiss.

Here are the eight non-negotiable documents, what each proves, and exactly how to verify each one.

The complete document checklist

| # | Document | Proves | Who issues | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Sale Deed (previous) | Current seller's ownership | Sub-Registrar | | 2 | Title Chain / Parent Documents | Ownership history 30+ years back | Sub-Registrar records | | 3 | Encumbrance Certificate (EC) | Property is free of mortgages/liens | Sub-Registrar | | 4 | Property Tax Receipts | Municipal taxes paid + property registered municipally | Municipal Corporation | | 5 | Occupancy Certificate | Building is legally habitable | Municipal Corporation | | 6 | Completion Certificate | Construction complete per sanctioned plan | Municipal Corporation | | 7 | Building Sanction Plan | Construction was approved | Municipal Corporation | | 8 | RERA Certificate | Project registered (mandatory for projects 500+ sqm) | State RERA |

For under-construction projects, some of these come at possession rather than at booking — but the seller should be able to show sanctions + agreements at booking.

1. Sale Deed (the seller's own)

The seller's Sale Deed is proof that they legally own what they're trying to sell you.

What to check:

• The seller name on the deed matches the seller you're negotiating with
• The property description matches what's being sold (area, boundaries, location)
• The deed is registered (has a Sub-Registrar registration number + date, not just notarized)
• No conditions or encumbrances mentioned in the deed itself

Red flag: A seller who can't produce their own Sale Deed is not the legal owner. Walk.

2. Title Chain / Parent Documents

The Sale Deed proves the current seller owns it. The title chain proves the property has been legitimately transferred at every stage going back — typically 30+ years for a clean chain in India.

What it looks like: A series of Sale Deeds (and/or Gift Deeds, Partition Deeds, Wills) showing every transfer of ownership from a distant original owner down to the current seller.

Where to get it: From the Sub-Registrar office covering the property location. The Sub-Registrar keeps records; older documents may need to be requisitioned.

Cost: ₹500-2,000 for a Sub-Registrar to certify copies going back 30 years.

Why it matters: A break in the chain (unregistered POA transfer, missing Sale Deed, disputed inheritance) can invalidate current ownership even if the recent deeds look clean. This is why our Expert Review always includes title chain review — AI catches the surface signal; only an advocate reading actual deeds catches deeper chain problems.

3. Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

The EC is a Sub-Registrar-issued document showing all registered transactions affecting the property over a specific period — mortgages, liens, court attachments, inheritance disputes, transfers.

Why you need it: A property might legally belong to the seller but have a bank mortgage that hasn't been discharged, or a court order attaching it to a lawsuit. EC surfaces these.

How to get it: Apply at the Sub-Registrar office or online (in states with digitized records). Specify the period you want covered (typically 30 years). Cost: ₹200-1,000 per period.

What to look for:

• "Nil encumbrance" — clean, safe to proceed
• Recorded mortgages — must be discharged before Sale Deed registration (usually done at loan closure)
• Court attachments — hard red flag; property may be under dispute
• Multiple sale references — suspicious if the property has changed hands frequently in a short period

Every legitimate Sale Deed transaction should include a fresh EC pulled shortly before registration.

4. Property Tax Receipts

The seller should show 3-5 years of paid property tax receipts, confirming:

• The property is registered in the municipal records
• The current seller has been the recorded owner for that period
• No tax arrears (unpaid taxes attach to the property, transferring to the new owner)

Where to verify: The relevant municipal corporation website usually has property-tax lookup by property ID. Cross-check the receipts against the online record.

Red flags:

• Missing receipts for multiple years (either the property wasn't registered municipally, or the seller wasn't the recorded owner)
• Tax arrears showing on municipal records
• Property ID on receipts doesn't match the property being sold

5. Occupancy Certificate (OC)

Non-negotiable for ready-to-move purchases. We covered this in depth in What is an Occupancy Certificate. Short version:

• OC is what makes a building legally habitable
• Without OC, you can't get permanent electricity/water, register rental, sell via home loan, or claim insurance
• OC is issued per-tower for multi-tower projects — get the OC for YOUR specific tower
• Cross-check on the issuing municipal corporation's website

Never accept "OC is coming next week." Either it exists (with a checkable number) or it doesn't.

6. Completion Certificate (CC)

Confirms the construction was completed per the sanctioned plan. Separate from OC (OC includes safety + utility readiness in addition to construction completion).

For under-construction purchases, CC comes at completion; for ready-to-move, CC should be in-hand.

How to verify: Municipal corporation website has CC lookup by project or plot number.

7. Building Sanction Plan

The approved architectural plan the builder was authorized to construct against. Every building has a specific sanction — number of floors, FSI utilized, common area layout, unit dimensions.

Why it matters: If the actual building deviates from the sanction (extra floors added, common area converted to sellable units, FSI violations), OC will be denied and the deviations may need to be demolished. This has happened at scale in cities like Delhi (Rohini sealings, Signature View demolition case) and Mumbai (SRA project demolitions).

How to verify:

• Ask the builder for a copy of the sanctioned plan
• Cross-reference against the actual constructed building (measure key dimensions)
• For any suspicion of deviation, an Expert Review can pull the sanctioned plan directly from municipal records and compare against physical measurements

8. RERA Certificate

Any project of 500+ sqm or 8+ apartments must be registered with the state RERA. The certificate is issued by the RERA authority and includes:

• Project name + promoter details
• Sanctioned plan reference
• Timeline commitments
• Escrow account details

How to verify: Every state RERA has an online project search. For UP: up-rera.in. Enter the RERA number and confirm project name, promoter name, and status all match what the seller is representing.

For a full RERA verification walkthrough, see How to verify a RERA number in UP.

For under-construction purchases, add these

Beyond the eight above, for under-construction:

9. Sale Agreement (draft) with amenity + timeline commitments. Get an Expert Review on this before signing.

10. Payment plan schedule. RERA requires disclosure of specific milestones tied to payments.

11. Environmental clearance (for projects 20,000+ sqm). State environmental authority certificate.

12. Fire NOC. Fire department certificate — required for OC issuance, worth verifying separately.

For plot purchases, add these

Plots have specific document requirements:

9. Layout Sanction Plan. For plotted developments, the plotted layout must be sanctioned by the local development authority.

10. Land Use Certificate. Confirms the land is zoned for residential use (not agricultural, industrial, or forest land).

11. Conversion Certificate. If the land was previously agricultural, it must have been legally converted to non-agricultural use.

12. External Development Charges (EDC) receipt. Some plotted developments require EDC payment for external infrastructure — confirm this is paid.

What to do if any document is missing

Missing Sale Deed / Title Chain: Do not proceed. This is the fundamental proof of ownership. No document = no legitimate seller.

Missing Encumbrance Certificate: Ask the seller to pull a fresh one before registration. Costs them ₹1,000 and takes 3-7 days. If they refuse, walk.

Missing OC (ready-to-move): Refuse possession. Structure payment so 20-30% is held in escrow until OC is issued. Or walk.

Missing Sanction Plan: Ask for it. If the seller can't produce it, an advocate can pull it from municipal records — but the reason it's missing may indicate deviations that will cause problems.

Missing RERA (for a 500+ sqm project): The seller is illegally selling. Walk immediately. Report to RERA if they persist.

The specific advice we'd give

For any purchase above ₹40 lakh:

1. Free AI verification — 60 seconds, catches surface document + registry issues
2. Ask seller for all 8 documents (or 12 for plots)
3. Cross-check each against the appropriate authority's website
4. Expert Review — ₹5,000, Bar Council-registered advocate reads the actual documents + title chain, delivers written opinion

The ₹5,000 Expert Review has repeatedly saved buyers ₹2-15 lakh — either in negotiated changes to the sale agreement based on document issues, or in walking away from transactions with title problems that would have cost multiples more to litigate later.

The bottom line

Every legitimate seller can produce these documents on request. Ambiguity, delays, or "we're getting it" is itself a signal. Real ownership comes with a real paper trail.

Demand all 8. Verify each one. Get an advocate to read the chain. That's how safe property purchases actually work in India.