RTI Before Buying Property: 10 Records Every Buyer Should Check

Buying land, flat or house? RTI and public-record inspection can help you verify what the government record says before token money changes hands. Check registration, mutation, land records, tax dues, plans and notices, while remembering that RTI is not a legal-title certificate.

Reviewed on: 31 May 2026.

Before buying property, check public records, registration records, mutation status and municipal approvals.

Property decisions are often pushed over a weekend: the broker says another buyer is ready, the seller wants token money by evening, and the family is already imagining furniture. Sunday is a good day to slow the process down. Make one list of records, identify the offices, download available portal records, and draft a focused RTI for what is not available online.

This guide is written for ordinary buyers dealing with Indian terms such as registry, mutation, jamabandi, khasra, khatauni, khata, municipal tax, building plan, OC and CC. It applies to flats, plots, shops, ancestral land and resale houses, with state-specific caution.

An RTI reply only tells you what a public authority's record contains or does not contain. It does not certify that the seller owns the property free from disputes. A clean municipal tax record does not cure a bad sale deed. A mutation entry does not create title by itself. A registration copy does not prove that every previous transfer was valid. Use RTI with a lawyer's title search, encumbrance certificate, physical possession check, revenue record check, survey verification, court search and bank loan due diligence.

• Sub-Registrar: registered deeds, index, encumbrance search and certified copies. Section 57 of the Registration Act, 1908 is relevant for inspection and copies of registration records, subject to rules.
• Tehsildar, Revenue Officer, Patwari or Lekhpal: mutation, khatauni, khasra, jamabandi, land classification and demarcation files.
• Municipal Corporation or Municipality: property tax, building plan, notices, OC or CC, unauthorised construction files and ward records.
• Development Authority: layout approval, land-use, master plan, allotment records and planned road widening.
• Housing Board or DDA-type authority: allotment, conversion, leasehold/freehold, transfer permission and dues.
• Gram Panchayat or Block office: village house records, local tax, building permission and rural property registers where applicable.

Under RTI Act Section 2(j), you can seek inspection of work, documents and records, and certified copies. Section 6(1) lets you file an application, and Section 7(1) generally requires a decision within 30 days. Keep the request record-based:

• Certified copy of the mutation order for property number, survey number or khata number.
• Date-wise file movement and present status of the building plan approval file.
• Certified copy of the sanctioned plan and OC/CC issued for the building, if available.
• Whether any demolition, sealing, acquisition or road-widening notice is recorded against the property.
• Inspection of the property tax assessment file and copies of outstanding demand notices.
• Rules, circulars or checklists used for mutation, plan approval or OC processing.

Do not ask the PIO to certify that title is clear, declare the seller genuine, interpret a sale deed, give legal opinion, answer hypothetical questions, or collect records from private persons. Do not seek unrelated personal information such as Aadhaar, PAN, phone number, bank account, family details or private disputes. Section 8(1)(j) privacy caution can apply where the information is unrelated to public activity or larger public interest.

To The Public Information Officer [Name of authority/office]

Subject: RTI application under Section 6(1) regarding public records of [property details]

Please provide the following information under the RTI Act, 2005 for property: [full address / survey number / khata number / municipal property ID / registration details].

1. Certified copy of the mutation/dakhil-kharij order, if any, recorded for this property from [year] to date. 2. Certified copy of the current record of rights/jamabandi/khasra/khatauni/khata extract available with your office. 3. Certified copy of any outstanding property tax demand, arrears notice, demolition notice, sealing notice, road-widening notice or acquisition notice recorded against this property. 4. Certified copy of the sanctioned building plan and occupancy/completion certificate, if held by your office. 5. If any requested record is not held by your office, please state the office likely to hold it or transfer the application under Section 6(3), if applicable. 6. Please allow inspection under Section 2(j)(i) of the relevant file before copies are selected, if the file is voluminous.

I am enclosing the prescribed RTI fee. Please provide the reply within the time under Section 7(1).

Name: Address: Contact:

• Carry the RTI application, PIO reply, inspection appointment letter and identity proof.
• Take a notebook, phone scanner if allowed, and a list of records to mark for certified copies.
• Check page numbers, signatures, seals, dates, file notings and whether any annexure is missing.
• Ask for certified copies of only the useful pages to control cost.
• Record the names of files inspected, date, time and pages selected.

• Seller refuses to share previous chain documents or asks you to rely only on photocopies.
• Mutation is pending, disputed or still in a deceased person's name without succession clarity.
• Property tax record and sale deed show different property numbers, boundaries or names.
• Building has no sanctioned plan, OC or CC, or the plan differs from actual construction.
• Land is shown as agricultural, government, gram sabha, forest, acquisition affected or road reservation land.
• Office says important records are missing, torn, not traceable or under objection.
• Broker insists on urgent token money before you can inspect records.

No. RTI can give access to public records held by government offices, but it is not a title certificate. Use it with lawyer due diligence, title search, encumbrance search, physical inspection and revenue or registration verification.

Registration Act, 1908 Section 57 permits inspection and certified copies of certain registration records, subject to the Act and local rules. In many places certified copies are obtained through the registration department process rather than RTI.

If there is time, check public portals and request key records before paying. If a broker or seller demands urgent token money, treat that pressure as a risk signal and record all promises in writing.

Ask for property-specific assessment, dues and notices held by the municipal authority. Avoid unrelated personal details such as private phone numbers, identity documents or bank information because Section 8(1)(j) privacy issues may arise.

Ask for a written non-availability or record-search reply, the record-retention rule, and the date-wise file movement of your application. Old or missing records are a red flag for a buyer and should be reviewed with a lawyer.

• RTI guide home
• Applicant guide
• Procedure for inspection under RTI
• Can someone else attend RTI inspection?
• Owner land RTI sample
• Land records RTI
• RTI for property registration
• RTI templates
• RTI Assistant
• Delhi property records
• Maharashtra property records
• Karnataka property records
• Delhi property tax records
• Mumbai property tax records

Turn your facts into a precise RTI using the RTI Assistant, or start with a copy-paste format from RTI Wiki templates. Keep the request narrow and record-based.