Builder not giving you the occupancy certificate copy? The municipality has one

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Direct answer. You do not need the builder's goodwill to get the occupancy certificate. The OC is issued by the municipal corporation, development authority or panchayat, and the issuing office keeps the record. That makes it a public record under the RTI Act, 2005. File an RTI with the authority's Public Information Officer asking for a certified copy of the OC and the sanctioned plan. The application fee is Rs 10 in most states and copies cost about Rs 2 per page. The reply is due in 30 days. In parallel, the promoter has disclosure duties under section 11 of the RERA Act, 2016, so a RERA complaint also works. Both routes are below, with the exact RTI text.

The occupancy certificate says the building is legally fit for occupation as per the sanctioned plan. Without a copy in your file:

• Banks can stall or reprice a resale buyer's home loan, which hits your resale value.
• Some states link permanent water, sewerage and electricity formalities to the OC.
• Property tax assessment and khata or mutation entries can get complicated.
• Your society's conveyance under section 17 of RERA, due within about three months of the OC, has no anchor document. See builder delaying the conveyance deed.

A builder who “cannot find” the OC copy is usually hiding one of three things: the OC covers fewer towers than sold, the building deviates from the sanctioned plan, or there is no OC at all.

Identify the authority first. For most city projects it is the municipal corporation's building permission or town planning department. For projects in development areas it is the development authority (for example NOIDA, HUDA successor bodies, or a state housing board). For village-area projects it may be the panchayat or the district town and country planning office. Your agreement for sale or the project's RERA page names the sanctioning authority.

Then file this RTI, on the state RTI portal, through rtionline.gov.in where applicable, or on paper with a Rs 10 fee:

To: The Public Information Officer,
[Building Permission / Town Planning Department],
[Municipal Corporation / Development Authority name and address]

Subject: Information regarding occupancy certificate of [project name],
[survey/plot number, address]

Under the RTI Act, 2005, kindly provide:
1. Whether an occupancy certificate (or completion-cum-occupancy
   certificate) has been granted for the above project. If yes, its
   number and date, and a certified copy.
2. The list of buildings, towers or floors covered by the said OC,
   and any part-OC granted earlier with dates.
3. A certified copy of the latest sanctioned building plan for the
   project.
4. Copies of any notices issued to the developer for deviation from
   the sanctioned plan, with dates.

I am enclosing the application fee of Rs 10. Kindly inform the
additional copying charges, which I will pay.

[Name, address, mobile, date, signature]

If the PIO does not reply in 30 days or refuses without a valid exemption, file a first appeal under section 19. Wording problems are the usual reason genuine requests fail; see why RTI gets rejected before you file.

This is the wrinkle that catches most buyers. Large projects get occupancy certificates in phases. The builder waves “the OC” at buyers in every tower, but the certificate may cover Towers A and B while your Tower D is still unauthorised for occupation. That is why question 2 in the RTI above asks for the list of buildings covered. When the certified copy arrives, match three things: the certificate number, the survey or plot number, and your specific tower or wing. A genuine OC that does not name your tower is, for you, no OC.

That reply is not a dead end. It is evidence. A builder offering possession without an OC is in breach of section 11(4) duties, and a buyer who has not taken possession can press for delay interest, or refund with interest under section 18, before the state RERA. Do not take possession of a flat in a building with no OC merely because the keys are offered; occupation without an OC can expose you to municipal action and utility problems in several states. If you already live there, the RTI reply supports a complaint pressing the builder to obtain the OC and regularise.

Section 11(4)(b) obliges the promoter to obtain the occupancy certificate and make it available to allottees, and section 19(1) entitles you to information about the sanctioned plan and approvals. Most agreements and several state RERA rules require the OC copy to be handed over at possession. File on your state RERA portal (find it through rera.gov.in) asking for a direction to supply the OC copy and the document set. Fees are modest, typically Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 by state. If the OC exists but the builder is also withholding keys and the possession letter, the wider dispute is covered in builder has the OC but refuses handover.

• Accepting a WhatsApp photo of an OC as proof. Only a certified copy you can match to the sanctioned plan settles it.
• Asking the builder's site office repeatedly instead of the authority that holds the record.
• Filing the RTI with RERA instead of the municipal authority. RERA has the promoter's declarations; the OC record sits with the sanctioning authority.
• Forgetting the sanctioned plan. The OC means little if the building deviates from the plan it certifies.
• Stopping at the RTI. The RTI gets you the paper; only RERA or the consumer forum can direct the builder to act on it.

Rs 10 application fee in most states, plus copying charges of about Rs 2 per page. A certified copy of an OC and plan rarely costs more than Rs 50 to Rs 100 in total. BPL cardholders pay no fee.

The PIO must reply within 30 days. Add a week for transfer if you addressed the wrong department; section 6(3) requires them to forward it within five days. A first appeal adds 30 to 45 days if needed.

Yes in substance. Section 11(4)(b) of RERA requires the promoter to obtain the OC and make it available to allottees, and handover obligations in your agreement and state rules usually include it. The enforcement route is a RERA complaint, not RTI against the builder.

Yes. Any citizen can ask the authority whether an OC or part-OC exists for a project. Buyers commonly file it before clearing the final demand, which is exactly the right time.

Ask the district town and country planning office or the panchayat that sanctioned the plan. The RTI route is the same; only the addressee changes. Your project's RERA registration page names the approving authority.

A missing file reply is itself a record. File a first appeal, and ask separately for the building plan sanction register entry for the survey number. Registers survive when files wander. Persistent non-traceability strengthens a complaint to the state vigilance or lokayukta channel.

• Builder has the OC but refuses possession handover
• Builder demanding maintenance before possession
• Builder delaying the conveyance deed
• Building plan approval delayed after fees paid
• All practical guides
• How to file RTI online

Download the occupancy certificate RTI checklist (PDF).