Flat Buying Checklist India 2026: 25 Things to Verify Before Booking

Buying a flat in India is a decade-long commitment with lasting consequences if you get it wrong. Most buyers walk into a sample flat, get dazzled by the clubhouse brochure, and sign a booking form the same afternoon. Three years later, when possession is delayed or the carpet area is 20% smaller than promised, the real cost becomes visible.

This checklist covers 25 verifications in five categories every buyer must complete before booking. None are optional.

Category 1: Legal and Compliance Verification

Legal clearance is the foundation. If documents are wrong, nothing else matters.

1. RERA Registration Verified on State Portal

Every project with eight or more units or over 500 square meters must be registered with the state authority under the RERA Act, 2016. A valid RERA number means plans, land title, and completion dates are on file with a regulator, and 70% of buyer funds flow into escrow. Do not trust the number on the brochure. Visit the state portal directly and search the project. Our complete RERA registration check guide has direct portal links for every state. Walk away if registration is expired or the promoter name differs from your sale agreement.

2. Commencement Certificate (CC)

A CC is formal permission from the municipal authority to begin construction. Without it, the project is illegal even with RERA registration. Ask for a copy and verify the issue date, survey numbers, and floors sanctioned. If your flat is on the 32nd floor and the CC sanctions only 28, you have a problem RERA will not fix.

3. Approved Building Plan

The building plan must be approved by the local planning authority before construction progresses beyond the plinth. Any deviation — extra floors, unauthorized towers, widened facades — is illegal and exposes you to demolition orders. Compare the stamped sanctioned plan to the brochure floor by floor. Authorities have demolished unauthorized floors in Noida, Gurgaon, and Mumbai. Never book a unit that does not appear on the sanctioned plan.

4. Occupancy Certificate (Ready-to-Move Only)

The OC is issued after construction is complete and inspected for compliance, fire safety, and structural standards. Without it, occupation is illegal and insurance, electricity, and resale become complicated. For ready-to-move, demand a copy before booking — fully issued, not “applied for.” Partial OCs cover specific towers only. If the builder cannot produce an OC for a finished flat, walk away.

5. Title Deed and Encumbrance Certificate

The title deed proves the builder owns the land. The encumbrance certificate shows loans, mortgages, or disputes registered against it. The mother deed establishes a clean 30-year ownership chain. Spend Rs 15,000-40,000 on an independent property lawyer — not one recommended by the builder. This is the highest-ROI expense in the entire process.

Category 2: Builder Track Record

A legally clean project with a bad builder is still a bad bet.

6. Past Project Delivery Record

Pull up the builder’s last five to eight delivered projects. Compare the promised possession date to the actual handover. One to two year delays are common — beyond three years is a warning. Visit one or two delivered projects and talk to residents about finishing quality, leakages, and whether brochure amenities actually got built. Brochure pools becoming “landscaped areas” is a classic bait-and-switch.

7. RERA Complaints Against the Builder

Every state RERA portal maintains a public list of complaints against promoters. Search the builder’s legal entity name (not the brand) and review complaint history across all their projects. Complaints where the builder refused to comply with RERA directions are the worst signal — that tells you what will happen when you enforce your own rights. ReraTracker’s builder pages consolidate complaint counts, disposal status, and registration history in one view.

8. Financial Health — Court Cases, NPAs, Stalled Projects

Builders fail when they run out of money. Search the builder on the IBBI portal for insolvency proceedings, check NCLT and high court records, and look up NPA reports from public sector banks with project loans. A builder with even one active insolvency petition is a massive risk. If they have three projects running and two are delayed 18+ months, assume yours will be next.

9. Group Company Liabilities

Many builders operate through SPVs, each project in a separate entity to insulate the parent. If your project’s SPV fails, the parent may walk away; if a sister SPV fails, the parent may divert your funds to save it. Ask for the group structure and check financial health across the group.

10. Current Project Registration and Escrow Compliance

Each project must be registered separately. Under Section 4, 70% of buyer collections must go into a project-specific escrow used only for construction and land costs. Ask for the escrow account details and the auditing CA. Escrow compliance is the best single predictor of project health.

Category 3: Financial Due Diligence

The sticker price is never the real price.

11. Agreement Value vs Circle Rate

Each state sets a circle rate — a minimum per-square-foot value used for stamp duty. Duty is charged on whichever is higher: agreement value or circle rate. If your agreement is Rs 80 lakh but circle rate works out to Rs 95 lakh, you pay duty on Rs 95 lakh. See our property registration charges guide for a detailed breakdown by micro-market.

12. GST Applicability

GST is 5% for under-construction without input tax credit, 1% for affordable housing (under Rs 45 lakh), and 0% for ready-to-move with a valid OC. This can move total cost by 4-5% — Rs 4-5 lakh on a Rs 1 crore flat. Get the treatment in writing before booking. Some builders try to add GST even on exempt ready-to-move units; push back with the CBIC circulars.

13. Home Loan Approval from Two Banks

Never rely on the builder’s “preferred” bank. Apply independently to at least two — one public sector and one private. Each conducts its own legal and technical valuation, which is the closest thing to an objective opinion you will get. If both value the flat 15% below the builder’s quote, that gap is telling you something. Our home loan and IRR guide covers the math most agents skip.

14. All-In Cost Calculation

The base price is where builders start, not where you end up. All-in cost includes base price, floor rise, PLC, GST, stamp duty, registration, parking, club membership, maintenance deposit, society formation, connection deposits, power backup, and corpus fund. On a Rs 1 crore base flat in NCR, all-in lands at Rs 1.25-1.35 crore. Build a line-by-line spreadsheet and get written confirmation for every charge.

15. Hidden Charges

More charges appear at registration: municipal property tax, meter connection fees, lease rent (for leasehold plots in NCR), and one-time corpus contributions. These add Rs 2-5 lakh on a mid-range flat. Ask for a comprehensive “charges payable at possession” list in writing. If the builder refuses, they want flexibility to add charges later.

Category 4: Project Specifics

This is where most mis-selling happens.

16. Carpet Area vs Super Built-Up — In Writing

Section 4 of the RERA Act makes carpet area disclosure mandatory. Carpet area is the actual usable area wall-to-wall, excluding balconies. Super built-up includes common areas and is 25-40% higher. If a builder quotes Rs 10,000/sq ft on super built-up, the actual rate on carpet area may be Rs 13,500. Demand carpet area in writing in the sale agreement. Our carpet area vs super built-up guide explains the common tricks used to inflate reported area.

17. Payment Plan — Construction-Linked vs Time-Linked

Construction-linked plans tie payments to construction milestones — if work stalls, payments stall. Time-linked plans collect on a fixed calendar regardless of progress and favor the builder. Always insist on construction-linked and verify milestones (foundation, plinth, each slab, plaster, flooring, possession). Reject any plan demanding more than 10% before sale agreement signing — that is the RERA Act cap.

18. Possession Clause — Date, Grace Period, Penalty

The sale agreement must specify an exact possession date (month and year), a defined grace period (typically six months), and a penalty for delays. Under Section 18, if the builder fails to deliver, the buyer can withdraw with full refund plus interest or accept possession with delay compensation. Reject vague dates like “on or before 2028” or token penalties like Rs 5/sq ft/month. A fair penalty equals the SBI prime lending rate. See our delayed possession RERA complaint guide.

19. Amenities and Specifications in Agreement

Brochures are marketing, not legal. If the clubhouse, pool, gym, and gardens are not in the sale agreement as committed deliverables, the builder has no obligation to build them. Cross-check every amenity against the agreement. Specifications matter too — imported marble versus local granite, branded versus generic sanitaryware. Demand the spec sheet be annexed.

20. Parking Allocation

Get the exact parking location in writing with a site plan reference — basement B1, slot 47, near lift lobby. Confirm the number of spots, whether covered, and any additional cost. The Supreme Court has ruled common-area parking cannot be sold separately, but builders routinely disregard this — written specifics are your protection.

Category 5: Final Pre-Booking

Ground truth before your money is committed.

21. Site Visit at Different Times

A staged Sunday afternoon visit with a sales executive shows you nothing. Visit at least three times — a weekday morning, a weekend evening, and during the rainy season. Rainy season visits are the most underrated check. Noida and Gurgaon have neighborhoods that become impassable during heavy rain. Time your drive from your office.

22. Talk to Current Residents

If the project has existing phases, walk into the towers and knock on doors. Ask: was possession on time, what is maintenance, have there been leakages, would they buy here again. Nothing beats a 15-minute conversation with someone three years in — residents volunteer information no brochure will.

23. Verify Draft Sale Agreement Clauses

Before paying token money, demand the full draft agreement and have your lawyer review it. Key clauses: force majeure (how broadly defined), escalation (can the builder raise prices post-booking), arbitration (fair seat and rules), and termination. Standard builder agreements are heavily one-sided — force majeure that includes “government delays” lets builders blame authorities for every delay.

24. Token Amount — Refund Clause in Writing

Builders ask for a token (Rs 1-5 lakh) to “block” the unit. Before paying, get a written refund commitment on the receipt: if you do not proceed within 15-30 days, is the token refunded in full and within how many days. Under RERA, builders cannot keep more than 10% as booking amount before sale agreement execution.

25. Loan Sanction and Insurance Quote Before Paying

Do not pay the booking amount until you have a written loan sanction from at least one bank and an insurance quote. The sanction protects against eligibility surprises; the insurance quote cross-checks the project’s risk profile. Only when loan sanction, legal opinion, insurance quote, reviewed draft agreement, cost sheet, and builder research are all in hand should you hand over the booking cheque.

Red Flag Summary — 10 Reasons to Walk Away

Any one of these should stop you cold:

No RERA registration or the portal promoter name differs from the sale agreement.
No Commencement Certificate or the sanctioned plan does not match construction.
No Occupancy Certificate for a ready-to-move unit, or a partial OC excluding your tower.
Builder blocks a clean title deed, encumbrance certificate, or independent lawyer review.
Active insolvency proceedings against the builder or a sister entity.
Track record of three-plus-year delays or two stalled projects currently.
Time-linked payment plan or demand for more than 10% before sale agreement signing.
Vague possession date or penalty capped at a token amount.
Brochure amenities missing from the sale agreement.
Refund clause refused in writing on the token receipt.

Walking away costs a weekend. Ignoring any of these costs years of litigation.

How ReraTracker Simplifies These Checks

About half the items on this checklist involve hunting data across state RERA portals, court records, and builder filings — work that takes days for a single project. ReraTracker compresses that into minutes. Every RERA-registered project in covered states is indexed with current registration status, promoter name, approved plans, escrow disclosures, and complaint history.

ReraTracker also tracks builder reputation — delivery record, complaint volume and resolution, group company linkages, and litigation history. Comparing launch versus current pricing in the same micro-market helps spot overpricing. It does not replace a lawyer or a site visit, but it removes the friction of data gathering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RERA registration mandatory for every project? No. Projects with fewer than eight units or under 500 square meters are exempt under Section 3. Any larger project must be registered before the builder can advertise or sell.

Can I back out after paying a token amount? Yes, and RERA protects your refund right with reasonable deductions. But the exact terms depend on what is written on your receipt. Get refund terms in writing before paying.

Should I buy ready-to-move or under-construction? Ready-to-move costs 5-15% more but eliminates delay risk, avoids GST, and lets you verify the actual product. For flats you plan to live in, ready-to-move is usually safer. See our first-home buying guide.

How much should I budget for legal fees? Rs 15,000-40,000 for a full title search, legal opinion, and draft agreement review. Never skip this to save money.

If the builder delays possession, what can I claim? Under Section 18, you can withdraw with full refund plus interest, or continue with delay compensation at SBI MCLR plus two percent — around 10-11% annually. File a complaint with the state RERA authority for enforcement.

Can parking spaces be sold separately? Open common-area parking cannot be sold separately — confirmed by the Supreme Court in Nahalchand Laloochand vs Panchali Cooperative Housing Society. Covered stilt and basement parking can be allotted (though not legally sold). Get written terms.

How do I verify a bank approval claim? Call the bank’s home loan department directly. Banks maintain approved project lists updated monthly. If the bank says “we have not approved the project,” the builder is lying — and that tells you how the rest of the transaction will go.

Buying a flat rewards patience and punishes impulse. Every item on this checklist exists because somebody skipped it and paid a real price. Builders who deserve your money will welcome the scrutiny. The ones who do not will try to rush you past it — and that alone is the most useful filter you have.