Property Due-Diligence Checklist for Tamil Nadu: Land & Building

Start Here: Decide What You Need

Every later check depends on why you need the answer. Settle these first:

• Purpose: buying, selling, a bank loan, capital gains, inheritance or partition, a court case, or a visaThe purpose decides which records and which kind of report you need.
• Value you need: market value, or also realizable and distress value (banks often ask for all three)
• Date the value is needed as of: today, or a past date such as 01-04-2001 for capital gainsFor a past date, the records, sale prices, and construction rates must be from that year.

1. Gather the Documents

Ask the seller or owner for these before you spend time or money on anything else:

• Sale deed (and the earlier deeds that lead to the current owner)If the owner got the property by inheritance, gift, or settlement, ask for that document too.
• Patta / Chitta in the current owner's name
• FMB sketch and village map for the survey number
• Encumbrance Certificate (EC)Recent, and for a long enough period to cover the earlier transactions.
• Property tax receipt, and EB and water bills
• Approved building plan and completion certificate, if there is a building
• Layout approval (DTCP / CMDA), if the plot is in a layout
• Owner's ID, and an authorisation letter if someone else is dealing on the owner's behalf

2. Verify the Government Records

The sale deed says what was transacted. These records confirm what actually exists on record. Note the source and date of each record you check:

• Patta checked on the Tamil Nadu e-Services portal: owner name, survey number, extent, and land type
• FMB sketch downloaded: shape of the plot and the neighbouring survey numbers
• Match check: survey number and extent are the same in the deed, Patta, and FMBIf they differ, resolve it before going further. This is the gap a bank or court asks about later.
• EC from TNREGINET: read every entry, not only the salesLook for mortgages that were never released, attachments, and court cases. An EC lists registered entries only; it is not a title opinion.
• Chain of title: each seller in the chain was the owner at the time of the saleA break in the chain is a legal question, so take a lawyer's opinion. A valuation report is not a legal opinion.
• Not government land: the property is not shown as poramboke, temple, wakf, or assigned land in any record
• Guideline value downloaded from TNREGINET for the survey number and streetIt is the government's stamp-duty rate and a reference floor, not the market price.

3. Check Approvals and Restrictions

These can change a property's value more than anything else, and they are the most commonly missed:

• Layout approval exists (DTCP / CMDA), or you know the plot is unapproved
• Land type in the Patta: dry, wet, Nanjai, Punjai, or house siteNanjai land needs a conversion order plus DTCP/CMDA approval before any non-agricultural use. Punjai land needs DTCP/CMDA approval; without it, it remains dry land with only temporary structures. See the Nanjai and Punjai guide.
• Land use checked on the CMDA land-use map (or the DTCP master plan outside CMA)Residential, commercial, industrial, and so on. The use you plan must be permitted. A map extract alone does not confirm permissions, so check approvals too.
• Water body, marshland, flood-prone area: checked whether the plot is near or inside oneSee the Ramsar sites guide and the Pallikaranai plot-check guide.
• Coastal (CRZ) status checked if the plot is near the coast or a tidal water bodySee the CRZ and wetland guide.
• Road widening, metro, highway or other acquisition lines checked with the local authority

4. Visit the Site

Documents are only half the picture. Test them against what is on the ground:

• Same property: the boundaries, door number and landmarks on site match the schedule in the deed
• Measure the land and the building, or ask the valuer to, and compare with the deed, FMB, and approved plan
• Access: width and type of road, and whether the path to the property is legally yours to use
• Possession and disputes: who is actually using the property (owner, tenant, caretaker, nobody), and any encroachment, shared wall or passage, or dispute with neighbours
• Surroundings: neighbouring uses, drainage, high-tension lines, and anything that affects value
• Photographs with date, from all sides, the road, and the interior

5. Check the Building

Where there is a constructed building:

• Approved plan vs built: extra floors, changed use, setback violationsSee what a plan deviation means for your report.
• Completion or occupancy certificate issued, where required
• RERA registration checked for apartments and projects, with the plan and completion date
• Flats: undivided share of land (UDS), carpet area versus super built-up area, parking, and maintenance dues
• Under construction: stage of completion matches what the builder or seller claims
• Condition: cracks, seepage, damp, termite, and age of construction

6. Check the Market Price

A price is only credible when it is backed by what similar properties actually sold for:

• At least 3 registered sales of nearby survey numbers and the same street, as close as possible in date, size, location, and approval statusNot just asking prices: download the actual sale details from the EC and registration records. For a past date, use sales from that year and the years either side.
• Set aside family transfers, gifts, and settlements as comparablesThey are not arm's-length market prices.
• Cross-check with listings, local brokers, and new flat prices in the area
• Understand the gap between guideline value and market value, and have the reason explained

7. Before You Hire a Valuer

Whoever signs the report puts their registration behind it:

• Valuer holds a valid IBBI or Income Tax valuer registration for the asset classLand & Building and Plant & Machinery registrations are separate.
• Purpose and value required are agreed in writing: market value, or also realizable and distress value for a bank
• Site visit and measurement are part of the assignment, not skipped
• Valuation date is stated, especially for capital gains (for example 01-04-2001)
• Report shows the evidence: records checked, comparables, and rates used
• Fee and timeline are quoted in writing before work starts

If Your Case Is Special

• Capital gains or a past date (for example 01-04-2001): the value is as of that date. Get that year's guideline value and sales near that date, and see the capital gains valuation guide.
• Bank loan: boundaries must match the mortgage deed, and the bank may ask for realizable and distress value as well as market value. See the home loan documents guide.
• Flat or apartment: check the UDS, and whether the quoted area is carpet or super built-up. Compare with recent sales in the same project.
• Under construction: the value rests on the work actually completed, not the finished building. Check the stage on site and the RERA timeline.