One word, many meanings
"Approved" is a word sellers love. For a first-time plot buyer, the useful follow-up is always: approved by which office, with what number, on what date?
Location decides power
Under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, planning powers are given to the state's Directorate of Town and Country Planning and to local planning authorities set up for particular areas. Inside the Chennai metropolitan area, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority handles it. The power to approve your layout belongs to whichever body covers that land.
What a planning approval looks like
A planning approval comes as a letter with a reference number and date, plus an approved layout drawing. The drawing shows roads, open spaces and every plot. Your plot should be on it, with the same number your seller uses.
Reading the number
Approval numbers usually carry an office code, a file number and a year. You do not need to decode every part. You need to know which office issued it, so you can confirm it there.
Confirming with the issuing office
- Note the office name, number and date on the approval.
- Ask the seller for the approved plan, not only the letter.
- Confirm the approval with that office or its online records where available.
- Match the survey numbers to your sale deed and patta.
Three phrases that are not approvals
- "Panchayat approved." A panchayat is a local body. Ask for the planning body's approval.
- "Approval in process." That means not approved yet.
- "Patta is there." Patta is a revenue record of holding. It says nothing about planning.
Where RERA comes in
Layout approval and RERA registration answer different questions. Approval says the plan follows planning rules. Registration says the project's details are declared to the regulator and made public. Check both.
What to ask in writing
If a seller names an authority but cannot give a number, write: "Please share the approval letter, its number and date, and the approved layout plan showing my plot." Then wait for the documents before paying.
Why a first-home buyer should care
An approved layout means the plan for roads, drains and open spaces was checked against the planning rules before plots were sold. An unapproved layout can leave you with a plot that is hard to get a building permit for, hard to get a home loan on, and hard to sell. Banks usually ask for the approved layout plan before they lend on a plot, so the approval matters even before you build.
Worked example: the true cost of a cheaper plot
Illustrative figures only. You see two plots of 1,200 sq ft each in the same area:
- Plot P, in an approved layout, at ₹30 lakh.
- Plot Q, in a layout that is "approval in process", at ₹25 lakh.
Plot Q looks ₹5 lakh cheaper. Now ask what you cannot do with Q until it is approved. If the bank will not lend on it, you need the full ₹25 lakh from savings, while with Plot P a loan might cover a large part. If you cannot get a building plan approved, the money sits idle while you keep paying rent. At a rent of ₹25,000 a month, three years of waiting costs 36 × ₹25,000 = ₹9 lakh in rent alone, more than the ₹5 lakh you "saved". That is before any fees or changes the planning body may require if the layout is later regularised.
Step by step: verify a plot's approval
- Find the land's location on the deed. Note the village, taluk and district, and the survey and sub-division numbers.
- Work out which body has planning power there. For land inside the Chennai metropolitan area, that is CMDA. Elsewhere it may be DTCP or a local planning authority.
- Ask the seller for the approval letter and the approved plan. Both, not one.
- Find your plot on the plan. Check its number, size and road frontage.
- Match the survey numbers. Those on the approval should match the sale deed, the patta and the FMB sketch.
- Confirm with the issuing office. Use its online records where available, or visit.
- Check the RERA position. Ask whether the layout is registered with Tamil Nadu RERA, and look it up yourself.
- Get your own lawyer's written opinion before you pay more than a small token.
What to look for on the approved plan
- Road widths, marked on the drawing.
- Open space and public-purpose areas, which should be left as shown, not sold as extra plots.
- Your plot's exact dimensions and number.
- The approval number and date printed or stamped on the plan.
If the plots on the ground do not match the plan, for example if the park on the drawing is now being sold as plots, stop and ask questions.
Common mistakes buyers make
- Accepting a photo of the approval on a phone. Ask for a copy, and confirm it with the office.
- Seeing an approval for a different survey number. An approval for a nearby layout does not cover yours.
- Trusting "DTCP approved" in an advertisement. An ad is not a document. Ask for the number.
- Paying a large advance "to hold the plot". Keep any amount you pay before checks small, and get a receipt that names the plot.
- Skipping the lawyer because the plot is small. Small plots carry the same legal risks as big ones.
A plot or a flat?
For many first-time buyers, a flat in a RERA-registered project is simpler to check: one promoter, one registration, plans and approvals filed with the regulator. A plot gives you freedom to build, but the checks fall on you. Neither is wrong. Choose the one whose checks you can actually complete.
A quick checklist before you pay anything
- Approval letter seen, with office, number and date.
- Approved layout plan seen, with your plot marked.
- Survey numbers on the approval match the sale deed, patta and FMB.
- Approval confirmed with the issuing office.
- RERA registration checked, if the layout is large enough to need it.
- Your own lawyer's written opinion in hand.
If any line is blank, the answer for now is "not yet". That is not a reason to give up on the plot, only a reason to wait before paying.
Questions to send the seller in writing
- Which planning body approved this layout, and what are the approval number and date?
- Can you share the approved layout plan with my plot marked?
- Which survey and sub-division numbers does the approval cover?
- Is the layout registered with Tamil Nadu RERA? What is the number?
- Have the roads and open spaces been handed over to the local body, as the approval may require?
- Has the patta been sub-divided for my plot?
Keep the replies with your documents, and pass them to your lawyer.
If you would rather skip the plot route, see how a registered apartment compares in our first-home guide.