Many first-time buyers weigh a plot against a flat at some point. If you look at plots, the area is the first number you will hear. It is also the number most often taken on trust. Working it out takes seconds. Checking that it is the area the government has on record takes a little longer, and that check is what protects your money.
The quick maths
For a rectangle, multiply the length by the breadth, after putting both in the same unit. A 30 by 40 feet plot is 1,200 sq ft. A 30 by 50 is 1,500.
| Size | Sq ft | Sq m (approx.) | Local unit (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 × 40 ft | 1,200 | 111.5 | 2.76 cents |
| 30 × 50 ft | 1,500 | 139.4 | 3.44 cents |
| 33 × 33 ft | 1,089 | 101.2 | 1 guntha |
| 40 × 60 ft | 2,400 | 223.0 | 2.20 guntha |
One cent is 435.6 sq ft, one guntha is 1,089 sq ft, and one square metre is about 10.764 sq ft.
The four places the area is written down
- The registered sale deed. It states the area being sold, with the survey number and the boundaries. This is what actually changed hands.
- The land record. In Karnataka, the record of rights for farm land lists the area against each survey and hissa (sub-division) number. Sections 127 to 129 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 deal with this record, and section 133 says an entry in it is presumed correct until someone proves otherwise.
- The survey sketch. When only part of a survey number is sold, a government sketch shows which part. The area says how much; the sketch says where.
- The approved layout. In a plotted development, the planning authority's approved drawing shows each plot's number, size and area, plus roads and parks.
A brochure, a hoarding and a property portal are not on that list.
A worked example: what a small gap costs (illustrative)
Say a seller describes a plot as 30 by 50 feet, 1,500 sq ft, at ₹4,000 per sq ft. That is 1,500 × ₹4,000 = ₹60 lakh.
The survey sketch shows the back boundary is only 46 feet, because of a drain. If the plot is 30 by 46, the area is 1,380 sq ft. At the same rate, that is ₹55.2 lakh. The gap is 120 sq ft, or ₹4.8 lakh, about the size of a year's EMI on many first-home loans.
The rate and sizes are made up to show the arithmetic. The habit is what counts: always price the recorded area, not the described one.
Reading guntha correctly (illustrative)
A Karnataka land record may show an extent like 0-05. Read that as zero acres and five guntha. Five guntha is 5 × 1,089 = 5,445 sq ft. If someone reads it as 0.05 acres instead, they get 0.05 × 43,560 = 2,178 sq ft, less than half. The same digits, read two ways, give answers that differ by 3,267 sq ft. When in doubt, ask your lawyer how the record is written.
When the shape is odd
Length times breadth only works for rectangles. Corner plots, plots beside a drain or a road-widening line, and plots made by splitting a larger piece are often irregular. If a brochure shows two neat sides for a plot with four unequal ones, the number is a guess. Take the area from the record and the shape from the sketch.
The area you own is not the area you can build on
Building rules require a gap, called a setback, between the building and each boundary. What is left is the space you can build on. Two plots of the same size can leave very different building space once the setbacks for their road width and plot size are applied. So compare three things: the recorded area, the shape and the buildable space.
If the documents disagree
Small gaps are common on older land that has been sold many times. What matters is which document carries more weight.
| Document | How much it counts |
|---|---|
| Registered sale deed | States what was transferred |
| Land record | Presumed correct unless disproved |
| Survey sketch | Fixes position and shape |
| Approved layout | Governs the plot within the layout |
| Brochure or listing | Not a record at all |
A paper that was never registered does not help either. Section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908 says a document that had to be registered cannot affect the property, or be used as evidence of the deal, unless it was registered.
Who can help you check
- A property lawyer reads the deeds, the land record and the encumbrance certificate, and tells you whether the title holds together.
- A licensed surveyor measures the plot on site against the survey sketch and marks the corners.
- Your bank runs its own legal and technical check before lending. Its questions are a useful second opinion.
Their fees are small next to the price of a plot, and next to the cost of finding a gap after you have paid.
Your checking routine
- Get the survey number and hissa number first. Everything else is looked up against them.
- Read the area in the land record, exactly as written.
- Ask for the survey sketch if the plot is part of a larger survey number.
- Ask for the approved layout showing this plot number.
- Get the encumbrance certificate, which lists registered dealings on the land. Section 57 of the Registration Act, 1908 lets anyone inspect the registrar's books and get copies, so you can check this yourself.
- Measure on site against the sketch, not against a compound wall. A wall is someone's choice; the sketch is the record.
Common mistakes first-time buyers make
- Trusting the compound wall. Walls are often built a little inside or outside the true boundary.
- Mixing units. Multiplying feet by metres, or treating guntha digits as decimals, gives badly wrong areas.
- Pricing the brochure figure. Negotiate on the area in the record and the deed.
- Skipping the sketch for part of a survey number. Without it you know how much, but not which part.
- Forgetting setbacks. The plot you own and the house you can build are different sizes.
If the deed, the land record and the layout all give the same area, you are on firm ground. If they do not, the gap needs a document to explain it, not a verbal assurance. If you decide a flat suits you better, our first home guide covers the apartment version of these checks.