Most title defects are invisible at the time of purchase. The seller does not necessarily know. The sub-registrar does not verify title. The bank's legal team approves the loan and moves on. The defect surfaces three years later when the buyer tries to resell — or seven years later when a distant heir files a partition suit.
The defects we describe below are not theoretical. We encounter them in Bengaluru property matters with regularity. Knowing what they look like is the first step toward not buying a property that carries one.
1. Missing link documents
The chain of title must connect every transfer of ownership from the origin of the property to the present seller. A single missing sale deed — a transfer that happened but was never registered, or a deed that has been lost — breaks the chain. The buyer acquires title only as good as the seller's title; a gap in the chain means the seller may not have full title to convey.
In Bengaluru, missing links commonly arise from: sales by general power of attorney that were never followed up with a registered sale deed; transfers among family members documented only in wills that were never probated; and older transactions from the 1960s to 1980s that were registered in sub-registrar offices that have since been merged, requiring searches across two jurisdictions.
2. GPA sales — the problem that will not go away
The Supreme Court in Suraj Lamp & Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Haryana (2011) held clearly that a sale by general power of attorney does not confer ownership on the buyer. Title transfers only through a registered sale deed. Despite this, GPA-based transactions continued in Bengaluru for years after the judgment, and properties 'sold' through GPAs without a follow-up sale deed are a persistent source of defective titles.
Where the original GPA holder sold a property to a buyer without executing a registered sale deed, that buyer's title is fragile. The original principal — the person who granted the GPA — or their heirs can challenge the transaction. We see this pattern in older properties in Jayanagar, Basavanagudi, and Rajajinagar where developers acquired and resold through chains of GPAs in the 1990s and 2000s.
3. B-Khata and revenue site limitations
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A B-Khata property is one that BBMP has placed in its B register because the construction or layout is not fully compliant with bye-laws. This does not make the property criminally illegal, but it does mean: most banks will not lend against it; building plan modifications are not sanctioned; and resale to a buyer who requires a home loan is difficult.
Revenue sites — plots carved out of agricultural land that was subdivided and sold without formal layout approval from BDA, BMRDA or the local planning authority — form a large share of Bengaluru's residential stock in zones like Whitefield extensions, Sarjapur Road, Hennur, and Devanahalli. Some of these have been regularised. Many have not. Confirming which category a specific property falls into requires more than reading the Khata — it requires checking the layout approval, the DC conversion order, and the planning authority's records.
4. Ancestral and HUF property without partition
Property inherited from a common ancestor without a formal partition deed can be sold by one coparcener, but only their specific share — not the whole. A seller who offers to sell an ancestral property as if he is the sole owner, without a registered partition deed showing his separated share, is conveying at most an undivided interest. The buyer takes subject to the partition claims of the other coparceners.
HUF properties carry a similar risk. A Karta — the senior male member managing the HUF — can alienate HUF property for legal necessity or benefit of the estate. Sales outside these categories can be challenged by other HUF members. When you buy a property from an individual and the title chain shows any reference to HUF, the sale deed must reflect the source of funds and the Karta's authority.
5. Encroachment and boundary disputes
The dimensions in the sale deed, the Khata extract, and the physical property on the ground frequently do not match in Bengaluru. Encroachment can run in both directions — a seller may have built onto a neighbour's land, or a neighbour may have encroached onto the property being sold. Boundary disputes with BBMP roads, BDA civic amenity sites, storm-water drains and utility corridors are also common in older residential areas.
A site visit and a comparison of the survey tippani and khasra map against physical boundaries should be part of every verification for independent houses and plots. Apartment buyers should verify that the building footprint, basement parking and compound wall lie within the sanctioned plot boundaries.
6. Pending litigation not reflected in the EC
An Encumbrance Certificate shows only registered transactions. Pending litigation — partition suits, specific performance claims, family disputes — appears on the EC only if a lis pendens notice has been registered under Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act. Many litigants never register the lis pendens. A buyer who purchases a property against which litigation is pending, without notice of it, may still take subject to the outcome of that litigation depending on the nature of the claim.
A litigation search at the relevant District Court, City Civil Court, and BBMP records is necessary alongside the EC. The search should cover the seller's name across all civil, matrimonial, and insolvency registers. We also check Karnataka High Court records for any orders affecting the property.
7. Gramathana property — the misunderstood category
Gramathana refers to the original village settlement land — land within the village boundary that pre-dates the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and is recorded in revenue records as village-site land, not agricultural land. Genuine gramathana property does not require a DC conversion order because it was never agricultural. BBMP issues Khata for it based on the village revenue records.
The problem is that 'gramathana' is often loosely used to describe any property that lacks DC conversion, whether or not it genuinely qualifies. Revenue sites that were carved out of agricultural land and sold without conversion are sometimes marketed as gramathana to explain the absence of a DC order. Verifying whether a property is genuine gramathana requires examining the original village survey records — not taking the seller's or the broker's word for it.
If you have concerns about a specific Bengaluru property or have encountered any of the issues described above, message us on WhatsApp at +91 63634 69138. We will review the documents you have and give you a frank assessment of what the title position actually is.
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