RTC, khata and the encumbrance certificate: the Karnataka land papers a flat buyer checks

The land under a Karnataka flat is described by six papers: the RTC, the mutation record, the conversion order, the encumbrance certificate, the khata and the advocate's search report. Each answers a different question about the same survey number, and none of them answers all of them. A buyer who reads the RTC and the khata and the encumbrance certificate together knows who held the land, how it changed hands, whether it carries a registered loan and which local body taxes it. This guide sets out what each paper proves, where it comes from, and how often promoters actually file it on RERA Karnataka.

What you need before you start#

The survey numbers. A project's land is identified by survey number (with sub-divisions such as 59/1 or 59/2A), and every paper below is searched by it. On RERA Karnataka the promoter lists each survey number on the project's land tab, with the land type, the way it was acquired and the papers behind it. Write them down exactly, sub-division included. Also have a login for Kaveri 2.0, the registration department's portal, which uses an OTP.

The six papers#

The hour this takes is well spent. DAKSH's access to justice survey, released in April 2016, found that two thirds of civil cases in India's district courts concern land and property.

The check, step by step#

How often promoters file each one#

The register's land tab is filled on newer registrations: 16,872 survey-number rows across 3,772 projects as updated on 19 October 2026. What those rows record:

Across all 9,040 registrations, including the older format, an encumbrance certificate was uploaded on 8,425, an advocate's search report on 5,292, an RTC on 4,022 and a mutation record on 3,842. A joint development agreement on almost half the rows is the norm in Bengaluru, where landowners commonly give land to a developer for a share of the flats; what that means for a buyer is in buying in a joint development project.

Where to get each paper yourself#

The promoter's uploads are a starting point, dated the day they were uploaded. Every one of these papers can be pulled independently. The RTC and the mutation record come from Bhoomi, the revenue department's land records system. The encumbrance certificate comes from Kaveri 2.0, after an OTP login. The khata comes from the body that issued it: the city corporation in Bengaluru, E-Aasthi for other urban local bodies and e-Swathu for gram panchayats. The conversion order is held by the office that issued it, which the land tab names. Your own copies are the ones to compare with the promoter's.

The rules moved recently#

Two changes matter for dating the papers you are shown. Bengaluru's e-khata, a digital version of the khata launched in October 2024, became mandatory for building plan approvals from 1 July 2025, according to reports in Deccan Herald and The Realty Today. And conversion changed under the Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Rules, 2025, in force since September 2025 according to an analysis published by Conventus Law: land whose intended use matches the approved master plan no longer needs the Deputy Commissioner's prior permission, and the planning authority issues the conversion certificate on an affidavit. An older conversion order from a Deputy Commissioner is not invalid because of this, but a newer project's paper may come from a different office. For a plotted layout, the conversion order is only the first paper; who may then sanction the layout, and how a site is released for sale, is in BDA, BMRDA or a planning authority. And the khata register itself is being cleaned up: when the state opened a scheme in November 2025 to move B khata property onto the main register, ETV Bharat reported 1,169 applications in its first week.

An analogy: a vehicle's papers#

A used car comes with a registration certificate, an insurance history, road tax receipts and sometimes a permit. Each is issued by a different office and answers a different question, and a buyer who checks only the registration certificate can still buy a car with a loan against it. The RTC is the registration certificate, the encumbrance certificate the loan history, the khata the road tax and the conversion order the permit to use it differently. The advocate's report is the mechanic's inspection: valuable, and only as good as what the mechanic was shown.

Ananya and Karthik find a missing sub-division#

Names and numbers in this story are illustrative. The project they liked sat on three survey numbers. The land tab listed 59/1, 59/2 and 60/3, each with a conversion order and an encumbrance certificate. Karthik pulled his own encumbrance certificates from Kaveri 2.0 for the last 30 years and matched them line by line. Two matched. The third came back for 60/3A and 60/3B, because the number had been sub-divided years earlier and the filing named only the parent. Nothing was wrong yet, but the question of which sub-division the tower stood on went to their lawyer, with both certificates attached.

The papers the promoter uploaded are listed survey number by survey number on each project's free page; open yours from the Karnataka project list and compare the list with what you pull yourself.

Where buyers get it wrong#

1. Checking one survey number. Every survey number under the project needs the full set.
2. Reading the conclusion first. An advocate's report can say clear and marketable and attach conditions in the same paragraph; title certificate exceptions shows what those look like.
3. Treating a khata as title. A khata shows the property is taxed; it does not prove ownership. Which khata a Bengaluru flat should carry, A, B or e-khata, is in A khata, B khata and e-khata.
4. Trusting an old certificate. An encumbrance certificate is a record up to the day it was issued.
5. Ignoring the landowners. Where land is under a joint development agreement, the landowners are part of your title chain.

What an encumbrance certificate proves in any state is in what is an encumbrance certificate, and how the papers fit into the whole Karnataka purchase is in buying a flat in Karnataka.

What the free page lists for you#

ReraGenie's free page for a RERA Karnataka project lists every document the promoter filed, and names the land papers by survey number: the RTC, the mutation record, the encumbrance certificate, the conversion or alienation order, the title deed and the joint development agreement for each survey number the promoter uploaded. It also names the landowners on file. Buyer reports, the project watch and alerts cover MahaRERA projects only for now. Find a project on the Karnataka project list and open its documents section to see which papers are there and which are missing.

Printable checklist#

• Every survey number and sub-division listed from the land tab.
• RTC and mutation read for each, before conversion.
• Conversion order: number, date, authority, use and extent match the project.
• My own encumbrance certificate pulled from Kaveri 2.0 for a long period.
• Khata: issuing body, type and name noted.
• Advocate's report: exceptions read before the conclusion.

Have a lawyer read the title before you pay more than a booking amount. This article is educational and not legal advice. For a dispute, consult a lawyer who practices before your state's RERA.