What is A Khata and B Khata in Bangalore? The foundational difference every buyer must know

The seller says it is a B Khata property but assures you it will be 'easily converted'. The broker says the same thing. Before you accept that framing, understand what B Khata actually means — and why 'easily converted' is a phrase that conceals a range of situations, from genuinely straightforward to structurally impossible.

What a khata is

A khata (from the Karnataka word for 'account') is the property-tax account record that the BBMP — and now, since 2024, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) — maintains for every property within its jurisdiction. It is not a title document. It does not prove ownership. It records the taxable property, its area and use, and the taxpayer responsible for it. Every property in BBMP limits must have a khata. Without one, property tax cannot be assessed, building plans cannot be sanctioned, and water and sewage connections are not issued through the municipal route.

The split between A and B khata is not mandated by a single statute with that terminology. It emerged as an administrative practice to distinguish properties that satisfy all municipal approval conditions (A register) from those that are assessed for tax but carry unresolved compliance deficiencies (B register). That distinction has significant legal and practical consequences.

What A Khata signifies

A Khata reflects that the property is in the BBMP's main register with all requisite approvals in order. For a plotted property, this typically means the layout was approved by BDA or the planning authority, the land has a valid DC conversion order (confirming non-agricultural use), and the khata has been transferred to the current owner through the BBMP mutation process. For a building, it means the structure has a valid building plan sanction and an occupancy certificate.

An A Khata property is financeable by scheduled commercial banks, eligible for building plan sanctions, eligible for khata transfer on resale through the BBMP mutation route, and generally not at risk of municipal demolition or sealing action arising from the khata status alone.

What B Khata actually means

B Khata means the property is assessed for tax — BBMP recognises its existence and wants property tax on it — but it does not have all municipal approvals in order. The specific deficiency varies by property. Common reasons for B Khata status include: the layout was never approved or was developed on agricultural land without a valid DC conversion; the building was constructed without sanctioned plans or deviated materially from the sanctioned plan; the property was in an area that fell outside BBMP limits at the time of construction and was later absorbed into BBMP jurisdiction without the necessary regularisation process being completed.

Paying property tax on a B Khata property does not cure the underlying deficiency. The BBMP tax receipt is evidence of tax payment, not evidence of legal compliance. This is the single most common misconception PropWatch sees new buyers carry into a purchase — that paying tax means the property is 'regularised'.

Practical buyer risks of a B Khata property

• Home loans — most scheduled commercial banks decline to lend against B Khata properties. Some NBFCs and housing finance companies do lend, but at materially higher interest rates (typically 9.5–14% vs. sub-9% for A Khata), lower loan-to-value ratios (55% or below vs. 75–80% for A Khata), and with stricter conditions. If your purchase depends on a loan, verify the lender's position on B Khata before agreeing to anything.
• Resale — a future buyer faces the same loan restriction. Your buyer pool is narrower, loan-backed buyers are largely out, and the negotiating leverage is with the buyer. B Khata is not a market-stopper, but it is a discount driver on resale.
• Building plan sanctions — BBMP will not sanction building plan applications on a B Khata property. This means you cannot legally add a floor, make structural alterations, or construct an accessory structure without first converting to A Khata.
• Occupancy certificate — you cannot obtain an OC from BBMP on a B Khata property.
• Municipal services — water connections, sewage connections and trade licences that require a valid khata extract may be difficult to obtain or may come with caveats on a B Khata.
• Demolition risk — if the B Khata status reflects a construction in a prohibited zone (lake buffer, road margin, government land), the property may be subject to demolition under BBMP or GBA enforcement action. B Khata itself does not indicate this, but the underlying deficiency may.

The 2024-25 e-khata shift

From October 2024, BBMP began issuing e-Khata — a digitised version of the physical khata document — through an online portal. From July 1, 2025, the BBMP mandated e-Khata for all building plan approval applications within BBMP limits. The digital system creates a centralised, auditable record of all khata entries, making it harder to present a physically altered or fraudulently issued khata document.

The e-khata rollout does not resolve the A/B distinction — a B Khata entry is still a B Khata entry in the digital system. What it does change is verification: a buyer can now cross-check the khata status online rather than relying solely on a physical document provided by the seller. Cross-verifying through the BBMP or GBA's online portal is now the standard first step in any Bangalore property purchase.

The conversion question

Can a B Khata be converted to A Khata? Sometimes. The GBA's 2025 'Namma Khate, Namma Hakku' campaign offered a 100-day window from May 2026 with a reduced conversion fee of 2% of guidance value. But conversion is not available to all B Khata properties — properties in lake buffer zones, on government land, in unapproved layouts with no regularisation path, or subject to court orders are excluded. PropWatch has covered the 2025 conversion window in detail, including eligibility conditions and the full document checklist, in the post on B-Khata to A-Khata conversion.

If a seller is offering a B Khata property with a promise that conversion is straightforward, ask them to initiate and complete the conversion before sale. A promise of future conversion, with the purchase price reflecting A Khata value, is a risk the buyer should not carry.

SourceBBMP / GBA — e-Khata portal and property tax records (Bangalore)

SourceDeccan Herald — BBMP makes e-Khata mandatory for building plan approvals from July 1, 2025

SourcePropWatch — B-Khata to A-Khata conversion in Bangalore: 2025 window, eligibility and cost