1070+ property terms explained in plain words: RERA, land records (Fard, Jamabandi, 7/12, Patta), documents, law, tax, finance and state-specific vocabulary. Each term has its legal basis, an Indian example and a tip for agents.
Reviewed 16 October 2026 · 1073 terms · 14 topics
The Maharashtra government's online portal for 7/12 extracts, 8A extracts and property cards.
Example: A buyer downloads a digitally signed 7/12 from Mahabhulekh.
Agent tip: Prefer the digitally signed copy over a hand-written one.
Related: Satbara Utara (7/12) 8A Extract Property Card
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority, the RERA regulator for Maharashtra. It registers projects and agents, handles complaints and runs the state's RERA portal.
Example: A buyer in Pune checks a project's MahaRERA number before paying the booking amount.
Agent tip: Maharashtra is the state with the Certificate of Competency requirement for agents, which became binding on 1 January 2024.
An agreement under which a society, builder or facility manager provides maintenance of common areas for a fee.
Example: A builder signs a three-year maintenance agreement before the society takes over.
Agent tip: Check the charges, the corpus fund and what happens when the builder hands over.
Related: Society Charges Corpus Fund Common Area
Also called: मकान, Makan
The Hindi and Urdu word for a house or building. In property talk, it often means a house on its own land, as opposed to a flat or a plot.
Example: A seller in Jalandhar advertises a "do manzila makaan" meaning a two-storey house.
Agent tip: Ask what the word covers in a listing, since "makaan" may include land share or only the structure.
Related: Independent House Plot Kothi Jameen
Also called: மனை, Manai Pirivu
A Tamil word for a house site or plot, often used in advertisements in Tamil Nadu for residential plots in a layout, as in "manai pirivu" meaning a plot division.
Example: A buyer from Salem looks at a manai in a DTCP-approved layout and asks for the patta.
Agent tip: Check approval of the layout and the individual plot, including the patta and the encumbrance certificate.
Related: Plot Patta DTCP Approved Layout
Also called: Open Space Reservation
The portion of a plot or layout that must be kept free of building, such as lawns, playgrounds and margins around the building, as required by the bye-laws. It provides light, air, fire access and recreation.
Example: A group housing project in Zirakpur had to keep a set share of its land as open green area before sanction.
Agent tip: When you see a very dense project, check the sanctioned plan for open space. Encroachment on it is a violation.
Related: Ground Coverage Setback Building Bye-Laws
The portion of the cost that a buyer must pay from own funds because the bank does not lend it.
Example: With an 80% LTV the margin money is 20% of the property value, plus stamp duty and other charges.
Agent tip: Remind buyers that margin money, stamp duty and fees are extra to the loan.
Related: Loan-to-Value (LTV) Down Payment
The price at which a property would sell in an open sale between a willing buyer and a willing seller, both fully informed and neither under pressure.
Example: A flat sells at ₹58 lakh in an open market, while the circle rate is ₹52 lakh and the bank valuation is ₹55 lakh. The market value is what a buyer actually pays.
Agent tip: Use recent sales of similar units in the same project or sector to support a price.
Related: Circle Rate Valuation Report Comparable Sales (Comps)
A title free from reasonable doubt, which a court would enforce if the buyer's purchase were challenged. A seller must show a marketable title unless the contract says otherwise.
Legal basis: Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Section 55(1)(a) requires the seller to disclose material defects in title.
Example: A plot has an unbroken chain of registered deeds for 30 years and no litigation.
Agent tip: Ask a lawyer to confirm title before the buyer pays more than the token amount.
Related: Title Legal Title Report Link Documents
A land unit used in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. One marla equals 272.25 sq ft (about 25.29 sq m), and 20 marla make 1 kanal.
Example: A 10 marla house plot is 2,722.5 sq ft or about 302.5 gaj.
Agent tip: When a Tricity buyer says "10 marla", convert it immediately to sq ft or gaj and write it in the quote.
Related: Kanal Gaj (Square Yard) Jamabandi
A long-term plan prepared by the planning authority for the growth of a city or region, showing land-use zones, roads, services and open spaces.
Example: A Master Plan shows a road widening through a plot. The owner may lose land.
Agent tip: Check the master plan for road widening, reservations and zone before quoting a plot.
Related: Zoning (Land Use Zone) Development Control Regulations (DCR) Zonal Plan
A benchmark lending rate computed by each bank from its funding costs. Older home loans are linked to MCLR. RERA also uses the State Bank of India's highest MCLR to set interest on delays.
Legal basis: In most state RERA rules, interest is the State Bank of India's highest marginal cost of lending rate plus 2% (read as an annual rate). A few states use the prime lending rate instead.
Example: If SBI's highest MCLR is 9% and the rule adds 2%, the RERA interest rate is 11% a year.
Agent tip: MCLR is a bank benchmark. It is not the same as the repo rate.
Related: SBI Highest MCLR Floating Interest Rate Delay Interest
A process in which a neutral person helps the parties reach a voluntary settlement. A settlement agreement can be enforced.
Example: A builder and buyer agree on a refund plan through mediation.
Agent tip: Use mediation to save time and cost.
Related: Lok Adalat Civil Court
Also called: Mee Bhoomi, 1-B
Andhra Pradesh's online portal for land records. It gives the adangal, 1-B (record of rights) and related extracts for a village survey number, and is used for ownership checks and mutations.
Example: A buyer of paddy land near Guntur downloads the 1-B and adangal on Meebhoomi, and finds that the land is shown as wet land, not dry land as the broker said.
Agent tip: Check the land classification and the cultivator's name on the portal extract. Wet and dry classification can affect conversion rules and price.
Related: Adangal Record of Rights (RoR) Survey Number Mutation
Also called: MODT, Memorandum of Entry
A written memorandum that records the deposit of original property papers with a lender as security for a loan. It records the intention behind the deposit, and in some states it must carry stamp duty or be registered.
Legal basis: Section 58(f) of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 recognises a mortgage by deposit of title deeds.
Example: Sandeep hands the original sale deed of his shop to the bank and signs a memorandum stating that the deposit secures his business loan.
Agent tip: Do not release original papers to a lender without a receipt listing every document.
Related: Equitable Mortgage Title Deed Mortgage
Also called: MODTD, Memorandum of Entry
A short document recording that a borrower has handed the original title deeds to a lender as security for a loan. It creates an equitable mortgage and is used in states where it is recognised. The lender holds the deeds until the loan is cleared.
Example: A shop owner in Surat deposits the original papers with a bank and signs a memorandum that records the deposit date and loan amount.
Agent tip: When buying a property, ask whether the seller's originals are with a lender. A buyer cannot get the originals until the loan is repaid.
Related: Equitable Mortgage Mortgage Deed Loan Against Property (LAP) CERSAI
A preliminary document that records the broad terms agreed between parties. It may or may not be binding, depending on its wording.
Example: A landowner and developer sign an MoU on revenue sharing before a detailed development agreement.
Agent tip: Do not treat an MoU as a sale. Check what the document says about binding effect.
Related: Joint Development Agreement (JDA) Agreement to Sell (ATS)
Also called: Building Services
The group of building services that make a structure usable: air conditioning, ventilation, lifts, wiring, power backup, water supply, drainage and fire fighting. Good MEP design is planned with the architecture, not added afterwards.
Example: A hospital developer in Mohali engaged an MEP consultant at design stage to route ducts and pipes without clashing with the structure.
Agent tip: For commercial purchases, ask for the MEP load details such as power per square foot and cooling capacity.
Related: HVAC Fire NOC Power Backup (DG Set)
Also called: Damages for Use and Occupation
The money a rightful owner can claim from a person who has wrongfully stayed in the property, for the period of the wrongful occupation. It is usually measured by the rent the owner could have earned.
Example: A tenant in Pune stays on after a court orders him out. The owner claims mesne profits equal to the market rent for those months.
Agent tip: Landlords should ask the court for mesne profits in the eviction suit. Keep proof of the market rent.
Related: Eviction Tenant Civil Court Landlord
An urban rail network, usually elevated or underground, built in many Indian cities. Its stations often influence nearby rents, shop demand and development, though effects depend on the area, feeder links and construction delays.
Example: A tenant in Bengaluru chooses a flat close to a metro stop to avoid traffic.
Agent tip: Use the officially notified alignment and station list, and check if the line is running, not just planned.
Related: Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Micro-market Right of Way (ROW)
An intermediate floor between two main floors, usually partial. It is common in shops and showrooms.
Example: A showroom adds a mezzanine floor for storage and office.
Agent tip: Check whether a mezzanine is approved and counted in the area.
Related: Showroom Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, which builds and allots housing, runs lotteries and manages redevelopment of old cessed buildings.
Example: A family wins a MHADA lottery flat in Mumbai.
Agent tip: MHADA flats have resale conditions and permissions.
Related: Development Authority Redevelopment
A small area within a city, such as a sector or locality, whose prices and demand differ from the surrounding areas.
Example: Two sectors in Mohali may have very different rates per sq ft.
Agent tip: Know the micro-markets you serve and keep a record of rates.
Related: Comparable Sales (Comps) Market Value
Selling a property by giving false or misleading information about price, area, approvals, returns or timelines.
Legal basis: Section 12 of the RERA Act, 2016 makes a promoter liable for loss caused by untrue statements in advertisements or prospectuses. Section 10 requires agents not to facilitate sale of unregistered projects.
Example: An agent tells a buyer a plot has an approved layout, but it does not.
Agent tip: Give only information you can support with documents.
Related: Real Estate Agent Due Diligence
A project combining residential, commercial and sometimes hospitality components on the same land.
Example: A 12 acre project with apartments, a mall and a hotel under one master plan.
Agent tip: Each component may need separate RERA registration or approvals. Check the break-up.
Related: Township (Integrated) Commercial Property Real Estate Project
The region around Mumbai, including Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan, planned by MMRDA.
Example: A buyer in Thane deals with MahaRERA and the local municipal corporation.
Agent tip: State the exact municipal area when you quote a property.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which plans and builds infrastructure and large projects in the Mumbai region.
Example: A project near a metro line follows MMRDA's plans.
Agent tip: Check road and metro alignments in MMRDA areas.
Related: Development Authority Master Plan
The Act requires the agreement for sale to follow the prescribed form. The Centre's model rules include a model format that states adapt. It sets out standard terms, such as area, payment plan, possession date and defect liability, so builders cannot use one-sided clauses.
Legal basis: Section 13(2) of the RERA Act, 2016.
Example: A Panchkula builder is told by the Authority to align his agreement with the state format, including the possession date clause.
Agent tip: Compare the builder's draft with your state's prescribed format and flag extra clauses before signing.
Related: Agreement for Sale Section 13 (RERA) Builder-Buyer Agreement
A central model law of 2021 that states may adopt. It requires written rental agreements, caps security deposits and sets up rent authorities and courts for speedy settlement of disputes.
Example: A state that adopts the Act requires landlords and tenants to submit their agreement to the Rent Authority.
Agent tip: It applies only in states that have adopted it. Check the status for your state.
A kitchen fitted with factory-made cabinets, drawers and fittings that are assembled on site in standard sizes. It is quicker to install than carpenter-built work and easier to change, and usually costs more per running foot.
Example: A Panchkula flat was handed over with only a kitchen platform, and the owner then installed a modular kitchen with a chimney and hob.
Agent tip: Confirm in the agreement whether the kitchen is a platform with sink only or a full modular unit.
Related: Specifications Warm Shell Running Foot (RFT)
The Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the Promotion of Construction, Sale, Management and Transfer) Act, 1963, an earlier state law for flat sales. RERA now covers most of these matters, but MOFA still applies to older cases.
Example: An older society deal in Pune is argued under MOFA, while a new project falls under RERA.
Agent tip: For older Maharashtra projects, ask which law applies.
Related: Deemed Conveyance RERA
Also called: SAS Nagar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar
The city in Punjab, officially Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (SAS Nagar), next to Chandigarh. It is a planned city with numbered sectors and falls under GMADA and the Punjab RERA.
Example: A buyer chooses a flat in a Mohali sector near the IT City.
Agent tip: Quote the sector number and check GMADA approval.
Related: GMADA Tricity RERA Punjab
Also called: मोहल्ला
A Hindi and Urdu word for a neighbourhood or locality within a town. Buyers often search for property by mohalla name in older towns, where formal sector numbers may not exist.
Example: A tenant in Lucknow asks for a house in a particular mohalla to be close to family.
Agent tip: In an older mohalla, check the lane width, ownership history and municipal records before buying.
Related: Colony Sector Micro-market Municipal Corporation
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the central ministry that administers the RERA Act, 2016, and schemes such as PMAY-Urban.
Example: A MoHUA notice sets guidance for states on RERA.
Agent tip: Check MoHUA and state notifications for changes in the law.
Related: RERA Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)
Official measurement of land in Maharashtra, carried out by the Land Records department to fix boundaries.
Example: Neighbours dispute a boundary and apply for mojani. The surveyor marks the line on the ground.
Agent tip: Suggest mojani when boundaries are uncertain, before purchase of agricultural land.
Related: Demarcation Survey Number
A method where walls, slabs and beams are cast together in one operation using system formwork, usually aluminium. It produces smooth, strong walls and fast cycles, but later changes to walls are hard because the walls are structural.
Example: An affordable housing scheme near Lucknow was built with monolithic walls, so buyers were told not to hack or remove any wall.
Agent tip: Warn buyers that interior walls in monolithic buildings often cannot be altered, which limits renovation plans.
Related: Formwork (Shuttering) Shear Wall Affordable Housing
Also called: EMI Holiday, Repayment Holiday
A period during which the borrower pays no principal, and sometimes pays only interest or nothing at all. In construction finance it often lasts until the project is complete. It does not remove the interest, which keeps building up.
Example: A builder in Panchkula gets a 24-month moratorium on a construction loan, so repayments begin only after the building is expected to be ready.
Agent tip: A moratorium lowers the early burden but raises the total interest paid. Ask what happens to the unpaid interest.
Related: Pre-EMI Tenure Construction Finance
A transfer of an interest in specific property to secure a loan. The lender has a charge on the property until the loan is repaid.
Legal basis: Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Section 58.
Example: A bank holds the original sale deed as security for a home loan.
Agent tip: A property under mortgage cannot be freely sold. The bank's NOC is needed.
Related: Equitable Mortgage Mortgage Deed Lien
A document by which a borrower pledges immovable property to a lender as security for a loan. Types include simple mortgage, mortgage by deposit of title deeds, English mortgage and others.
Legal basis: Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (Section 58 and following).
Example: A bank asks the buyer to deposit the original title documents as security, creating an equitable mortgage.
Agent tip: Always check whether the property is already mortgaged. A registered mortgage appears in the encumbrance certificate, but a mortgage by deposit of title deeds may not. Also check CERSAI and ask the bank for confirmation.
Related: Mortgage Equitable Mortgage Encumbrance Certificate (EC)
The Madhya Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority, which regulates projects and agents in Madhya Pradesh, including Bhopal and Indore.
Example: An Indore buyer verifies a project on the MP RERA portal.
Agent tip: Mutation in Madhya Pradesh is called namantaran.
Related: RERA Authority Namantaran
A fast-developing area near Chandigarh on the Punjab side, close to New Chandigarh, with residential, commercial and institutional projects. Buyers often compare it with Kharar and Zirakpur.
Example: A buyer compares plot prices in Mullanpur with Kharar before deciding where to build.
Agent tip: Check whether the project is in an approved colony and its RERA status. Ask about road access and water supply.
Related: New Chandigarh Kharar Tricity
Also called: MTHL, Atal Setu
A long sea bridge linking Sewri in Mumbai with Nhava Sheva near Navi Mumbai, opened in early 2024. It shortens road travel across the harbour and is often cited in property discussions about Navi Mumbai, Uran and Raigad.
Example: A broker tells a client that the sea link has made a Chirle plot more reachable, and asks for the sanctioned layout before discussing anything else.
Agent tip: Infrastructure may change interest in an area, but verify zoning and land title. Hearsay about future access is not a legal right.
Related: Navi Mumbai MMRDA Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Micro-market
The urban local body of a large city that handles civic services, building plan approval and property tax.
Example: A buyer in Chandigarh pays property tax to the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh.
Agent tip: Check the corporation's records for taxes and sanctioned plans.
The civic body that runs most of Delhi's services, including property tax, building permissions in its areas, sanitation and trade licences. Part of Delhi is under other bodies, such as New Delhi Municipal Council.
Example: A buyer of a Delhi house checks the property tax receipts of the MCD and any building violations.
Agent tip: Check property tax receipts and any notices on a Delhi property. Pending dues can follow the property.
Related: Municipal Corporation Property Tax Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
Also called: Rectangle Number
A rectangular block of farm land used in Punjab and Haryana revenue records, comprising a fixed number of killas. Village maps are drawn in murabbas, and each field is numbered within one.
Example: A Jamabandi extract for a village near Ambala listed a plot as a numbered field inside a particular murabba.
Agent tip: To trace a plot, ask the patwari for the murabba and killa number as shown on the village map.
Also called: Mushtarka Khata, Joint Khata
Jointly owned land in Punjab and Haryana where the holdings of co-owners are not divided on the ground. The record shows shares, but no co-owner can claim a specific portion without partition.
Example: In a Karnal village, five brothers own 20 acres as mushtarka malkan. One brother sells a defined 3 acres, but the others object since the land was never partitioned.
Agent tip: When land is jointly held, the safe route is a registered partition first, or a sale signed by all co-owners.
Related: Jamabandi Partition Deed Joint Ownership Fard
Also called: Shariat Inheritance, Faraiz, Muslim Personal Law
At a general level, the Muslim personal law of inheritance divides a deceased person's property among fixed heirs in prescribed shares, such as spouse, children and parents. It governs Muslims in India in matters of inheritance, and a will is limited to a part of the estate.
Legal basis: Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.
Example: A man in Bhopal dies leaving a widow, a son and two daughters. A lawyer prepares the heirs' list according to the Muslim law of shares before the flat can be mutated.
Agent tip: Do not guess shares. For a Muslim owner's estate, get an heirship list from a lawyer and have all heirs sign any sale.
Related: Intestate Succession Legal Heir Certificate Hiba (Muslim Gift) Mutation
The entry in the revenue or municipal records that changes the recorded owner after a sale, inheritance or gift. It does not itself give title, but it is essential proof for tax, loan and resale.
Example: Mr. Sharma buys a plot and registers the sale deed, but does not apply for mutation. Two years later the old owner's name still shows in the records and a bank refuses a loan.
Agent tip: Tell every buyer to confirm mutation within weeks of registration. Some states now start it automatically, but the buyer should check that it was attested.
Related: Intkal Dakhil Kharij Ferfar Revenue Record
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