Building Plan Deviations in Bangalore: The 15 Percent Rule and What Buyers Should Check

Many older buildings in Bangalore were built a little bigger, taller or closer to the plot edge than their sanctioned plan allowed. In 2026 the state moved to widen the deviation that can be accepted from 5 percent to 15 percent and to offer a one-time route for owners to regularise it. This guide explains what was proposed, why it matters for anyone buying a flat or a built house, and the checks that still decide whether a property is safe to buy.

Why Plan Deviations Matter to a Buyer

Every building in the city is approved against a sanctioned plan that fixes its height, its floor area ratio (FAR) and the open setbacks around it. When the finished building strays beyond the allowed margin, the city can refuse an occupancy certificate (OC). Without an OC, a building is not formally cleared for people to live in.

The missing certificate has practical effects that reach the buyer directly. Banks are slower to lend on homes in such buildings, and resale buyers and their lenders ask harder questions. When announcing the reform in May 2026, the state also pointed to Supreme Court directions against giving power and water connections to buildings that lack an OC.

The problem is large in scale. The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) estimated that 3 to 3.5 lakh properties in the city have no OC because their deviations went past the old 5 percent limit.

What Was Proposed in 2026

The change came in two steps during April and May 2026. Both are summarised below, along with the detail that buyers should keep in mind.

The draft building bye-laws (April 2026)

On 1 April 2026, the GBA notified the draft Bengaluru City Corporation Building (Amendment) Bye-laws 2026 and invited objections until 30 April 2026. The draft did not raise every limit to 15 percent in the same way. Its main limits were these:

• Total setback deviation of up to 15 percent, with the shortfall on any single side capped at half of the setback required on that side
• FAR deviation of up to 15 percent for buildings under 15 metres tall on plots of up to 500 sq m
• FAR deviation of 5 percent for buildings above 15 metres on plots larger than 500 sq m
• Height deviation of up to 7.5 percent across all categories
• Additional floors kept outside regularisation altogether

The draft also changed how the penalty is worked out. It ties the fee to the guidance value of the deviated area rather than to construction cost, at 3 to 10 percent for residential buildings and 6 to 12 percent for non-residential ones.

The one-time settlement announcement (May 2026)

On 13 May 2026, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced the wider 15 percent tolerance along with a one-time settlement scheme for past deviations. Applications were to open on 15 June 2026 for about three months, with a 50 percent concession on the charges for owners who apply within that window. Scrutiny and payment stages follow, and the government set June 2027 as the target for closing the whole exercise.

OCs are then to be issued for buildings brought within the permitted limit once the penalty is paid. The exact limits that apply to a given building depend on the final bye-laws and scheme rules, so they are worth reading in full before any decision.

Permissible, Regularisable or Beyond Help

For a buyer, the useful step is to sort any deviation into one of three groups. The group decides what has to happen before the home is a clean purchase.

• Within the permitted tolerance: the building may qualify for an OC once the authority accepts the measurements
• Larger, but inside what the scheme covers: the owner must apply, pass scrutiny and pay the penalty before the problem is cured
• Beyond any scheme, such as an extra floor or a deep setback breach: the defect stays, and loans and resale remain at risk

A deviation that could be regularised is not the same as one that has been regularised. Eligibility only helps once the owner has applied, paid and received the order.

Checks Before Buying a Built Home

The reform makes some buildings fixable, which is good for owners stuck with modest breaches. It also gives sellers a new line to use, so the paperwork deserves more attention than before. These are the checks to run on a resale flat or an independent house:

1. Ask for the sanctioned building plan and the OC, and match the plan number to the approving office.
2. Have an architect or engineer compare the building as it stands with the sanctioned plan and work out the deviation in percentage terms.
3. Look for an added floor, a covered setback, parking turned into rooms or shops, and a larger footprint than approved.
4. If the seller says the deviation will be regularised, ask for the application, the payment receipt and the regularisation order.
5. Where the process is still open, settle in writing who pays the penalty, or reduce the price to cover it.
6. Ask the lender early whether it will fund a home in that building, given its OC and regularisation status.

Keep the deviation question separate from khata status. Conversion from B-khata to A-khata deals with the property record, while regularisation deals with the physical building, so a home may be clear on one and not on the other.

Buying an Under-Construction Flat

For a new flat, the main risk is what the developer builds after the sale. A wider tolerance is a rule about what the city may accept; it does not let a developer change what was sold. The buyer's protection is the sanctioned plan approved for the project and the agreement for sale.

Choose a project registered with Karnataka RERA, read the approvals listed for it, and make sure the agreement ties possession to a valid OC. If the delivered building differs from the approved plan or the agreement, the buyer keeps the contractual and RERA remedies against the developer. Buyers comparing new projects in areas such as Whitefield can ask for the sanctioned plan along with the price list.

What the Reform Means for the Market

Over time, the scheme should move a share of older buildings into the group that banks lend on without difficulty. That helps resale, since more homes become easier to finance and transfer. The gain reaches only the buildings that finish the process, so each purchase still turns on the documents for that specific home.

We help buyers line up the approvals for any home they are considering. Get in touch with our team to discuss a property and the documents to ask for.