E-Khata Reforms: A Mixed Bag for Bengaluru's Real Estate in 2025

In 2025, Bengaluru’s real estate market underwent a significant transformation with the introduction of the e-Khata system by the Karnataka government. This reform was designed to digitize property records and streamline ownership transfers, promising a more transparent and efficient process. However, the on-ground impact has been mixed, with both positive and negative outcomes for homebuyers and developers.

The e-Khata system was introduced to replace manual khata certificates (legal land ownership documents) issued by the city’s former municipal body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The goal was to provide quick, online issuance of these certificates within 48 hours. For homebuyers, it was expected to bring clarity to ownership records, reduce fraud, and streamline property transactions. For developers, especially those handling large projects, digitization was meant to cut paperwork and speed up registrations.

However, nearly a year after its rollout in October 2024, homeowners have reported several issues. Instead of a seamless digital experience, many are facing incorrect entries, delays, and the need for repeated visits to civic offices.

Several Bengaluru residents have complained that e-khatas are being issued with basic mistakes, such as wrong spellings of names, incorrect built-up areas, or missing parking details. There is no online mechanism to correct these errors, forcing buyers to visit the BBMP office multiple times to get them fixed.

“Many e-khatas are being issued with basic spelling or data errors, and there’s no online correction feature,” said Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, director of the Karnataka Homebuyers Forum. “Buyers have no option but to visit the BBMP office, often multiple times, to get these mistakes fixed.”

For many, the process has turned out to be far more time-consuming and expensive than advertised. Though the official online fee is ₹125, homeowners often end up hiring agents to navigate the paperwork and follow-ups. One Reddit user shared that a spelling error stalled their application for weeks until an agent “sorted it in two days for an extra payment.”

Beyond name errors, inaccuracies in property size declarations have opened up a new set of problems, including unexpected tax demands. Kiran Kumar, vice president at Hanu Reddy Realty, cited a case where a resident had self-declared their car parking area as 500 sq ft while filing property tax. On verification, authorities found it exceeded 800 sq ft and issued a notice seeking additional tax.

Such cases have presented heightened challenges for homeowners, who now fear that even minor discrepancies could lead to unexpected liabilities. Brokers say buyers are now more cautious, double-checking every detail before migrating to the new system.

The developers' body CREDAI Bengaluru told Hindustan Times Real Estate in December 2024 that the sudden switch had caused “significant distress” to both buyers and builders. Amar Mysore, former president of CREDAI Bengaluru, pointed out that property registrations worth nearly ₹8,000 crore had been delayed since October 2024. “The government should have implemented the e-khata service in a phased manner,” Mysore said. “The sudden implementation has led to an almost 60% dip in the city’s property registrations.”

Developers said delays in khata updates and registrations have slowed cash flows and pushed back project handovers, even as demand in the city remains strong.

The e-Khata reform has become central to the city’s effort to modernize property records. BBMP’s decision to make e-Khata mandatory for all online building plan applications from July 1, 2025, underscores this commitment. The digitization push has also gained momentum with the Karnataka cabinet’s decision to regularize B-Khata properties issued up to September 2024 and upgrade them to A-Khata status.

B-Khata properties, which include buildings in unauthorized layouts or without approved plans and occupancy certificates, have long existed in a legal grey zone. Once regularized, owners will be issued valid ownership certificates, unlocking access to civic amenities and formal financial systems.

To further strengthen service delivery, the state is now looking at institutional reforms around e-Khata processing. In December 2025, Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Tushar Giri Nath, stated that the government plans to introduce passport-seva-style centers to streamline e-Khata services. The model is designed to ensure smoother and faster processing of applications, reducing delays and bottlenecks, and eliminating the hurdles citizens currently face when obtaining electronic khatas.

To date, Bengaluru’s apex body, responsible for coordinating and supervising the activities of the city corporations, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), has said that it has already issued more than 8 lakh e-Khatas across its city limits.