Buyer’s Guide

• Details of approved plan must be displayed at the site by the Promoter or Builder.
• Ensure if the flat or apartment has been constructed as per the approved plan.
• Check whether completion certificate has been issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) or other authority, after completion of the building.
• Check if the promoter or power of attorney holder has a right to transfer the undivided shares of the land.
• Ensure that the promoter or land owner or power of attorney holder has no rights over the open spaces and the terrace, after the entire undivided shares of the land has been transferred to the persons purchasing the flats or apartments.
• Ensure that the undivided shares of the land have been transferred by the promoter or land owner.

Approved layout is one which is approved by either CMDA or DTCP according to the location of the land. Lands within the metropolitan area will be accorded by the CMDA and the lands outside will be done by DTCP. This can be verified with the layout number given by the Government. Status of Approval can also be obtained from CMDA website.

Before the commencement of construction, the proposed construction must be approved by the local body. Without the sanction plan, the commencement of construction is illegal. All the sanctioned drawings will have a unique number for the approval. The sanction will be accorded to the building only after verification of all the documents and after complying with development control rules laid down by CMDA.

FSI is an abbreviation of the term floor space index. It has great significance in the real estate industry since it is the lone determinant of what would be the total floor area of a building and the size of the land on which it is being built. FSI depends on a number of factors like frontage, road width etc. Essentially, the ratio of total floor area to the size of the land, an FSI of 1.5 indicates that the total floor space that can be constructed is one and a half times the gross size of the land on which the construction will be done.

The value that the government fixes for land in different parts of the city, taking into account available infrastructural facilities and growth plan, is referred to a Guideline Value. The Guideline Value of land is subject to periodic revisions in order to balance them with market price. The stamp duty to be paid for registering a property in the homebuyers’ name is based on Guideline Value. As such, Guideline Value can be a primary indicator of the price of a property in any given location.

UDS stands for undivided share of land. It is extremely important to have a clear idea about it because it cannot be physically partitioned or demarcated. However, the conveyance deed in favor of an apartment owner will mention a specific figure as UDS, which is actually the specific portion of land an apartment occupies in relation to the super built up area. The sum total of the UDS of all the apartments in a building should be equal to 100% of the extent of land on which the construction stands. Once the Sale Deed has been executed, homebuyers, in their own interest, must confirm the UDS of their respective apartments by obtaining individual Encumbrance Certificates (EC). An EC accurately reflects the UDS of an apartment and it is legally binding. Once 100% UDS has been conveyed to the homebuyers in a complex, the developer/landowner or their legal heirs would have passed on all their rights in the property to the apartment owners. This will debar the developer/landowner or their legal heirs from making any claim or putting up further constructions in the property.

Here are 3 different terms that you should know about

Carpet area: This is the total area of all the floors excluding the area taken up by the walls. It is basically the area where the carpets can be laid out.

Built-up area: This area includes the carpet area plus the area that is taken up by your walls and balcony

Super built-up area: This is the built-up area plus the area taken up by common areas such as community halls, lobby, elevator, stairs etc.