Indian real estate, in plain English

CC

Completion Certificate

Issued by the local municipal authority to confirm that the building has been built in accordance with the sanctioned plan.

EC

Encumbrance Certificate

A document obtained from the sub-registrar's office that lists all registered transactions on a property, used to verify it is free of legal or financial liabilities.

Khata

A municipal record of property ownership used in some Indian states, especially Karnataka, that captures the property owner's name for taxation.

OC

Occupancy Certificate

A document issued by the local municipal authority certifying that a completed building has been constructed in compliance with the approved plan and is fit for occupation.

RERA

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016

The central Indian law that regulates real estate, requiring every project above a defined size to be registered with the state RERA authority and to publish a standardised set of disclosures.

RERA carpet area

The net usable area of an apartment as defined under RERA, calculated as the floor area excluding the external walls, service shafts, balcony or verandah, and open terrace.

RERA ID

RERA registration number

The unique project registration number issued by a state RERA authority. Required on every customer-facing document a builder issues.

Title deed

The legal document that establishes a person's ownership of a property.

Allotment letter

A letter issued by a builder to a confirmed buyer that records the specific unit allotted, the agreed price, and the payment plan.

BBA

Builder Buyer Agreement

The legally binding agreement between a builder and a buyer that records the price, payment plan, delivery timeline, and project specifications.

Built-up area

The carpet area plus the area of the external walls and balconies of an apartment.

Demand letter

A letter from the builder asking the buyer for the next payment milestone, typically tied to a construction stage on a construction-linked plan.

NDC

No Dues Certificate

A document issued by the builder confirming that the buyer has paid the full price for the unit and has no outstanding dues.

Possession

The point at which a builder formally hands over a completed unit to the buyer.

Registration

The legal recording of a property sale with the state's sub-registrar office, which converts the BBA into a registered sale deed.

Stamp duty

A state government tax paid at the time of registering a property transfer, calculated as a percentage of the registered value.

Super built-up area

The built-up area plus a share of common amenities such as the lift lobby, staircase, club house, and other shared infrastructure.

CLP

Construction-Linked Plan

A payment plan in which buyer instalments are tied to construction milestones, such as plinth, slab, brick work, plaster, and finishing.

Down payment plan

A payment plan in which the buyer pays a large share (often 80 to 95 percent) of the price upfront, in exchange for a discount.

Loan eligibility

The maximum home-loan amount a buyer can be approved for, calculated by lenders based on income, credit score, age, and existing liabilities.

Subvention scheme

A payment plan in which the builder bears the home-loan EMI for the buyer until possession or for a fixed period, in exchange for which the buyer pays a higher headline price.

BHK

Bedroom, Hall, Kitchen

Common Indian shorthand for apartment configuration. A 2BHK is a two-bedroom, hall, kitchen layout.

FAR

Floor Area Ratio

Functionally identical to FSI, used as the preferred term in some states. The ratio of permissible floor area to plot area.

FSI

Floor Space Index

The ratio of total floor area of a building to the total area of the plot it sits on. Equivalent to FAR (Floor Area Ratio) in some states.

Podium

A raised platform inside a building, typically used to house parking, retail, or amenities below the residential floors.

Stilt floor

An open floor at the ground level of a building, typically used for parking, while the residential floors begin above.

TDR

Transferable Development Rights

A development right that compensates a land owner whose land has been acquired by a state for public use; the right can be applied or sold to add extra FSI to another plot.

Channel partner

Real estate broker / CP

An independent broker or brokerage firm that sources buyers for a builder's inventory in exchange for a commission.

Co-broking

An arrangement in which two channel partners share the commission on a single deal, typically when one partner sources the buyer and the other facilitates the closing.

Commission cycle

The schedule on which builders disburse commissions to channel partners, typically tied to milestones such as 10 percent payment, 30 percent payment, registration, or possession.

NAAR

North Ahmedabad Association of Realtors

A regional realtor body in Ahmedabad. Makanify is the official CRM partner of NAAR.

Click-to-WhatsApp ads

A Meta ad format in which clicking the call-to-action opens a WhatsApp chat with the advertiser, used heavily in Indian real estate for lead capture.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management

A software platform that captures and manages a sales team's relationships with prospective and current customers across the full lifecycle.

IndexNow

A search-engine submission protocol used by Bing, Yandex, and others to learn about new and updated URLs without waiting for a crawl.

Lead scoring

The practice of assigning a numeric score to each lead based on signals like source, budget, configuration match, response speed, and engagement.

WhatsApp Business API

Meta's API for sending and receiving template messages and two-way chat from a business phone number at scale.