The 7 Documents You Must Check Before Buying Land in AP

Unlike a flat, where a builder and RERA registration add a layer of accountability, an open plot or agricultural parcel often carries a longer chain of ownership and far more room for fraud. The good news is that most defects are visible on paper long before they become disputes. These are the seven documents to insist on before any money changes hands.

1. The Title Deed (Sale Deed)

This is the registered document by which the current seller acquired the land, whether by purchase, gift, inheritance or partition. Read it against the ground reality: the names, the extent, the survey number and the boundaries must all be consistent with what is being shown to you.

2. The Link Documents (Chain of Title)

The current deed alone is never enough. You need the earlier deeds, ideally covering thirty years, so ownership can be traced as an unbroken chain from one holder to the next. A gap in this chain, such as an inheritance that was never documented or a transfer that was never registered, is the single most common fatal defect in AP land titles.

3. The Encumbrance Certificate (EC)

Issued by the Sub-Registrar, the EC lists the registered transactions on the property over a stated period: sales, mortgages and releases. It tells you whether the land carries an existing loan or charge. A mortgage entry with no matching release deed is a warning that must be cleared before you proceed.

4. The Pattadar Passbook and Patta

Under the AP Rights in Land and Pattadar Pass Books Act, the passbook is the revenue department's record of who holds the land. If the patta stands in a name different from the seller or the registered deeds, that inconsistency must be explained and resolved before purchase, not after.

5. The Adangal (Pahani)

This village revenue record shows the current cultivation, the land classification and the pattadar's name for each survey number. It should agree with the patta and the sale deed. A mismatch here frequently signals a dispute or an unrecorded change in possession.

6. The FMB (Field Measurement Book) Sketch

The FMB records the exact boundaries and measurements of the survey number. Buyers often discover too late that the extent named in the sale deed does not match the survey record, which means paying for land the seller may not fully own, or inheriting a boundary dispute with a neighbour.

7. The 22A (Prohibited Property) Check

Before registration, confirm the land is not entered in the 22A register of prohibited properties, which covers government, assigned, endowment and certain disputed lands that cannot be lawfully sold. This check belongs on every buyer's list.

A structured legal opinion, prepared before you commit, is the cheapest protection available against a purchase that cannot be undone. If you are buying land anywhere in the Tirupati region, have the documents examined together before you pay.