Guides
Guides for buyers, renters and home builders
Plain-language checklists for land, building permits, materials, loans and renting in Nepal.
Photo: Douglas Perkins · CC0 · Resized to WebP
Building a house
Building a house
Building an earthquake-safer house
The National Building Code basics (NBC 105:2025 and NBC 205:2024), the design and detailing principles that keep houses standing, and the questions to ask your engineer before and during construction.
5 min read
Building a house
Hiring contractors, engineers and architects
Who does what on a house build, how to check an engineer's Nepal Engineering Council registration, what to write in the contract, and how to pay in stages tied to inspected work.
5 min read
Building a house
Building permits (naksha pass): step by step
How the municipal building permit works: building categories, registered designers, documents, the 15-day neighbour notice, plinth and superstructure permits, inspections, and why the completion certificate matters.
5 min read
Building a house
Building a house in Nepal, step by step
From checking the land to the completion certificate: the building permit (naksha pass) and its inspections, earthquake-safe design, hiring an engineer and a contractor, and budgeting.
7 min read
Materials and shops
Materials and shops
Choosing cement, rebar, bricks and sand
How to pick and check the materials that hold your house up: cement, TMT rebar, bricks and blocks, sand and aggregate, concrete and waterproofing.
4 min read
Materials and shops
Picking hardware and material shops
How to compare quotes, insist on proper bills, check every delivery, avoid fake or under-weight materials, and where to complain when you buy for your house.
3 min read
Land and documents
Land and documents
Buying land: dos and don'ts
Check the land office record, walk the boundaries with a current trace map, confirm the road is on the map, check zoning, plot-size rules and hazards, verify every owner and protect your advance.
5 min read
Land and documents
Checks before buying land
What to check before you pay for a plot: the lalpurja, the trace map and boundaries, road access, Guthi and public land, loans and freezes at the land office, minimum plot sizes and the local rules on plotting and building.
5 min read
Land and documents
Property registration and taxes
How a land or house sale is registered at the Land Revenue Office: the documents, the registration fee (3% to 5.3% in Bagmati) and its concessions, capital gains tax of 7.5% or 10%, who usually pays, and the costs people forget.
5 min read
Buying
Buying
Buying property in Nepal from abroad
For Nepalis working or living abroad: who can buy (citizens, NRN card and NRN citizenship holders), making a power of attorney at an embassy, sending money through legal channels, checking land from a distance, fees and taxes, and the scams aimed at buyers abroad.
10 min read
Buying
Buying a house or apartment: what to check
Before you pay for a house or flat: the documents, the building permit and completion certificate, the structure, the price, and what the Apartment Ownership Act says about apartments.
5 min read
Renting
Renting
Renting out your property: dos and don'ts for landlords
Getting the property safe and ready, choosing tenants, a written agreement under the Civil Code, receipts, rent tax with your municipality, respecting tenants' rights, and ending a tenancy fairly.
6 min read
Renting
Renting a home: dos and don'ts for tenants
What to check when viewing, how to confirm the owner, what a written agreement should cover, deposits and receipts, meter readings and inventory at move-in, and how to give notice and get your deposit back.
6 min read
Renting
Renting a flat or room: a checklist
What to check when you rent in Nepal: the costs beyond the rent, what to inspect, the written agreement, repairs, deposits, rent tax, notice periods and moving out.
4 min read
Loans
Selling
Legal and government steps
Legal and government steps
Avoiding property scams in Nepal
Fake owners, mortgaged or frozen land, double selling, forged powers of attorney, fake online listings and rental double letting: how each scam works, how to check the official records, and what to do if you are cheated.
5 min read
Legal and government steps
How property transfer (registration) works in Nepal
Step by step through registering a land or house sale at the land office: checks, documents, deed writers, plot division, registration fees by province, capital gains tax at 7.5% or 10%, safe payment and what to do afterwards.
6 min read
Legal and government steps
Rental agreements and the law in Nepal
What the National Civil Code 2017 says about house rent: when a written agreement is needed, rent payment and receipts, repairs, 35-day notice, eviction grounds, registration, rent tax and where to take disputes.
6 min read
