Checks before buying land

General information, not legal advice. Land rules, fees and local restrictions change and differ between places. Check with the Land Revenue Office, the Survey Office, your municipality or a lawyer before you pay.

Most land disputes come from things a buyer could have checked: a seller who isn't the only owner, a map that doesn't match the ground, a road that exists only on paper, or a loan still registered against the plot. Do these checks before you pay an advance.

1. The ownership certificate (lalpurja)

• Ask for a copy of the lalpurja (land ownership certificate) and note the kitta (plot) number, area and location.
• The owner's name must match their citizenship certificate. If the land has several owners, all of them must agree and sign at registration.
• If the land was inherited, check that it has been transferred into the heirs' names (namsari) before they sell it.
• If someone is selling on the owner's behalf under a power of attorney, check the document at the Land Revenue Office and speak to the owner yourself.

2. Records at the Land Revenue Office (Malpot)

Take the kitta number to the Land Revenue Office (Malpot) for the area and ask for the current record. Some recent official documents call it the Land Administration Office (Bhumi Prashasan Karyalaya). Check:

• that the owner on record matches the lalpurja;
• mortgages (dhito): whether a bank loan is registered against the plot;
• freezes (rokka): a hold placed by a court, bank or government office;
• any court case about the plot, and whether a tenant (mohi) claim is noted;
• whether the land is recorded as Guthi land (see below);
• that land tax (malpot tiro) has been paid up to date.

The government's Land Administration Directive 2081 lists what buyer and seller should be sure of before they apply to register a sale: that the property matches the lalpurja and map; that its area and shape on the ground match the map; who occupies it; the road on the map and on the ground; the price; any freeze or dispute; whether it is ordinary (raikar) or Guthi land; and any house or sheds sold with it, which must be named in the deed.

3. The map and the boundaries

• Get the trace map (naksa) of the plot from the Survey Office (Napi). The Survey Department's Mero Kitta online service also shows plot records where it covers your area.
• Compare the map with the ground: the shape, the frontage, the neighbouring plots and any road or stream shown.
• Hire a surveyor (amin) to measure the plot on site and show you the corner points. The area on paper and on the ground often differ.
• Ask the ward office for the four-boundary (char killa) letter naming the neighbours on each side. Banks usually ask for it.

4. Road access

• The plot must touch a road that is shown on the map, not just a path people use. A plot without legal access is hard to build on and hard to sell.
• Find out whether the road is public or a private strip carved out of other plots. A private access strip should be recorded in the land records.
• Ask the municipality about the road's right-of-way. If the road is to be widened, part of your plot may fall inside it, and you may not be allowed to build there.

5. Land not to buy without advice

• Guthi land. Land recorded as Guthi belongs to, or is held under, a religious or charitable trust. Some kinds cannot be sold at all, and the Guthi Sansthan has reclaimed land that individuals sold. If the record mentions Guthi, check with both the Land Revenue Office and the Guthi Sansthan before going further.
• Public, ailani (unregistered) and forest land. Titles to land that was public have been cancelled years later, and the buyer loses. Be careful with plots next to rivers, forests and public land, and with any plot whose old and new records (hal-sabik) don't agree.
• Risky sites. Riverbanks and flood land, steep or filled ground, and land under high-tension lines may be unsafe or restricted.

6. Local rules on plot size, plotting and building

• Land use. Local governments classify land (agricultural, residential, commercial and so on) under the Land Use Regulation 2079. What you may build depends on this classification.
• Minimum plot sizes. Under rule 12 of the Land Use Regulation (as amended in 2081), land classified as agricultural may not be split into plots smaller than 500 m² in the Kathmandu Valley, 675 m² in the Terai and Inner Madhesh, and 1,000 m² elsewhere (1 ropani is about 508.7 m²). Residential and commercial land may not be split below 130 m², and a plot under 500 m² may not be more than four times as long as it is wide. Plots down to 80 m² are allowed only in special cases, such as land falling within a road on the municipality's recommendation or an approved land development project. The regulation has been amended again since, so confirm the current limits.
• Plotting. News reports in July 2026, quoting the land ministry, said that from mid-July 2026 splitting land into new plots was halted again in local governments that had not finished classifying their land, while sales of whole plots, family partition and court-ordered transfers continued. If the plot you are buying is being split from a bigger parcel, ask the municipality and the Land Revenue Office whether it can be registered on its own.
• Building permit. Ask the municipality's technical section about the minimum road width, setbacks and other conditions for a building permit on this plot. See Building permits (naksha pass): step by step.

7. Paying safely

• Pay little or nothing until the checks are done. If you pay an advance, sign a written agreement (bainabata) that says what happens to the money if the sale falls through, ideally drafted by a licensed deed writer (lekhapadhi byawasayi).
• Pay through a bank rather than in cash. In Bagmati Province, payments for deals of Rs 5 lakh or more must go through the banking system, with proof shown at registration.
• Register the sale at the Land Revenue Office promptly. See Property registration and taxes and How property transfer (registration) works.
• Learn the common tricks in Avoiding property scams, and keep Buying land: dos and don'ts handy on site visits.