Solving Floor Number Discrepancies in Bangalore Property

By the Property Law Team | Legal Brigade | Bar Council of Karnataka

When a flat’s floor number in the sale deed differs from the building plan or the physical floor it occupies — a mezzanine counted as a floor, a stilt floor called ground floor — it creates title and OC complications that can prevent registration, home loan approval and future resale.

Why Do Floor Number Discrepancies Arise in Bangalore Apartment Buildings?

Floor numbering in Bangalore apartment buildings is inconsistently defined across different documents and different development eras. The building plan uses a technical description of each level. RERA uses the floor number as submitted by the developer. The sale deed uses whatever the developer chose to call the floor in their marketing. And the physical building may have a stilt level, a mezzanine level or an additional level that was added without plan sanction — each of which shifts the numbering of subsequent floors. The result is a flat marketed as being on the 5th floor that the building plan records as the 4th floor and that an additional unsanctioned floor means is physically the 6th floor.

Floor number discrepancies appear in Legal Brigade’s verification work most frequently in buildings from the 1990s and early 2000s where a stilt level was added without sanction — shifting every subsequent floor’s physical level above its sanctioned number. This creates an OC complication and a title description inconsistency that buyers rarely anticipate. These discrepancies are not merely clerical errors; they can render a flat technically unauthorised if the physical floor exceeds the sanctioned count, exposing the buyer to demolition risk, loan refusal and an unmarketable title.

What Are the Common Causes of Floor Number Discrepancies in Bangalore?

The unsanctioned stilt floor is the most common cause in Bangalore because many developers in the 1990s and early 2000s built a stilt parking level that was not reflected in the sanctioned building plan, then marketed the floor above it as the ground floor. When the buyer checks the deed, the flat is described as being on the 2nd floor — but the building plan shows only one floor above the sanctioned ground level, making the physical 2nd floor actually the 3rd floor in plan terms. This cascades upward: every flat above is one floor higher physically than its sanctioned description. The OC, if issued at all, covers only the sanctioned floors — meaning the physical floors that exceed the sanctioned count are technically unauthorised.

How Do I Confirm the Correct Floor Number for a Flat I Am Buying in Bangalore?

1. Obtain the sanctioned building plan from BBMP and identify how the plan labels each level — ground floor, first floor, mezzanine, stilt — and count the total number of sanctioned floors. The plan is the definitive legal record of what the authorities approved; every other document must align with it.
2. Count the physical floors in the building as you walk it — compare the physical count against the sanctioned plan’s floor count. If the physical building has more floors than the plan, an unsanctioned addition exists and every floor above the addition is technically unauthorised.
3. Confirm the RERA registration’s floor description for the specific flat — the RERA disclosure should specify the floor level for each unit. RERA-registered projects must disclose accurate floor information; a mismatch between RERA and the plan is a serious red flag.
4. Compare the sale deed’s floor description against the building plan and the RERA disclosure — any inconsistency must be investigated before registration. Do not proceed with registration until the floor description is consistent across all three sources.
5. Have a property lawyer confirm the floor description is consistent across all documents and that the physical floor level matches the description. A lawyer can also advise whether a rectification deed is sufficient or whether the discrepancy indicates a deeper sanctioning problem that makes the flat unmarketable.

How Does a Floor Number Error Affect the OC and Home Loan for a Flat?

The OC consequence is the most severe. If the building plan sanctioned four floors plus a stilt, and the developer built five floors plus a stilt, the OC — if issued at all — covers only the sanctioned four floors. The flat on the physical 5th floor is in an unauthorised portion of the building. BBMP can issue a demolition notice for the unauthorised floor, and the flat owner has no legal defence because the construction exceeded the sanctioned plan. Even if demolition is not immediate, the flat cannot be sold to a prudent buyer because no bank will lend against a flat in an unauthorised portion, and no competent lawyer will clear the title. The buyer is trapped in an asset that cannot be monetised.

Can a Floor Number Error Be Corrected Through a Rectification Deed?

A rectification deed can correct the description in the sale deed if the floor number was stated incorrectly through a clerical or descriptive error. The rectification must be executed by both the original buyer and seller — and the corrected description must be consistent with what the building plan, the RERA registration and the physical structure all support. A rectification deed cannot create a new sanctioned floor that does not exist in the building plan — it can only correct a descriptive error in documents that already record the correct physical reality. If the physical building has more floors than the sanctioned plan, a rectification deed is useless; the problem is not a document error but an unauthorised construction that requires regularisation or demolition.

See Legal Brigade’s complete rectification deed guide at /rectification-deed-lawyer-bangalore/

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is a floor number discrepancy in a Bangalore flat? A floor number discrepancy occurs when the floor level described in the sale deed, the building plan, the RERA registration and the physical structure do not all match. Common causes include unsanctioned stilt floors, mezzanines counted as full floors, basement conversions and additional floors built without sanction. The discrepancy creates a title defect because the deed describes a floor that may not exist in the sanctioned plan or may exist in an unauthorised portion of the building.

Q2. Why do floor numbers in the sale deed sometimes differ from the building plan? The sale deed uses the developer’s marketing description, while the building plan uses the technical description approved by BBMP. If the developer added a stilt level without sanction and called the floor above it the ground floor, the deed will describe the flat as being on a lower floor than the plan records. The developer’s marketing numbering may also differ from the plan if the developer used a non-standard counting method to make upper floors seem more desirable.

Q3. What is a stilt floor and how does it affect floor numbering? A stilt floor is an open parking level at the ground level, supported by columns, with no walls enclosing the parking area. If the stilt was added without sanction, the developer may have called the floor above it the ground floor in marketing materials, while the building plan does not recognise the stilt as a distinct floor. This shifts every subsequent floor’s physical position one level above its sanctioned description, creating a discrepancy that affects every flat in the building.

Q4. How do I check whether the floor number in my sale deed is correct? Obtain the sanctioned building plan from BBMP, count the physical floors in the building, confirm the RERA registration’s floor description and compare all three against the sale deed. If any source describes a different floor level, investigate the cause before proceeding with registration. A property lawyer should conduct this comparison as part of the standard pre-registration verification.

Q5. What happens if the OC does not cover my flat’s physical floor? If the OC was issued for a sanctioned number of floors and your flat is physically on an unsanctioned additional floor, the OC does not cover your flat. The flat is in a technically unauthorised portion of the building. BBMP can issue a demolition notice for the unauthorised floor, and no bank will lend against a flat that lacks OC coverage. The buyer must either regularise the unsanctioned floor through a building plan amendment or accept that the flat is unmarketable.

Q6. Can a floor number error prevent me from getting a home loan? Yes. Banks conduct a technical valuation that includes verifying the building plan and the OC against the flat’s physical location. If the valuer identifies that the flat is on a floor not covered by the OC or not shown in the sanctioned plan, the bank will refuse the loan. The bank cannot lend against a property that may be subject to demolition or that lacks a valid OC for the specific floor.

Q7. Can a floor number error be corrected through a rectification deed? Only if the error is purely descriptive — the physical floor exists in the sanctioned plan but was described incorrectly in the deed. A rectification deed cannot create a sanctioned floor that does not exist in the plan. If the physical building has more floors than the plan, the problem is unauthorised construction, not a document error, and a rectification deed will not help.

Q8. What if the mezzanine is counted as a full floor in the sale deed? A mezzanine is an intermediate floor within a full floor, not a distinct floor. If the deed counts it as a full floor, every floor above it is misnumbered. The building plan must be checked to confirm whether the mezzanine is shown as a distinct floor; if not, the deed description is incorrect and must be rectified. The mezzanine itself may also be unauthorised if it was not shown in the plan.

Q9. How does a floor number error affect future resale? A floor number error significantly reduces the pool of future buyers. Prudent buyers and their lawyers will identify the discrepancy during due diligence, and banks will refuse loans for flats in unauthorised portions. The seller may be forced to accept a deep discount or may be unable to sell at all. The error also creates a title defect that a future buyer’s lawyer will flag as unmarketable.

Q10. How does Legal Brigade check floor number consistency during property verification? Legal Brigade’s standard verification includes a building plan comparison, physical floor count, RERA registration cross-check and sale deed review. We identify the specific cause of any discrepancy — whether it is an unsanctioned stilt, a mezzanine error, a basement conversion or an additional floor — and advise whether a rectification deed is sufficient or whether the discrepancy indicates a deeper sanctioning problem that makes the flat unmarketable. Our verification report includes a clear recommendation on whether to proceed, negotiate a price reduction or withdraw from the transaction.

Buying a flat in Bangalore and the floor number seems inconsistent across different documents? A building plan comparison resolves it — Legal Brigade does this as standard.

WhatsApp → wa.me/916360266840

Frequently Asked Questions