Plot files in unapproved housing schemes are the most efficient way to lose money in Pakistani property. The marketing is professional, the office is impressive, the file is printed on good paper, and none of it means the scheme has permission to exist. The verification takes an afternoon and it is almost never done.
The distinction that catches people
A society may hold approval for some of its land and be selling files in blocks it does not own or has not had sanctioned. So the question is never "is this society approved?" It is: is this block, this phase, and this plot number within the approved and sanctioned layout?
The three separate things to confirm are:
- The society is registered as a legal entity
- The land is owned by the society, in the revenue record
- The layout plan for that specific block or phase has been approved by the competent development authority
Who the competent authority is
This depends entirely on where the land is, and asking the society is not verification:
- Islamabad - the Capital Development Authority
- Lahore - the Lahore Development Authority; elsewhere in Punjab, the relevant Development Authority or the Tehsil/District Council, with the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency covering areas outside authority limits
- Karachi - the Sindh Building Control Authority, the Malir or Lyari Development Authority, or the Karachi Development Authority depending on location, with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies for cooperative societies
- Rawalpindi - the Rawalpindi Development Authority
- Cantonment areas - the relevant Cantonment Board
Most of these publish lists of approved, unapproved and illegal schemes on their websites, and several publish public notices naming schemes against which the public is warned. Read the current list, not a screenshot.
The verification sequence
- Ask for the NOC in writing, with its number and date, and the specific blocks it covers.
- Verify it with the issuing authority directly - by their online verification facility, or in person at their one-window office. A photocopy in the society's file is worth nothing; forged NOCs are common and are competently produced.
- Check the approved layout plan at the authority and confirm your plot number appears on it, in the block it is said to be in.
- Check the land record - obtain the fard for the khasra numbers of that block and confirm the society, not a third party, is the recorded owner.
- Check for litigation. Schemes under challenge are frequently subject to injunctions restraining sale. Ask, and search.
- Check the development status on site. Whether roads, water, sewerage and electricity are actually laid in that block, not planned.
Reading the file itself
What you are usually buying is not a plot but a file - a contractual right to be allotted a plot. Check:
- Whether the file is allotted (a specific plot number) or merely a registration or "open" file, which is a promise to allot later. Open files in unsanctioned blocks are the highest-risk instrument in the market.
- Whether transfer requires the society's consent and what the transfer fee is.
- Whether dues are outstanding - development charges, possession charges - and obtain a no-dues certificate.
- Whether the seller's name appears on the society's own record. Verify at the society office in person; do not rely on the seller's copy.
Buying an allotted plot
Where the plot is allotted and the scheme is approved, the transaction is completed on the society's transfer letter and its record, and in many schemes the title ultimately issues from the authority. Insist on:
- Verification of the seller's allotment letter against the society's register
- A no-demand certificate from the society
- Transfer effected at the society office in the presence of both parties, with photographs and biometric verification where available
- Payment through banking channels, never cash, so that the trail exists if it is disputed
If you have already bought into an unapproved scheme
The options are limited but not nil. A complaint to the development authority may prompt regularisation proceedings against the society. A complaint to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies applies where it is a cooperative. A civil suit for recovery of the amount paid, or for specific performance if the society can perform, may be brought against the society and its office bearers. Where the sale was fraudulent from the outset - a scheme selling land it never owned - criminal proceedings for cheating are available, and provincial authorities have prosecuted such cases.
Act early and collectively; groups of affected buyers get further with authorities and courts than individuals do.
This article describes general due diligence for housing schemes in Pakistan. The competent authority and the applicable rules depend on location. It is not advice on any specific scheme; verify with the authority and consult an advocate before paying.