BBMP to GBA: What the Five City Corporations Mean for Your Khata, Tax and Approvals

BBMP no longer exists. Bengaluru is now run by five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority. Here's what that actually changes for property owners and buyers in 2026 — and, just as importantly, what it doesn't.

The Short Version

If you own property in Bengaluru, or are about to buy, here's what you need to know upfront:

• Your khata is still valid. A-khata and B-khata records carried over from BBMP. Nothing needs to be re-registered because the administrative structure changed.
• Your property ID carries over. Your PID and tax records moved with the property to whichever corporation now covers your area.
• The portals haven't moved. Property tax and e-Khata still run through the same online systems.
• Tax calculation hasn't changed. The Unit Area Value (UAV) system continues; no revision to zones or rates had been notified at the time of writing.
• What has changed is who you deal with. Khata transfers, tax collection, building plan approvals, and grievances now sit with one of five corporations instead of a single BBMP.
• No one has been elected yet. All five corporations are run by state-appointed officials. Elections are now due by December 2026.

The rest of this guide explains each of these in detail — and what to check before buying or selling.

What Actually Happened: The Timeline

This is the largest restructuring of Bengaluru's civic administration since BBMP itself was created in the mid-2000s.

The New Structure: GBA and the Five Corporations

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) is an apex coordinating body, chaired by the Chief Minister. Its role is to coordinate across the five corporations and the city's parastatal agencies — BDA, BWSSB, BESCOM, BMTC, BMRCL and others — on city-wide planning and infrastructure.

The five city corporations handle day-to-day civic administration within their boundaries: property tax, khata, building approvals, roads, sanitation, and local services.

Example localities are drawn from published ward lists and are indicative only. Ward boundaries don't always match how people commonly describe a neighbourhood — a single "area" name can span two corporations. Always confirm your specific property's corporation and ward.

A few things stand out. East Bengaluru is the largest corporation by area but has the fewest wards, reflecting lower density and large tracts of peri-urban land in the eastern tech corridor. West Bengaluru, by contrast, has the most wards and the largest voter base. For the Whitefield–Sarjapur Road belt specifically, note that the corridor is split: Bellandur, Varthur, Gunjur, and Marathahalli fall under East, while Kasavanahalli, HSR Layout, and Agara fall under South.

What sits outside GBA limits

The GBA covers roughly the same footprint as the old BBMP. Many of the fastest-growing peripheral locations where new projects are being launched — such as Hoskote and Sarjapur town — lie outside these limits and are governed by other local bodies and planning authorities. If you're buying in a peripheral location, don't assume the GBA's khata, tax, or approval rules apply. Verify which authority actually has jurisdiction over the land.

Who is running things right now

No corporation council has been elected yet. Every mayor, deputy mayor, and corporator seat across all five corporations is vacant, and the corporations are administered by IAS-cadre commissioners under the GBA's Chief Commissioner. The Supreme Court has set successive deadlines for elections — June 2026, then August 2026, and most recently December 2026, after the state and the GBA argued that the electoral roll revision underway in Karnataka wouldn't finish until November. The court has said no further extension will be granted.

For property owners, this matters in one practical way: escalations and complaints go to corporation commissioners and officials, not elected ward representatives, until councils are in place.

Your Khata: What Changed and What Didn't

What didn't change

• Existing A-khata and B-khata records remain valid. The transition moved records between administrative bodies; it didn't cancel, reset, or re-classify anyone's khata.
• Your PID (Property Identification Number) carries over. Same number, same history.
• The e-Khata system continues on the same e-Aasthi portal. The digital infrastructure that BBMP used for e-Khata issuance is still the channel for new applications, downloads, and corrections.
• The documents you need for a khata transfer haven't changed — sale deed, previous owner's khata, tax-paid receipts, and so on.

What did change

• The office handling your case. Khata applications, transfers after a sale, and corrections are now processed by whichever of the five corporations covers the property's location — not a single BBMP.
• Where you escalate. Long-pending khata or mutation issues are now tracked through the relevant corporation commissioner.
• Transitional friction. Records for each area were migrated to the new corporations. For resale transactions in particular, it's worth allowing extra time for a khata transfer, especially in areas near corporation boundaries.

The e-Khata push

e-Khata — a digitally issued, verifiable khata record — has become the baseline document that banks, sub-registrars, and corporations increasingly rely on. By November 2025, the GBA reported having received around 7.9 lakh e-Khata applications, with the vast majority approved. If you own property in GBA limits and don't yet have an e-Khata, it's worth getting one sorted before you need it for a sale, a loan, or a plan approval.

B-khata to A-khata conversion: where things stand now

This is the single most financially significant khata change of 2026.

The background: B-khata is a provisional revenue record, typically covering properties in unapproved layouts, on land where conversion wasn't completed, or with building-plan irregularities. B-khata properties have historically been difficult to finance and resell, because most banks won't lend against them. Per figures cited by the state government in May 2026, the city has roughly 23 lakh properties on record — about 16 lakh A-khata and about 7 lakh B-khata.

The 2026 drive: In May 2026, the state announced a 100-day window during which the B-to-A conversion fee was cut from 5% to 2% of the property's guidance value. On a property with a ₹1 crore guidance value, that meant ₹2 lakh instead of ₹5 lakh.

Current status: That window ran from mid-May to 23 August 2026 and has now closed. The conversion fee is back to 5% of guidance value for applications filed from 24 August 2026 onward. Conversion is still available — it's just no longer discounted.

What conversion doesn't fix: Paying the fee doesn't automatically regularise everything. Properties on land reserved for roads or public use, or encroaching on stormwater drain buffers, are generally not eligible, and buildings with significant plan violations may still face scrutiny. Betterment charges and any pending property tax must also be cleared.

If you're buying a B-khata property: Treat conversion as a cost and a process to be completed before or as part of the transaction — not as a formality the seller "will sort out later." Budget 5% of guidance value, confirm eligibility in writing, and understand that your home-loan options may be limited until the property holds an A-khata.

Property Tax: What Changed and What Didn't

What didn't change

• The calculation method. The Unit Area Value (UAV) system continues, with property classified into value zones and taxed on that basis.
• The payment portal. Property tax is still paid through the same online system, using the same PID.
• Self-assessment. Owners still self-assess and pay, as before.
• Rebates and deadlines. For FY 2026-27, the 5% early-payment rebate was extended to 31 May 2026 across all five corporations — the same mechanism as under BBMP.

What changed

• Who collects it. Tax revenue is now collected by the corporation your property falls under, rather than a single city-wide BBMP pool. For the owner, the payment experience is the same.
• Budget ownership. Each corporation now presents its own budget, which means civic spending priorities — roads, drains, services — are increasingly set corporation by corporation.

What to watch

The new framework gives individual corporations more direct control over their revenue. No change to UAV zones or rates had been announced at the time of writing, but once elected councils are in place, it's reasonable to expect each corporation's own fiscal priorities to shape future tax decisions. Watch for corporation-level notifications rather than assuming a single city-wide change.

Building Approvals: The Biggest Practical Shift

For owners building independent homes — and for buyers evaluating plotted developments or small residential buildings — approvals have changed more meaningfully than khata or tax.

Plan approvals now sit with the corporation

Building plan sanctions are processed by the corporation covering the property, rather than centrally by BBMP. Pending approvals filed under BBMP were transferred to the relevant corporation; they didn't need to be re-filed.

Nambike Nakshe: automated approval for smaller residential sites

The Nambike Nakshe ("trusted plan") system automates building plan approval for eligible residential sites. The 2026-27 corporation budgets extended automated approval to residential sites up to 50×80 feet, with timelines varying by corporation. In September 2026, Nambike Nakshe 2.0 was launched, under which a compliant residential plan submitted online by a qualified architect can be approved automatically in roughly 30 minutes.

The important caveat: automation speeds up approval for plans that already comply. It doesn't relax the underlying rules on setbacks, FAR, height, or use.

Occupancy Certificate exemption for small homes

Since September 2025, residential buildings on plots of up to 1,200 sq ft (a 30×40 site) within GBA limits have been exempted from the mandatory Occupancy Certificate, provided the building is ground plus two floors or stilt plus three floors. This was issued under Section 241(7) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act. A sanctioned building plan is still required — the exemption removes the OC step, not the plan approval step.

This exemption does not apply to apartment projects. If you're buying into a multi-storey apartment complex, the OC remains non-negotiable — without it, you face problems with permanent utility connections, home loans, and resale. Nothing about the GBA transition changes that.

Higher tolerance for plan deviations

The state has raised the permissible deviation from an approved building plan from 5% to 15%, allowing more buildings with minor deviations to be regularised on payment of a penalty rather than facing demolition or denial of utilities. Deviations beyond that limit remain a serious problem.

What This Means If You're Buying Property in 2026

1. Identify the corporation first. Before anything else, confirm which of the five corporations — and which ward — the property falls under. This determines where the khata sits, who collects tax, and which office handles approvals. If the property is near a corporation boundary, verify rather than assume.

2. Confirm the property is actually within GBA limits. Many new projects on the city's periphery sit outside GBA limits entirely. Different rules and authorities apply there.

3. Insist on an e-Khata, and check A vs B. Ask for the e-Khata, verify it on the e-Aasthi portal, and confirm whether it's A-khata or B-khata. For a B-khata property, factor in the 5% conversion cost and confirm eligibility before committing.

4. Check tax and betterment charges are fully paid. Unpaid property tax or betterment charges can hold up e-Khata issuance, conversion, and transfer after purchase.

5. For apartments, the OC still matters. The small-plot OC exemption doesn't extend to apartment complexes. Verify the OC for ready-to-move-in projects, and understand the approval status for under-construction ones.

6. Allow extra time for khata transfer on resale. Records migrated between administrative bodies, and some handoffs are still settling. Build a buffer into your timeline, especially if a loan disbursement depends on the transfer.

7. Keep an eye on the December 2026 elections. Elected councils will eventually take over from administrators. That's when corporation-level decisions on budgets, local priorities, and potentially tax could start to diverge.

What This Means If You Already Own Property

• You don't need to do anything just because BBMP became GBA. Your documents remain valid.
• Get an e-Khata if you don't have one. It's becoming the baseline document for any future sale, loan, or approval.
• If you hold a B-khata, evaluate conversion. The discounted window has closed, but conversion at 5% of guidance value may still be worth it if you plan to sell, borrow against the property, or build.
• Pay tax on time. Same portal, same process; the early-payment rebate mechanism continues each year.
• Know your corporation. It's now your first point of contact for civic issues, approvals, and grievances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is my BBMP khata still valid after the switch to GBA? Yes. Existing A-khata and B-khata records carried over to the new corporations. You don't need to re-apply or re-register because of the administrative change.

Q: Has my property tax gone up because of GBA? Not because of the transition itself. The Unit Area Value calculation method continues, and no revision to zones or rates had been notified at the time of writing. Tax is now collected by the corporation covering your property.

Q: Where do I pay property tax and apply for e-Khata now? The same online portals continue to operate. The corporation that handles your property changed; the payment and application channels for owners did not.

Q: Can I still convert a B-khata to an A-khata at 2%? No. The reduced 2% fee was available only during the 100-day window that ended on 23 August 2026. The conversion fee is now 5% of guidance value.

Q: Which corporation is Whitefield in? What about Sarjapur Road? Whitefield, Varthur, Gunjur, Bellandur, and Marathahalli fall under Bengaluru East City Corporation. The Sarjapur Road corridor is split — pockets like Kasavanahalli and HSR Layout fall under Bengaluru South. Locations further out, such as Sarjapur town, lie outside GBA limits entirely. Always verify the specific property's jurisdiction.

Q: Do I still need an Occupancy Certificate? For residential buildings on plots up to 1,200 sq ft with ground plus two floors or stilt plus three floors, the OC requirement has been waived, though plan approval is still required. For apartment complexes and larger buildings, the OC is still mandatory.

Q: When will Bengaluru have elected corporators again? The Supreme Court has directed that elections to all five corporations be held by December 2026, after two earlier deadlines were extended. Until then, the corporations are run by state-appointed officials.

Q: Does GBA replace BDA? No. BDA continues as a separate authority. The GBA is a coordinating body that brings together the five corporations and the city's parastatal agencies, including BDA, on city-wide planning and infrastructure.

Final Word

For most property owners, the move from BBMP to GBA is less disruptive than the headlines suggest: documents remain valid, portals are unchanged, and the tax calculation method is the same. The real shift is jurisdictional — five corporations now each own their slice of the city's khata records, tax collection, and building approvals — and that's where buyers and sellers need to pay attention.

The most consequential changes of the past year sit alongside the transition rather than inside it: the push toward e-Khata, the B-to-A conversion drive (now back at 5%), automated plan approvals through Nambike Nakshe, and the OC exemption for small homes. And the biggest open question — how five elected councils will run their corporations — won't be answered until elections are held.

Until then, the rule of thumb is simple: know which corporation your property falls under, keep your e-Khata and tax records current, and verify jurisdiction before you buy anywhere near the city's edges.

This article is for general information only and reflects publicly available information as of September 2026. It does not constitute legal or financial advice. Rules, fees, and procedures under the Greater Bengaluru Authority and its corporations continue to evolve; verify current requirements with the relevant city corporation, the official e-Aasthi and property tax portals, or a qualified property lawyer before acting.

Published by AnviRealty — Bengaluru's data-driven real estate advisory platform.