How to verify property documents in Pakistan before you pay a rupee

Most property fraud in Pakistan is not sophisticated. It is a forged fard, a plot sold twice, a file that was never allotted, or a seller who is not the owner. Every one of those is caught by a check that costs nothing and takes an afternoon. This is the list.

Kothi will never ask you to pay anything to "secure" a property, and neither will an authorised Kothi agency. If anyone does, stop.

First, know which kind of property it is

The documents differ, so start here.

• Revenue land — land recorded by the provincial revenue department: agricultural land, old urban areas, anything not inside a private or authority scheme. Ownership lives in the fard and moves by mutation.
• Registered urban property — houses and plots in LDA/KDA/CDA-approved schemes and most of the city. Ownership is proved by a registered sale deed (registry) at the sub-registrar.
• Society property — DHA, Bahria Town, and private societies that keep their own register. Ownership is the society's allotment/transfer letter; the society's record is what matters, and its NDC is what clears a sale.

A single property can involve two of these — a Bahria plot that also has a registered deed, for instance. Check every register the property appears in.

1. The fard (فرد) — revenue land

The fard is an extract from the revenue record showing the owner's name, the khasra (survey) number, the area, and the share. Two things to know:

• Ask for a fresh fard-e-malkiat issued in the last few weeks, not a photocopy from a file. A fard is only as good as its date.
• In Punjab, every fard now carries a QR code. Scan it, or enter its number, on the Punjab Land Records Authority portal (punjab-zameen.gov.pk / onlinefard). If the portal says record not found, the document is a forgery. Do not accept an explanation.

Check that the area on the fard matches what you are buying, and that the seller's CNIC matches the owner's name on it. A "share" (hissa) rather than a whole means co-owners — every one of them has to sign.

2. The mutation (intiqal) — has ownership actually moved?

A sale deed is a contract; the mutation is the revenue department updating its register to the new owner. A property that was "bought" but never mutated still shows the old owner in the fard — and the old owner can, in practice, sell it again.

Ask for the mutation number and check it on the PLRA portal. If the seller bought recently and there is no mutation yet, wait for it before you pay.

3. The registry (sale deed) — urban property

For registered property, ask for the original registered sale deed and note the sub-registrar office, registration number and date. Then:

• Look the registration up at that sub-registrar's office (in Punjab, through the e-Registration record). Confirm the deed exists, for that property, in the seller's name.
• Check the chain: the seller's deed should be from the previous owner's deed, and so on. A chain with a gap — a link that is "lost" — is where disputes live.
• Ask for the non-encumbrance certificate or search for charges. The PLRA record does not show mortgages, court stays or liens; the sub-registrar's search does.

4. The society's record — DHA, Bahria and private schemes

Inside a society, the society's word is the ownership. Take the seller's allotment letter or transfer letter to the society's transfer/record office and have them verify:

• the plot number, size and phase match the letter;
• the letter is genuine and current — societies re-issue letters; an old one may have been superseded by a transfer;
• there are no dues and no objection on the file. This is the No Demand Certificate (NDC). In DHA Lahore the NDC is the first step of any transfer and nothing moves without it.

Then the questions specific to societies:

• Is it a plot or a file? A file is an allocation that has not yet been assigned a plot number. It has a price, but no ground. Understand which you are buying, and what it will cost to convert.
• Possession or non-possession? A plot in a phase that is not yet developed may be sold "non-possession". You cannot build, and there may be development charges still to pay. Confirm both.
• Is the society itself approved? For a private society, check that the scheme has the development authority's NOC (LDA, RDA, CDA…) and that the phase you are buying in is inside the approved area. Many disputed societies are approved for one phase and selling five.

5. The person in front of you

• CNIC — original, and it matches the name on every document. For an overseas owner, the NICOP and a registered power of attorney (attested by the Pakistani mission abroad and verified locally).
• Power of attorney — if someone is selling on the owner's behalf, the attorney document must be registered, specific to this property, and still in force. A general "I can sell anything" attorney is a red flag; so is one where the owner cannot be reached by phone or video.
• Legal heirs — an inherited property needs the succession certificate or the society's legal-heir transfer done first. Buying from "one of the brothers" is buying a lawsuit.

6. The physical check

Go to the plot. Measure it, or have it measured. Compare the neighbours' numbers with the plot number on the letter. Ask the neighbours who owns it. Look for a possession marker or a boundary wall built by someone else. Five minutes on site has ended more fraud than any document.

What an authorised agency does here

Every area on Kothi is held by one agency, authorised after Kothi checked its NTN, FBR registration and — for DHA and Bahria — its dealer registration with that authority. That agency has one interest: closing clean deals in the area it keeps. It should be able to walk you to the society office, know the file's history, and tell you which phase has possession. If it cannot, ask why.

Questions people ask

Q: How do I check a fard online in Punjab?

On the Punjab Land Records Authority portal or the Punjab Zameen app: enter the fard number or scan its QR code. A genuine fard shows the owner, khasra number and area; a forged one returns "record not found".

Q: What is the difference between a registry and a mutation?

The registry (sale deed) is the registered contract of sale. The mutation (intiqal) is the revenue department updating its ownership record to the buyer. For revenue land you need both; a deed without a mutation leaves the old owner on the record.

Q: What is an NDC?

A No Demand Certificate — the housing society's confirmation that a plot has no outstanding dues or objections. It is required before any transfer in DHA, Bahria Town and most societies, and it is what stops you buying a plot with a lien on it.

Q: What is a "file" in DHA or Bahria?

An allocation right that has not yet been tied to a numbered plot. It trades at a price but has no ground; it becomes a plot on balloting or allotment, sometimes with further charges. Know which you are buying.

Q: Does the PLRA record show mortgages or court cases?

No. It shows ownership. Charges, liens and stay orders are checked at the sub-registrar's office and, for a society plot, on the society's file.

Sources: Punjab Land Records Authority guidance on online fard and e-registration; DHA Lahore transfer guidance (NDC, verification); practitioner guides from ASR Law Associates and Haystone Legal. As of September 2026.