Why a glossary?
Indian property conversations move fast — between MahaRERA, your bank, the builder, the broker, and the sub-registrar, you will hear two dozen acronyms in any first call. This page is the plain-English version. We update it as the regulation, taxes, and Pune market practice change.
Jump to a letter
A
- Allotment letter
- A formal letter from the builder confirming the unit allotted to you after booking. Issued before the sale agreement and contains unit number, carpet area, price schedule, and possession target.
- Agreement value
- The price recorded on the registered sale deed. Stamp duty and registration fees are charged on this value (or the ready reckoner rate, whichever is higher).
- Amenity charges
- Society / project charges for clubhouse, garden, security, lifts, etc. Distinct from maintenance.
- Approved layout / plan
- Municipal-corporation (PMC / PCMC / Collector) sanctioned layout. Always confirm in the model sale agreement.
- Aundh-Baner-Balewadi (ABB) belt
- A cluster of premium-to-mid west-Pune corridors that share buyers, schools, and IT proximity.
B
- BHK
- Bedroom-Hall-Kitchen. 2 BHK means two bedrooms plus a living and a kitchen. Used for residential sizing.
- Booking amount
- Initial payment — usually 5–10% of the agreement value — that confirms the unit allotment.
- Builder floor
- A flat that occupies the entire floor of a low-rise building. Uncommon in Pune flats, common in row villas.
C
- Carpet area
- Usable internal floor area, wall-to-wall, excluding common walls. RERA-defined and the only metric you should price on.
- Conveyance deed
- Final transfer of project land + common areas from builder to the society. Pending conveyance is a serious red flag for resale.
- CC / OC
- Commencement Certificate (right to start construction) and Occupancy Certificate (right to inhabit). Demand both before final payment.
- Common areas
- Lobbies, lifts, staircases, terraces, clubhouse, security cabins — owned proportionally by every flat owner.
D
- DLC / Reckoner rate
- Maharashtra Ready Reckoner rate is the government-notified minimum value used for stamp duty calculation.
- Down payment plan
- Builder offers a discount when you pay 90–95% upfront within 45–60 days of booking instead of staged construction-linked instalments.
E
- EMI
- Equated monthly instalment on a home loan. EMI × 60 months is a useful rough cap for affordability stress-tests.
- Encumbrance certificate
- Sub-registrar document showing all charges / mortgages / liens against a property over a specified period.
- Escrow account
- A RERA-mandated 70% project escrow that the builder cannot withdraw outside construction milestones. A signal of compliance.
F
- FSI / FAR
- Floor Space Index. Permitted built-up area as a multiple of the plot area. Pune FSI varies by ward and TOD policy — affects redevelopment economics.
- Furnishing levels
- Bare-shell (no fittings), semi-furnished (kitchen + bathroom + cupboards), fully-furnished (move-in). Always written into the rental agreement.
G
- GST on under-construction property
- 5% on premium homes / 1% on affordable, with no input tax credit. Does not apply to ready-to-move with OC.
- Gut Number
- Maharashtra revenue plot number used in 7/12 land records.
H
- Home loan eligibility
- Banks usually lend 60–80% of agreement value, capped at ~60x monthly take-home with EMI ≤ 50% of income.
- Hinjewadi Phases
- Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park has Phases I–III; pricing, occupation, and metro access differ across phases.
I
- Indemnity bond
- Buyer/seller affidavit accepting liability for any defect or claim against title at signing.
- IT corridor
- Hinjewadi + Kharadi-EON + Magarpatta + Yerwada Commerzone — the IT/GCC employment belt that drives demand in those corridors.
L
- Lease deed
- For rentals 12+ months in Maharashtra. Must be registered; stamp duty is 0.25% of total rent + deposit.
- Loan eligibility certificate
- Bank-issued pre-approval letter useful for booking and negotiation.
M
- MahaRERA
- Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Every project over 500 sq.m or 8 units must register. Use maharerait.maharashtra.gov.in to verify.
- Maintenance
- Recurring society fees for upkeep. Typically ₹3–6 / sq.ft / month in Pune, higher in luxury projects.
- Model sale agreement
- Standardised MahaRERA-mandated contract template. Clause 15A specifies brokerage in writing.
O
- Occupancy Certificate (OC)
- Municipal sign-off that the building is fit for occupation. No OC = no utility connections, no resale clarity. Non-negotiable.
- Outgoings
- Property tax, society maintenance, water tax, NMC charges — total recurring ownership cost.
P
- Pre-EMI
- Interest-only payments during construction. Switches to full EMI on possession.
- Possession date
- Builder-committed move-in date. Always reference the RERA-registered date, not the brochure.
- Power of Attorney (PoA)
- Common for NRI buyers. Specific PoA for property registration, not general. Notarised + apostilled.
- PCMC vs PMC
- Two municipal corporations covering Pune. PCMC = Pimpri-Chinchwad belt; PMC = central Pune. Different ready reckoner rates and approvals.
R
- Ready reckoner rate
- See "DLC / Reckoner rate".
- Rental yield
- Annual rent ÷ purchase value × 100. Pune residential typically 2.5–3.5%; commercial 6–9%.
- Resale depth
- How easy it is to exit a property — number of buyers, days on market, price-band liquidity.
- Right of refusal
- Pre-emptive option for an existing tenant or co-owner before a third-party sale.
S
- Sale deed
- Final ownership transfer document, registered at the sub-registrar office.
- Stamp duty
- Maharashtra: 5% (men) / 4% (women / joint) of agreement or reckoner value. Pune municipality adds 1% surcharge.
- Super built-up area
- Carpet + walls + proportional share of common areas. Banned for pricing under RERA but still used informally.
T
- 7/12 extract
- Maharashtra land-record document showing ownership and rights for agricultural / converted plots. Mandatory for plotted developments.
- TDR
- Transfer of Development Rights. Pune uses TDR loading for additional FSI in TOD and metro corridor zones.
- Title search
- 30-year search at the sub-registrar office to confirm clean chain of ownership.
U
- UDS
- Undivided share — the buyer's proportional share of project land. Critical for high-rise apartments.
- Under-construction discount
- Typical 8–15% lower than ready-to-move comparable. Trade-off: GST applicable + handover risk.
W
- Water charges
- PMC/PCMC water connection cost (₹50,000–1,50,000 per flat) + monthly tank/borewell charges.
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