How to buy a plot in Ayodhya: step-by-step

Most first-time buyers in Ayodhya do the steps in the wrong order: they find a plot, pay a token, and only then start asking about the papers. This guide puts the checks first. It is written for someone buying a residential plot with their own money, whether from Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai or abroad.

Step 1: Pick a locality before a plot

A plot is only as good as its road and its land use. Start from the locality pages on this site rather than from a listing: each one shows the circle rate, the asking range, the master-plan land use and the distances to the anchors that move prices in Ayodhya.

Faizabad Road, for example, is 4.7 km (about 18 min by road) from the Ram Mandir and 3.3 km (about 25 min by road) from the airport. Civil Lines is closer to the airport at 2.7 km (about 20 min by road) but sits in a higher price band.

Step 2: Read the circle rate and the asking price together

The circle rate is the floor the government uses for stamp duty. The asking price is what the seller wants. Stamp duty is charged on whichever is higher, so the gap between the two tells you how much of the price is location premium and how much is tax base.

₹12,000 per sq m

Residential

₹24,000 per sq m

Commercial

₹45,00,000 per hectare

Agricultural

SourceFull circle-rate table →

Two rules of thumb from twelve years of doing this:

• If the asking price is far above the circle rate, the seller is pricing in a project or a road that may or may not happen. Ask which one, then check its status on the project page.
• If the asking price is close to the circle rate, ask why. Interior access, a dispute, or agricultural land use are the usual answers.

Step 3: The checks before the token

Do these before any money changes hands, including a token. A seller who objects to these checks is telling you something.

Before you pay a rupee

• Khatauni. The seller's name is on the current khatauni for the exact khasra number, and the land category is not Gram Sabha, ceiling surplus or otherwise non-transferable.
• Encumbrance. A 13-year search at the sub-registrar's office shows no loan, lien, attachment or pending sale against the plot.
• Mutation. The last sale is already mutated in the revenue record. If it is not, the seller fixes it before you sign, not after.
• Land use. The plot is residential in the ADA master plan, or you have priced in the conversion under Section 80.
• RERA. If the plot is part of a plotted development above the size threshold, the project has a UP RERA number and the plot is inside the registered layout.
• Site visit. Someone has walked the plot with the khasra map, in person or on video, and the boundaries on the ground match the map.

Step 4: Token, agreement and payment

Pay a token only against a written receipt that names the khasra number, the agreed price, the sale-deed date and the refund terms. The agreement to sell should be on stamp paper and, for anything above a small amount, registered.

Pay through banking channels. Cash above the legal limit is a problem for you, not just for the seller, and it leaves no trail if the deal falls through.

Step 5: Registry and mutation

The sale deed is signed at the sub-registrar's office with two witnesses. Stamp duty and the registration fee are paid before the appointment; use the calculator on the circle-rate page for the amount, and budget for the brokerage agreed in writing at the start.

Registration is not the end. File for mutation (dakhil-kharij) in the revenue record straight after, and keep the certified copy of the deed, the mutation order and the fresh khatauni together. The next buyer will ask for all three.

What is moving prices right now

Projects matter more than promises. This one is the reason most sellers on the airport side quote what they quote:

Check the status chip before you believe a timeline. "Announced" and "under construction" are very different prices.