Agricultural Land Buying Rules in India, State by State

A software engineer in Bengaluru can buy forty acres of farmland an hour outside the city without owning a single existing field. The same person, with the same money, cannot buy a quarter acre in Pune, Ahmedabad or Shimla. Farmland is not one market with one rulebook — it is two dozen state rulebooks, and the gap decides whether your purchase is a deed or a dispute.

This is the resident buyer's guide: who may buy where, how much, what conversion costs, and the four records that decide whether the land is really the seller's.

Key takeaways

• Karnataka opened up in 2020. The Land Reforms (Amendment) Act deleted Sections 79A, 79B and 79C, ending the agriculturist-only rule and the income bar.
• Maharashtra and Gujarat still restrict sale to agriculturists under Section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy Act 1948, subject to the Collector's permission. Maharashtra lifted that bar in 2016 for land inside planning-authority limits already zoned non-agricultural; Gujarat allows a non-farmer purchase for a bona fide industrial purpose under Section 63AA.
• Himachal Pradesh needs state government permission under Section 118 of its 1972 Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, and grants it sparingly.
• Ceilings run from about 12.5 acres in Uttar Pradesh to 54 acres and beyond in the drier classes of land in other states. Buying past the ceiling can mean the surplus vests in the state.
• Conversion charges are not one number and not even one basis. Karnataka charges 2% of guidance value for residential use and 3% for commercial, Bihar 10% of value, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh a per-square-metre slab. An unconverted plot cannot legally carry a house, a warehouse or a resort.

The three groups of states

Treat the ceiling column as an indication, not gospel. Almost every state states its ceiling in "standard acres" or "units" that vary by soil class and irrigation, so ten units of dry land and ten of irrigated land are wildly different areas. Tamil Nadu shows it best: 15 standard acres for a family of five works out nearer 60 ordinary acres on poor dry land, which is why you see both figures quoted and both are right. Get the local number from the tehsildar.

Karnataka after 2020

The most consequential change of the last decade. Section 79A had barred anyone with non-agricultural income above Rs 25 lakh a year; Section 79B barred non-agriculturists outright. Both are gone, with Section 79C's declaration requirement, and ceilings doubled at the same time.

The effect around Bengaluru shows in price rather than volume: land within an hour of the ORR that once traded on informal arrangements now trades on registered sale deeds, and the discount that used to pay for that risk has largely closed.

Himachal's Section 118

Section 118 is the strictest provision in the country and wider than most buyers assume: it catches any non-agriculturist, including a Himachali who does not farm, not only outsiders. Such a person cannot buy land in Himachal without the state government's prior permission. Permission is granted for defined purposes — industry, a tourism unit, an institution — with conditions and a deadline for that use. Buying through a local proxy is benami, and the land is liable to vest in the state.

Ceilings, and what happens if you cross one

Ceiling legislation exists in every state and caps holdings per family, not per person. A family of five is the standard unit, with a supplement for extra members up to a hard maximum.

Exceeding the ceiling brings no fine. The surplus is declared and vests in the state for redistribution, against compensation set decades ago and worth almost nothing now. Splitting the purchase across relatives afterwards does not help — most Acts void such transfers.

Converting to non-agricultural use

Agricultural land may only be used for agriculture. A farmhouse, warehouse, school or plotted colony on unconverted land is an unauthorised structure on an unmortgageable plot — no bank funds a house on farmland.

1. Apply to the Collector or the town and country planning department for conversion or change of land use, depending on whether the plot falls inside a planning area.
2. Attach the record of rights, survey sketch, mutation entry, encumbrance certificate and the tehsildar's no-objection.
3. Pay the conversion fee on your own state's basis: Karnataka takes guidance value by area at 2% residential and 3% commercial, Rajasthan the higher of Rs 10 per sq m or 10% of DLC rate on commercial conversion, Bihar 10% of value, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh a per-square-metre slab. Never budget off a percentage quoted for another state.
4. Obtain the order and get the revenue record updated to the new classification.

Timelines run from two months to over a year. Inside a controlled area the separate change-of-land-use route applies, and our guide to the CLU certificate sets out that process and its charges.

"Conversion is a formality" is the most expensive sentence in Indian land buying. It gets refused when the plot sits in a green belt or a reserved zone, has no approach road of the required width, or falls in a canal or forest buffer. Ask to see the zoning first.

Where the position is genuinely unsettled

Three caveats, because farmland rules move faster than the articles about them.

• Haryana. Published guides split on whether a non-agriculturist may buy directly. The ceiling Acts do not obviously bar it and purchases happen, but have a local advocate confirm it before you pay.
• Uttarakhand. The February 2025 amendment is recent and its rules are still settling. Confirm any figure you read, the 250 sq m allowance included, at the tehsil.
• Ceilings. Several states have amended their ceiling Acts in favour of industrial buyers in the last decade, so a two-year-old article's number often is not the number.

The records that decide whether the seller owns it

• The record of rights. 7/12 or Satbara in Maharashtra and Gujarat, RTC or Pahani in Karnataka, Jamabandi or Fard in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, Khatauni in Uttar Pradesh. It names the holder, extent, crop and any noted encumbrance.
• Mutation. The intkal entry recording the transfer into the current holder's name. A sale deed without one is a common and dangerous gap.
• The survey record. The tippan or measurement sketch, plus a fresh demarcation by the licensed surveyor. Boundary disputes are the commonest farmland litigation and paper acreage rarely matches the ground.
• The encumbrance certificate for at least thirteen years, and the chain of prior deeds.

Our explainer on Jamabandi and Fard covers the north Indian record, and since sellers quote area in bighas, guntas, cents and kanals by district, keep our reference on land measurement units in India open while you compare quotes. A bigha is not a fixed area.

Four checks buyers usually skip

1. Tenancy entries. A tenant's name in the record can carry occupancy rights that survive the sale.
2. Land class. Any part recorded as government, forest, gairan, inam or assigned land cannot validly be transferred.
3. Acquisition notices. Check for a Section 4 or 11 notification for a highway, canal or industrial corridor.
4. Access. A landlocked field with only a customary path is worth far less than the per-acre price suggests, and conversion will be refused.

If you are not a resident Indian

None of the above applies to non-residents. Under FEMA an NRI or OCI cannot purchase agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse at all, whatever a state's rules say — inheritance is the only ordinary route. That case is set out in our guide to whether an NRI can buy agricultural land in India.

FAQ

Can a salaried person buy agricultural land in India?

In Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, yes, subject to the ceiling. In Maharashtra, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, not without permission or agriculturist status. In Uttarakhand, not in 11 of the 13 districts since February 2025. Haryana is usually treated as open, but sources conflict, so confirm it locally.

What is an agriculturist certificate and how do I get one?

A revenue department certificate confirming you or your ancestors hold or held agricultural land. In the restricted states it is produced from existing revenue records, not obtained by declaring an intention to farm.

Can I build a farmhouse on agricultural land?

Only where state rules allow a small dwelling incidental to farming, within the prescribed size limit. Anything larger needs conversion first, and building without it leaves an unauthorised structure no bank will fund.

Will a bank lend against agricultural land?

Not as a home loan. Agricultural credit against land exists through banks and cooperative societies for farm purposes; a housing or plot loan on unconverted farmland does not.

How long does conversion take?

Two to twelve months in practice, depending on the state and whether the plot falls inside a planning area. Budget the conversion fee as part of your purchase cost rather than an afterthought, and get the figure for your own state — the basis differs, from 2% of guidance value in Karnataka to a flat per-square-metre slab in Haryana.

Before you pay a rupee

Read the record of rights yourself, get the boundary demarcated, and get the state's answer on eligibility in writing from a local advocate before any token changes hands. If you are weighing farmland against a plot in a sanctioned Delhi NCR colony, talk it through with us at Realty Hunting first.