Tamil Nadu Regularisation of Unapproved Layouts and Plots Rules, 2017 (go78)
The Housing and Urban Development [UD4(3)] Department issued Government Order G.O. (Ms.) No. 78 dated 4 May 2017, notifying the Tamil Nadu Regularisation of Unapproved Layouts and Plots Rules, 2017. The rules provide a process for regularising eligible unapproved layouts, subdivisions and plots connected with registered sales or title deeds on or before 20 October 2016, while excluding specified categories of land.
What the rules govern
The Tamil Nadu Regularisation of Unapproved Layouts and Plots Rules, 2017 apply to qualifying unapproved layouts, subdivisions and individual plots in urban and rural areas. They are intended to protect purchasers and enable basic infrastructure, while allowing authorities to require wider roads, better circulation and reservations for open space or public purposes where feasible.
Eligibility is based on the following conditions:
- An unapproved layout may be considered if at least part of its plots had been sold through registered sale deeds on or before 20 October 2016.
- All plots, including unsold plots, may be eligible in such a layout.
- An individual plot in a subdivision may qualify if it was registered through a sale deed or title deed on or before 20 October 2016.
- An agreement for sale or General Power of Attorney is not accepted as proof of sale.
Who must apply and where
The Tamil Nadu Regularisation of Unapproved Layouts and Plots Rules, 2017 require eligible individual plot owners and layout promoters to apply online in Form I to the relevant competent authority within six months from commencement of the rules.
For individual plots, the authority is the Commissioner of a City Municipal Corporation or Municipality, the Executive Officer of a Town Panchayat, or the Block Development Officer (Village Panchayats). For layouts in the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area, the authority is the Member-Secretary of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. Different planning authorities or Town and Country Planning Department officers handle layouts elsewhere.
A promoter, registered cooperative society or plot holders' association may apply for a layout where more than two-thirds of the plots were sold before the cut-off date.
Important limits and consequences
The Tamil Nadu Regularisation of Unapproved Layouts and Plots Rules, 2017 do not make every unapproved property eligible. Regularisation is unavailable for:
- Public water bodies, including channels, canals, tanks, lakes and rivers.
- Government poramboke land.
- Open space reservation land, parks or playfields reserved in approved developments.
- Vacant plots that block the only access to surrounding land.
- Land affected by proposed road, rail or street alignments in development plans.
- Encroachments on public roads or land not owned by the applicant.
- Land below high tension or extra high voltage electric line alignments, including tower lines.
Approval of a layout framework does not automatically regularise individual plots. Each plot owner, or the promoter for unsold plots, must apply separately after in-principle approval of the layout framework. Applications must include the required fees and charges, a layout sketch and ownership records such as the sale deed or title deed and available land records.
This summary is generated from the source document to help you find what is relevant. The PDF above is authoritative. For advice on your own property, use LandLens One or speak to a qualified professional.
Common questions
Is my plot eligible if it was bought under a sale agreement before 20 October 2016?
A sale agreement or General Power of Attorney is not accepted as proof of sale. The rules require a registered sale deed or title deed within the applicable cut-off date.
Does regularisation of the whole layout automatically regularise my plot?
No. Regularisation of the layout framework does not automatically regularise individual plots. The plot owner must make a separate application after in-principle approval of the layout framework.
Can a plot on government poramboke land or in a water body be regularised?
No. Plots and layouts located wholly or partly in government poramboke land or public water bodies are not eligible.
What application period did the rules originally provide?
Eligible individual plot owners and layout promoters were required to apply online within six months from the commencement of the rules. The supplied text does not state any later extension or current application period.
