Authorities Made Easy: Building Permission and Land Conversion in Hyderabad (2026 Guide)

To build a house in Hyderabad you need two separate things: a clean land record from the Revenue Department, and a building permission from the municipal corporation or development authority for your area. Both are now online, and for an ordinary house on a plot of up to 500 sq m the building permission can be issued instantly on self-certification.

What has changed is the map. The building portal is now BuildNow, not TG-bPASS; land records are on Bhu Bharati, not Dharani; and GHMC has grown and then been split in three. If you last looked in 2024, most of the names you remember are out of date.

First question: which authority approves your building?

Since 2025 there are four possible answers.

• Core Urban Region (CURE): the government extended GHMC on 3 December 2025 to take in 27 neighbouring urban local bodies, and on 11 February 2026, by G.O.Ms.No.55, split that enlarged area into three corporations: Cyberabad (Serilingampally, Kukatpally and Qutbullapur zones), Malkajgiri (Malkajgiri, Uppal and L.B. Nagar zones) and a smaller GHMC (Shamshabad, Rajendranagar, Charminar, Golconda, Khairatabad and Secunderabad zones). G.O.Ms.No.45 of 5 February 2026, issued six days before the split, gave the municipal corporation the power to approve buildings of up to 10 floors anywhere in CURE, and left taller buildings and all layouts with HMDA. The same GO applies the GHMC building rules and fee structure across the whole of CURE. Both GOs are on the BuildNow GOs and Acts page, and the zone list for each corporation is on HYDRAA's asset protection page.
• The wider HMDA region: by G.O.Ms.No.68 of 12 March 2025, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region now runs out to the planned Regional Ring Road plus a buffer of up to 2 km beyond it, about 10,473 sq km covering 1,355 revenue villages in 11 districts, according to the HMDA website. HMDA's DPMS page says permissions in gram panchayats within HMDA limits moved to the state online system from 24 April 2024; only change of land use still goes to HMDA.
• The Future City area: 56 revenue villages in Rangareddy district, about 765 sq km, were placed under a new Future City Development Authority (FCDA) by G.O.Ms.No.69 of 12 March 2025. It lies beyond the ORR between the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar highways.
• Elsewhere in Telangana: the local body, with the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) where it has jurisdiction.

If a seller cannot tell you which of these applies, treat that as a warning sign. Our plot due diligence checklist covers the other checks to run before you pay.

The rulebook that applies in Hyderabad

Two documents matter. The Telangana State Building Permission Approval and Self-Certification System Act, 2020 (Act 12 of 2020, published in the Telangana Gazette on 19 September 2020) sets up the self-certification system and its thresholds. The Telangana Building Rules, 2012 (G.O.Ms.No.168, dated 7 April 2012, as amended) set the setbacks, heights and other parameters. Both are on the BuildNow GOs and Acts page. For what setbacks and FAR mean in practice, start with our explainer on setbacks, FAR and height limits.

Step one: read the land record on Bhu Bharati

Dharani is gone. The Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 came into effect on 14 April 2025 and superseded the 2020 law behind Dharani (The South First). The new Bhu Bharati portal went live the next day and the Dharani portal was deactivated, as Deccan Chronicle reported. The same report says the Act provides a tiered appeal route through the RDO, the Collector and a land tribunal.

Before you pay anything, run two free checks on the portal:

• Know land status: search by survey number or passbook number and read the pattadar's name, the extent and the nature of the land. If it still reads agricultural, step two applies.
• Prohibited properties: a survey number on this list cannot be freely sold or transferred.

Step two: land conversion (NALA), if the land is agricultural

Converting agricultural land is still governed by the Telangana Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2006, known as the NALA Act, which requires a conversion tax before agricultural land is put to non-agricultural use. The Act is listed on the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration's Acts page. Unlike Maharashtra and Karnataka, Telangana has not folded conversion into building approval: we found no 2025 or 2026 amendment that does so in the official sources we checked.

What has changed is where you file. Conversion is now applied for on Bhu Bharati, which offers an "Application for NALA" service, a version for land without a passbook, and an "Application for Pending NALA" for land converted before Bhu Bharati that still shows as agricultural. According to the official FAQ, the system calculates and shows the NALA charges to be paid before you book a slot, so take the figure from the portal rather than from a rate someone quotes you. The BuildNow timelines page lists NALA conversion by the Revenue Department at 14 days when it runs alongside a building file.

Conversion and permission remain separate: a NALA order is not a building permission, and a building permission does not convert your land record.

Step three: building permission on BuildNow

BuildNow is now the portal for building and layout applications within GHMC, HMDA and DTCP limits. Its notice told applicants to submit pending TG-bPASS applications by 15 December 2025, after which the TG-bPASS portal would close permanently. The tiers still come from the 2020 Act.

The thresholds come from section 7 of the Act and the TG-bPASS information page, and the timelines from BuildNow. The BuildNow flow chart splits the instant tier at 200 sq m: larger plots up to 500 sq m, with up to stilt plus three or ground plus two floors, are approved instantly but with a mortgage. Its checklist asks for a front-side site photograph and your sale deed with link documents, and for a plot in an unapproved layout, a document registered before 26 August 2020.

Self-certification makes the approval fast, and it puts the risk on you. Section 7 of the Act says the onus to ensure the self-certification is authentic lies with the applicant, who is personally accountable for a false declaration. The owner also signs an undertaking that construction in violation of the sanctioned plan can be demolished without any notice. That is why the architect who prepares your drawings matters: they are the one making sure that certificate is true. If you are planning a 30x40 or similar plot, our guide to what you can build on a small plot shows how the rules shape it.

Lakes, nalas and HYDRAA

The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) was set up by G.O.Ms.No.99 and covers the whole of CURE, all three corporations. Its about page lists protecting lakes, nalas and public land from encroachment as a core function. The rules it enforces come from the Building Rules, 2012, as BuildNow's line departments page sets out:

• No building in the bed of a river or nala, or in the FTL of any lake, pond, cheruvu or kunta.
• A buffer zone with no building of 30 m from the FTL of lakes of 10 hectares or more, and 9 m for smaller lakes and for nalas wider than 10 m. Narrower nalas need 2 m.
• The FTL is the one measured and certified by the Irrigation and Revenue departments, which also give the FTL NOC on a building file (10 days each, per BuildNow).

Before you buy near water, look up the lake on the HMDA lakes portal, which lists preliminary and final FTL notifications and the survey numbers affected. A January 2026 order, G.O.Ms.No.16, added a rule granting transferable development rights for land affected by FTL, maximum flood level and buffer zones, with their use within CURE, so owners of such land have a route other than building on it.

Layout regularisation (LRS) and BRS

If the plot is in an unapproved layout, it needs regularising before it can get a building permission. The Layout Regularization Scheme 2020 (G.O.Ms.No.131, 31 August 2020) is the scheme in force, and its FAQ says plainly that without regularisation no building permission will be given. In 2026 the state offered a 25 per cent rebate on LRS fees for people who applied in 2020 and still had dues to pay. It opened on 1 May and was due to close on 31 July (Deccan Chronicle, 27 July 2026), and was then extended to 30 November 2026 (Deccan Chronicle, 31 July 2026). We found only press reports of the extension, not the order, so confirm it on the LRS portal. We found no Building Regularisation Scheme (BRS) window open for new applications in October 2026.

Step four: the Occupancy Certificate

BuildNow's published timelines set out when you need an Occupancy Certificate (OC):

• Residential buildings on plots up to 200 sq m and up to 7 m high: not required.
• Residential buildings on plots of 200 to 500 sq m, 7 to 10 m high: issued instantly.
• Larger residential buildings and all non-residential buildings: 21 days.

The Act also exempts the 75 sq yd tier from an OC. The TG-bPASS site notes that permissions are post-verified, so build exactly to the sanctioned plan. For a realistic budget once approvals are in hand, see our Hyderabad construction cost breakdown.

The sequence, in one place

1. Pull the land record on Bhu Bharati: owner, extent, nature of land, and the prohibited properties list.
2. Check for any lake or nala nearby on the HMDA lakes portal.
3. Work out the authority: one of the three CURE corporations, the wider HMDA region, FCDA or a DTCP area.
4. If the plot is in an unapproved layout, regularise it under LRS first.
5. If the land is agricultural, apply for NALA conversion on Bhu Bharati.
6. Appoint an architect or licensed technical person to prepare the drawings and file on BuildNow.
7. Build exactly to the sanctioned plan, then apply for the OC if your building needs one.

Frequently asked questions

Is TG-bPASS still working in Hyderabad?

The law is, the portal is not. The TG-bPASS Act, 2020 still sets the self-certification tiers, but new applications go through BuildNow, and BuildNow's notice said the TG-bPASS portal would close permanently after 15 December 2025.

Is Dharani still used for land records in Telangana?

No. Bhu Bharati replaced it on 14 April 2025, and land status, the prohibited properties list and NALA conversion are now on the Bhu Bharati portal.

Is my plot under GHMC, Cyberabad or Malkajgiri?

It depends on the zone. Cyberabad has Serilingampally, Kukatpally and Qutbullapur; Malkajgiri has Malkajgiri, Uppal and L.B. Nagar; GHMC keeps the other six zones, including Charminar, Khairatabad and Secunderabad.

Can I build on land in a lake buffer zone if I have a sale deed?

No. Ownership does not lift the rule: no building is allowed in the FTL or the buffer zone. A January 2026 rule allows transferable development rights for such land, which is the legal way to get value from it.

You can browse architects practising in Hyderabad on MOA, see their published work and message them directly, with no commission on either side.

Sources

• BuildNow, Government of Telangana: GOs and Acts, including the TS-bPASS Act 2020 (Act 12 of 2020), G.O.Ms.No.168 (2012), G.O.Ms.No.68 and 69 (12 Mar 2025), G.O.Ms.No.16 (16 Jan 2026), G.O.Ms.No.45 (5 Feb 2026) and G.O.Ms.No.55 (11 Feb 2026) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• BuildNow: home page notices, timelines, flow chart, checklist and line departments (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• TG-bPASS: building permission categories (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• HMDA: jurisdiction and DPMS notice on gram panchayat permissions (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• HMDA: lakes and FTL notifications (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Revenue Department, Telangana: Bhu Bharati FAQ and portal services (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Telangana: Acts, including the NALA Act 2006 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• HYDRAA: about the agency and asset protection wing and corporation zones (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Government of Telangana: Layout Regularization Scheme 2020 portal and FAQs (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• The South First: Bhu Bharathi replacing Dharani comes into effect in Telangana (15 Apr 2025) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Deccan Chronicle: Bhu Bharati portal goes live, replaces Dharani (16 Apr 2025) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Deccan Chronicle: Land regularisation scheme with 25% rebate ends on July 31 (27 Jul 2026) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
• Deccan Chronicle: Telangana extends 25% LRS rebate deadline to November 30 (31 Jul 2026) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)

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