How to Check the Vastu of a Flat Before You Buy: An Apartment Checklist

To check the Vastu of a flat before you buy, get the sanctioned floor plan, turn it so north is at the top, find the centre of the flat, divide it into nine zones and see where the main door, kitchen, toilets and bedrooms fall. Then sort what you find into two piles: what is fixed in a flat (the door, kitchen, toilets and balconies) and what you can still arrange after you move in (room use, furniture, the pooja unit, colour and light). The first pile is what decides the purchase.

About this guide: Vastu Shastra is a traditional Indian system of design. This post describes what Vastu texts and practitioners commonly recommend, and says where they disagree. It does not claim that any placement brings health, wealth or luck: there is no scientific evidence for those outcomes, and people follow them as tradition. The legal and building points are sourced separately and apply whatever you believe.

If you are new to the basics (the eight directions, the five elements, the usual room placements), start with our practical guide to Vastu for a new home. This post is only about flats, and only about the check you do before you sign.

Why a flat is checked differently from a house

When you build a house, you decide where the door and kitchen go. When you buy a flat, those decisions are already set in concrete, plumbing stacks and a sanctioned plan. So the question is not "how should we plan this?" but "can we live with what is fixed, and arrange the rest?"

Most rules people quote were worked out for a house on its own plot. Practitioners adapt them to flats in different ways, especially on two points: which entrance counts, and whether balconies belong inside the grid. Settle both before you visit.

Which entrance counts in a flat

Practitioners differ here.

The flat's own main door. The most common view: your flat's door is your main entrance, because that is where your home begins.
The tower or complex gate as well. Some practitioners also weigh the building entrance and the society gate.
"Facing" by the balcony. In property listings, an "east-facing flat" often means the balcony or the view faces east, not the door. Ask which one the seller means before you compare flats on that basis.

Pick one approach and apply it to every flat you see.

Step 1: Get the right plan, and find north on it

A brochure plan is a marketing drawing. Its north arrow may be missing or schematic, and the plan is printed in whatever orientation fits the page. Towers also often pair flats as mirror images, so your unit may be the flipped version of the one shown.

Use the sanctioned plan instead. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, a promoter registering a project must submit the sanctioned plan, layout plan and specifications (Section 4(2)(d)), must put the project's details on its page of the state RERA authority's website for public viewing (Section 11(1)), and must make the sanctioned plans available at the time of booking by display at the site (Section 11(3)(a)) (RERA Act, Gazette text). Search your state RERA site for the project, download the approved drawings and find the north point on them.

If the sanctioned plan and the brochure disagree about north, go by the sanctioned plan, then confirm on site.

Two versions of the same illustrative 2BHK flat plan. On the left, as printed in a brochure with the north arrow pointing right. On the right, turned so north is at the top, with a three by three grid of Vastu zones and compass bearing ranges overlaid: main door in the East zone, kitchen in the South-East, master bedroom in the South-West and a toilet in the North-East. — How to read a builder's plan: turn it so north is up, find the centre, then see which zone each room falls in. The flat is illustrative. Diagram: MOA

Step 2: Confirm north on site with a phone compass

A phone compass will do, with care. Apple's guidance says the compass's accuracy "can be affected by magnetic or environmental interference" and should be used only for basic navigation (Apple Support). A flat has plenty: steel in the concrete columns and beams, lifts, electrical boards and magnetic phone cases.

Remove any magnetic case or mount, and keep away from columns, grilles, appliances and the electrical panel.
Take three readings in different rooms. If they disagree by more than a few degrees, something is pulling the needle.
Cross-check against the tower's edge or the road on a satellite map.

Should you correct for magnetic declination? In India the difference between magnetic north and true north is small. NOAA's calculator (World Magnetic Model 2025) gives about 0° for Mumbai, 1.3° east for Delhi and 1.1° west for Bengaluru and Chennai in October 2026 (NOAA magnetic field calculator). Each direction zone is 45° wide, so declination only matters for a room that sits right on a boundary. Interference from steel is the bigger risk.

Step 3: Find the centre and overlay the zones

Draw the flat's outline. Practitioners differ on balconies: many leave open balconies out and include enclosed ones. For a rectangle, the centre is where the diagonals cross; for an L-shaped or irregular flat, methods differ, which is a good reason to ask a professional.

Divide the outline into a 3 by 3 grid with north at the top. The nine zones are North-East (Ishanya), East (Indra), South-East (Agneya), South (Yama), South-West (Nairutya), West (Varuna), North-West (Vayavya), North (Kubera) and the centre (Brahmasthan). If you prefer bearings, the eight-direction system gives each direction 45°: North-East runs from 22.5° to 67.5°, East from 67.5° to 112.5°, and so on round the compass. Some practitioners use a finer 16-zone system with different boundaries.

Step 4: Mark what you find, and sort fixed from flexible

Mark each room in its zone. The usual placements, as practitioners generally describe them, are: entrance in the North, East or North-East; kitchen in the South-East, with the North-West as the usual second choice; master bedroom in the South-West; pooja in the North-East; and the centre kept open. Many practitioners flag a toilet in the North-East, the South-West or the centre.

For a buyer, the useful question is which of these you can change later.

Item	Common practitioner preference	Can you change it in a flat?
Main door	North, East or North-East	No. It is on the sanctioned plan and opens onto a common lobby.
Kitchen	South-East, or North-West	Rarely. Gas, water and drain lines are tied to the building's shafts.
Hob within the kitchen	Cook facing East	Sometimes, during a kitchen redo.
Toilets	Not in the North-East, South-West or centre	No. Drainage stacks run through every floor.
Balconies, big windows	Openings to the North and East	No. They are part of the facade.
Master bedroom	South-West	Yes. You choose which room is the master.
Pooja	North-East	Yes. A unit or shelf can go in any room.
Centre	Kept open and uncluttered	Mostly. Furniture can move; walls cannot.

A flat with problems only in the flexible column is easy to live with. One whose door, kitchen or toilets bother you will still bother you after the interiors are done.

Design render of a flat interior: a backlit pooja unit with a circular Om panel and an idol on the left, a perforated screen, an open kitchen with a window in the background, a dining counter and a grey L-shaped sofa in the foreground. — In a flat the kitchen and toilets stay where the builder put them, but loose elements like this pooja unit can be placed where you choose. Design render, 3BHK interiors in Ahmedabad. Image: Divyatanu Dev on MOA

What the law lets you change, before and after possession

In an under-construction flat, the RERA Act lets the promoter make "minor additions or alterations" that an allottee asks for (Section 14(2)(i)). The Act's own explanation excludes anything structural: cutting into or removing any wall, column, beam or floor, and changing a required means of access. It also excludes changes to fixtures or equipment. Small changes may be possible; moving the door or a toilet is not. Any other change to the sanctioned plans of the building needs the written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees (Section 14(2)(ii)).

In a completed flat, the national Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 list works that need no building permit, provided they do not affect structural stability or fire safety. They include painting, flooring, a false ceiling at the permitted height and internal partitions within the bye-laws (clause 2.12.1, MoHUA). These are a national template: your city's rules and your society's bye-laws can be stricter, so check both before you plan any change to walls.

Floor level, shared walls and what is above you

There is no widely agreed Vastu rule on which floor to buy. Two related checks are more consistent, and both are practical too:

What is directly above and below. A common rule is to avoid a kitchen or pooja area directly below a toilet on the floor above. Stacked wet areas are also where leaks appear, so look for damp stains under the upstairs bathrooms.
Shared walls. A bedroom against the lift shaft or a neighbour's toilet is noisy whatever you believe. Ask what is behind each bedroom wall.

Practical checks that apply whatever you believe

Many Vastu preferences overlap with plain good design: morning light, moving air, a clear centre. Check these on every flat:

Daylight and air. The Model Building Bye-Laws set the window and ventilator area of habitable rooms and kitchens at no less than one-tenth of the floor area, more in wetter climates and more again for kitchens, and they treat any part of a room more than 7.5 m from a window as unlit (clause 4.30). A 12 x 10 ft bedroom therefore needs at least 12 sq ft of opening.
Cross-ventilation. Openings on two sides of the flat let air move through.
The paperwork. Compare flats on carpet area, not super built-up area. Our explainer on carpet, built-up and super built-up area shows how. If you are weighing a plot instead of a flat, read our plot due diligence checklist first.

The one-page buyer's checklist

Print this and take it to every site visit. Section 3 is the one that should decide the purchase; section 4 is what you can set after you move in.

A one-page checklist for checking the Vastu of a flat before buying, in five boxes: paper checks before the visit, compass checks on site, fixed items that cannot be changed later, flexible items, and practical checks such as window area and damp. Beside it, a nine-zone grid of common room placements and the compass bearing range for each of the eight directions. — The buyer's checklist in one page: print it, and tick it off on paper and on site. Diagram: MOA

If a flat fails only on flexible items, an interior designer can usually resolve them with room use, furniture and lighting. Our post on fixing Vastu in an existing flat covers some of these design changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is the flat's main door or the building entrance used for Vastu?

Most practitioners use the flat's own main door; some also weigh the tower entrance and the complex gate.

Is a south-facing flat bad as per Vastu?

Practitioners differ. Many prefer North, East or North-East entrances, while others say no direction is bad in itself and judge the whole layout. There is no scientific evidence that door direction affects health or fortune.

Can I check Vastu from the brochure alone?

Only roughly. Use the sanctioned plan from your state RERA website, and confirm north on site.

Does a mirror-image flat have different Vastu?

Yes. Flipping a plan moves rooms into different zones: a kitchen in the South-East in one unit can sit in the South-West in its mirror image. Check the exact unit you are buying.

Want a second opinion before you sign? Find an architect on MOA to read the sanctioned plan with you, or an interior designer on MOA who can plan the flat with Vastu in mind.

Sources

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, Gazette text (Sections 4(2)(d), 11(1), 11(3)(a), 14(2) and its Explanation) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, TCPO: Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 (clause 2.12.1 on alterations needing no permit; clause 4.30 on lighting and ventilation of rooms) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: Magnetic Field Calculators (declination for Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai, World Magnetic Model 2025, October 2026) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
Apple Support: Use the compass on iPhone (accuracy and interference) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)

Related on MOA

Vastu Remedies Without Demolition: What You Can Change in an Existing Home