The Chief Minister's Office of Karnataka on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, shared a statement from Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announcing that the state government intends to introduce legislation to protect the legal, humanitarian and civic rights of flat owners, citing persistent complaints about e-Khata delays, property tax confusion, building approval backlogs and poor inter-departmental coordination.

Context

In the post, DK Shivakumar acknowledged a surge of grievances from apartment buyers across Karnataka. Translated from Kannada, his statement reads: 'e-Khata manjoratiyalli vilamb, asti terigege sambandisida gondalaggalu...' — 'There are numerous complaints about delays in e-Khata approvals, confusion related to property tax, delays in building approvals, lack of timely response to flat owners' complaints, and poor coordination between departments.' He noted that people who have spent 20 to 30 years of savings to buy a home are unable to live in peace even after purchase and are struggling to retain what they bought.

Shivakumar added that protests had been held over these issues, and that the government would hold a comprehensive discussion with flat owners' associations the same day to work out solutions.

Policy Backdrop

Karnataka notified state rules under the central Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, establishing RERA Karnataka in 2017 to regulate real-estate projects and protect allottees. Despite this framework, apartment buyers have continued to flag gaps in documentation, civic approvals and grievance redressal.

The state's e-Khata digital property records system — rolled out in phases from 2019 by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Revenue Department — was designed to eliminate manual delays. However, implementation bottlenecks have generated a fresh wave of complaints, particularly from flat and apartment owners who require e-Khata certificates for property transactions and tax payments.

Stakeholders and Impact

Flat owners' associations across Karnataka's major cities have organised protests demanding faster documentation, transparent property tax assessments and structured channels for raising complaints with urban local bodies such as BBMP and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The proposed legislation, if enacted, would create statutory protections and potentially a dedicated grievance forum for this segment of home buyers.

Karnataka's move mirrors steps taken by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which have enacted apartment ownership laws and statutory forums for flat-owner grievances. A dedicated law would go beyond RERA's project-level regulation to address ongoing civic and administrative issues that arise after possession.

What's Next

The immediate step flagged by Shivakumar is the consultative meeting with flat owners' associations, where the contours of the proposed law are expected to be discussed. Observers will watch whether a draft bill is tabled in the monsoon or winter session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

A critical question is how the new law will structure coordination between the Revenue Department, BBMP and BDA — the three agencies whose overlapping jurisdictions are at the heart of most flat-owner complaints. The outcome of today's consultations is likely to shape the bill's scope and timeline.