Secure Your Indian Property Investment with Evidence-Led Intelligence

A non-resident Indian (NRI, an Indian citizen living abroad) and an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI, a foreign citizen of Indian origin who holds an OCI card) may buy residential and commercial property. Neither may buy agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse. Both may inherit property.

A foreign national of non-Indian origin who lives outside India has no general permission to buy. That person may take a lease of up to five years or inherit from a resident; anything else needs prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India, the central bank. Citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, Macau, Hong Kong and North Korea need that permission for anything beyond a five-year lease, unless they hold an OCI card. A spouse who is neither an NRI nor an OCI may buy one property jointly with an NRI or OCI spouse if the marriage is registered and has lasted at least two years.

An NRI or OCI must pay by bank transfer from abroad or from a non-resident bank account. Foreign currency notes and traveller's cheques are not allowed. States add their own rules: Uttarakhand's 2025 reform restricts non-residents from buying agricultural and horticultural land in 11 hill districts.

From: Reserve Bank of India; Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules 2019, Gazette of India; Chief Minister's Office, Uttarakhand

Stamp duty, the tax paid when a sale is recorded, is set by each state. Among the states held, Goa charges from 3% on values up to INR 5,000,000 to 6% above INR 50,000,000. Maharashtra charges 5% inside a municipal corporation, and Mumbai adds a 1% metro surcharge. Tamil Nadu charges 7% and Kerala 8%. Karnataka charges 5% plus a surcharge and additional duty.

Some states charge by the buyer's sex. Haryana charges 7% for a man and 5% for a woman inside municipal limits, and Maharashtra charges women 1% less on a residential unit. Registration fees also differ: 2% in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka (Karnataka's rose from 1% on 31 August 2025), and about 1% capped at INR 30,000 in Maharashtra.

A home still under construction generally carries 5% goods and services tax (GST), or 1% for qualifying affordable housing. A completed building is outside GST when the whole price is paid after the completion certificate or first occupation, whichever is earlier.

From: State registration departments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Haryana; Goa Official Gazette; GST Council

Rent is taxed as house-property income, and the rules generally allow a standard deduction of 30% of the net annual value (the annual value after eligible municipal taxes). Rental rules and short-stay licensing are set by each state.

Land or buildings held for more than 24 months generally count as long-term. The base tax rate on the gain is 12.5% for sales from 23 July 2024, with no adjustment of the purchase cost for inflation. A buyer paying a resident seller holds back 1% of the price when it reaches INR 5,000,000. That rule does not apply to a non-resident seller: the buyer must deduct tax at the rates in force and hold a tax-deduction account number, known as a TAN.

Sale money from a home bought with foreign exchange, or from a Non-Resident External (NRE) or Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR(B)) account, can be sent abroad for at most two such properties, within the limits of what was paid in. Separately, an NRI or a person of Indian origin may send out up to USD 1 million in a financial year (April to March) from a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) account or from sale proceeds.

From: Income Tax Department; Income-tax Act 2025; Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules 2019; Reserve Bank of India, Remittance of Assets Regulations 2016

Land titles are generally presumptive, meaning open to challenge, and registering a sale deed brings no state guarantee of ownership (PRS Legislative Research). Property passes only by a registered deed. The Supreme Court held in 2011 that a sale made by handing over a general power of attorney, a document letting someone act for you, does not pass ownership. A power of attorney can still be used to sign a deed, and one certified abroad by apostille needs no further legalisation in India.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, known as RERA, protects buyers of new projects. A project must be registered with the state regulator before sale unless its land is 500 square metres or less or it has eight apartments or fewer. The developer must keep 70% of buyers' money in a separate account for that project's land and construction, and may not take more than 10% of the price before a registered sale agreement. Structural defects reported within five years of handover must be fixed free of charge.

The World Bank's 2025 urban-resilience study names urban heat and flooding as major climate pressures on Indian cities. New India Assurance says its standard home policy lists earthquake, storm, cyclone, tsunami and flood among insured events.

From: PRS Legislative Research; Registration Act 1908; Supreme Court of India, Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2011); Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016; Ministry of External Affairs; World Bank; New India Assurance

The Reserve Bank of India's House Price Index stood at 117.5 in April–June 2026, against 100 in 2022–23. It rose 3.6% from a year earlier and 1.1% from the previous quarter. Chandigarh, Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram were among the cities driving the quarterly rise.

Everyday prices rose 2.4% on average in 2025, so part of the rise in house prices is inflation. The economy grew 7.8% from a year earlier in April–June 2026.

The index is built from registered sales in 18 major cities. It does not measure every locality, or rural property.

From: Reserve Bank of India, House Price Index, April–June 2026; World Bank; Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation