Property Types
What is a Builder Floor?
One whole floor, to yourself, on a plot in a good colony. And a question about the land beneath it that almost nobody asks.
The short answer
A builder floor is ONE ENTIRE FLOOR of a low-rise building — typically 3 or 4 floors on a single plot, each sold separately.
Very common in Delhi, Gurugram and the NCR.
The question that decides everything: WHAT SHARE OF THE LAND DO YOU GET? Because if the plot is worth ₹5 crore and there are four floors, your share should be worth ₹1.25 crore — and the answer must be in your sale deed.
What a builder floor is
A builder buys a plot in an established colony — 200, 300, 500 square yards. They demolish whatever is on it, and build a small building of three or four floors, one flat per floor.
Each floor is sold separately. You buy the whole of one floor.
- An entire floor to yourself — no neighbours on your level
- Often no lift in older ones, and a walk-up
- Usually in an established residential colony, with real trees and real schools
- Fewer neighbours — three, not two hundred
- Little or no common maintenance, and no society
The UDS question — and this is the whole thing
The plot is worth a great deal — often most of the value of the whole building.
So when you buy the second floor of a four-floor building on a 300 sq yd plot, what share of that plot do you own?
The answer should be roughly one quarter, and it MUST BE STATED IN YOUR SALE DEED, in square yards or square feet.
What goes wrong:
• The sale deed says nothing about the land — you have bought a floor and no land at all.
• The UDS is unequal and undisclosed — the ground floor gets 40%, you get 20%.
• The builder retains a share — and with it, the right to build more, or to block a redevelopment.
• The terrace — often worth a great deal, especially for a future extension — is quietly retained by the builder or assigned to the top floor without your knowledge.
And this matters enormously at redevelopment, which for a 30-year-old builder floor building is not a distant hypothetical. What you get then is determined by your UDS. If yours is zero, so is your entitlement.
1. “Together with an undivided share of ___ square yards in the said plot.” With a number.
2. A clear statement of who owns the TERRACE and the STILT/PARKING.
If the deed is silent on either, do not sign it.
This is not an unreasonable request, it is not aggressive, and a builder who has done this properly will have it in the draft already. One who resists is telling you exactly what they have kept for themselves.
What's good about a builder floor
- An entire floor. Light from multiple sides. No shared landing.
- Only three neighbours, not two hundred. No society politics. No AGM.
- Established colonies — mature trees, real schools, real markets, real infrastructure. Not a field on the ring road.
- Low or no common maintenance.
- A decent UDS — if you get it. A quarter of a plot is far more land than a flat in a tower.
- Often better built, in the good ones — small builders, personally supervised.
The risks — and they are real
1. NO OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE. Very common. Small builders on small plots frequently do not obtain one — often because the building deviates from the sanctioned plan (an extra floor, a covered setback, a stilt converted to a room).
2. UNAUTHORISED CONSTRUCTION. A fourth floor where three were sanctioned. It happens constantly, and it is the buyer of the fourth floor who has the problem.
3. NO UDS, or an undisclosed one. See above. This is the big one.
4. The builder keeps the terrace — and later builds on it, or sells it.
5. Bank refusal. No OC, or a deviation, and the loan is refused — which also means your buyer cannot get a loan.
6. No structure to fix anything. No society, no sinking fund. When the roof leaks or the pump fails, four owners must agree — and one of them will be difficult.
What to check
- THE UDS. In the sale deed. In square yards. This is the first question, not the last.
- Who owns the terrace? In writing.
- Who owns the stilt / parking? In writing.
- The sanctioned plan. Then count the floors on the building. Do they match?
- The occupancy certificate. If there isn't one — ask what the deviation is.
- Will a bank lend on it? Ask two. Their answer is your valuation.
- Is the colony freehold or leasehold? Much of Delhi is DDA leasehold. How many years remain?
- Setbacks and FSI — has the plot been over-built?
- How will four owners agree on a roof repair? Is there any written arrangement at all?
Frequently asked questions
What is a builder floor?
An independent unit occupying an entire floor of a low-rise building — typically three or four floors on a single plot, each sold separately. Very common in Delhi, Gurugram and the NCR. You get a whole floor, few neighbours, an established colony, and little common maintenance.
What UDS should I get with a builder floor?
Roughly your proportionate share — one quarter, if there are four floors — and it MUST be stated in your sale deed, in square yards or square feet. What goes wrong: the deed says nothing about the land at all; the shares are unequal and undisclosed; or the builder quietly retains a share, and with it the right to build more or block a redevelopment. At redevelopment, what you get is determined by your UDS. If yours is zero, so is your entitlement.
What are the risks of buying a builder floor?
No occupancy certificate (very common, often because the building deviates from the sanctioned plan). Unauthorised construction — a fourth floor where three were sanctioned. No UDS, or an undisclosed one. The builder keeping the terrace and later building on it. Bank refusal, which also means your buyer can't get a loan. And no society or sinking fund, so when the roof leaks, four owners must agree.
What must be in a builder floor sale deed?
Two things. 'Together with an undivided share of ___ square yards in the said plot' — with a number. And a clear statement of who owns the TERRACE and the STILT/PARKING. If the deed is silent on either, do not sign. A builder who has done this properly will have it in the draft already; one who resists is telling you what they have kept.
How do I check if a builder floor is legal?
Get the sanctioned plan, then count the floors on the building. Do they match? Check whether the occupancy certificate has been issued — and if not, ask specifically what the deviation is. And ask two banks whether they'd lend on it: their answer is your valuation.