Glossary

Allotment letter

The authority's letter confirming the flat or plot is yours, with the payment schedule.

It is the document that starts the payment clock, and every authority runs that clock differently. MDA's allotment-cum-instalment letter gives 90 days for the first 25 per cent of the gross value, with the earnest money adjusted into it, and charges a ₹1,000 inspection fee after the letter issues. DDA's demand-cum-allotment letter gives 60 days for the whole price, a further 30 days at 10 per cent simple interest, and cancels the allotment without notice at 90 days, returning the flat to the pool. NBCC gives 72 hours from its acceptance letter for the balance of a group housing bid. The dates in the letter, not the date of the auction or the draw, are the ones that cost money.

Worth knowing

The clock runs from the letter, so the day it reaches you is the day to read it and work out what falls due when.

Missing the first payment usually cancels the allotment and forfeits what you have already paid, and at DDA the brochure says this happens without any further notice.

Questions people ask about Allotment letter

What is Allotment letter in a government plot auction?

The authority's letter confirming the flat or plot is yours, with the payment schedule. It is the document that starts the payment clock, and every authority runs that clock differently. MDA's allotment-cum-instalment letter gives 90 days for the first 25 per cent of the gross value, with the earnest money adjusted into it, and charges a ₹1,000 inspection fee after the letter issues. DDA's demand-cum-allotment letter gives 60 days for the whole price, a further 30 days at 10 per cent simple interest, and cancels the allotment without notice at 90 days, returning the flat to the pool. NBCC gives 72 hours from its acceptance letter for the balance of a group housing bid. The dates in the letter, not the date of the auction or the draw, are the ones that cost money.

The other words a notice uses

EMD (Earnest Money Deposit)An EMD is a refundable deposit a bidder pays before an auction opens, proving they intend to bid.Reserve priceA reserve price is the floor an authority sets for a plot - the lowest bid it will accept.Freehold and leaseholdA freehold plot is owned outright.Location premium (PLC)A location premium, or preferential location charge, is an extra percentage an authority adds for a plot with a better position - a corner, a park frontage, or a wide road.Lucky drawA lucky draw allots flats or plots by lot among everyone who applied and paid the registration amount, rather than to the highest bidder.e-AuctionAn e-auction is an online ascending-bid sale run on the authority's own portal.Allotment letterThe authority's letter confirming the flat or plot is yours, with the payment schedule.Category: environmental, and reservedAuthorities publish a "category" against a plot and mean two unrelated things by it.TDS on property (section 194-IA)Under section 194-IA of the Income Tax Act, a buyer of immovable property valued at ₹50 lakh or more must deduct 1% TDS and deposit it with the government.GST on a plot purchaseGST treatment differs by what the land is for.Reserve price and circle rateThe circle rate is the state's minimum valuation for stamp duty; the reserve price is the authority's floor for the auction.Possession and infrastructure statusAn authority can allot a plot before the estate's roads, water and sewer are finished.CorrigendumA notice that changes a published notice: a date, a plot, a venue.Registration moneyWhat a lucky draw applicant pays to enter; refunded to the unsuccessful.InstalmentsPaying the price in parts on the authority's schedule, with interest as the brochure prints it.Income categories (EWS, LIG, MIG, HIG)Income categories the authority uses to price and reserve flats; the first two carry an income ceiling.Group housing plotA plot sold to build apartment blocks, usually by auction to a developer or society.