The short answer
As of November 2026:
| Buyer | Can they buy agricultural land in Karnataka? |
|---|---|
| Indian resident, farmer or not | Yes, subject to the ceiling and the land's own restrictions |
| Indian resident with high non-farm income | Yes, the old income limit was removed in 2020 |
| Company, trust or society | No longer barred by the Land Reforms Act sections removed in 2020; ceiling and other laws still apply, take legal advice |
| NRI or OCI cardholder | No, except by inheritance |
| Foreign national | No |
Buying farmland lets you farm it. It does not let you build a house layout or a resort on it. That needs conversion, covered below.
What changed in 2020
Until 2020, the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 kept most non-farmers out of agricultural land. Three sections did the work:
- Section 79A barred anyone with more than ₹25 lakh a year in income from non-agricultural sources from buying agricultural land.
- Section 79B limited holding of agricultural land to people who cultivated it personally, which kept out most companies, trusts and other institutions.
- Section 79C went with them, and was removed at the same time.
In 2020 the state first changed the law by an ordinance in July, then by an amendment Act passed by the Assembly in September. The amendment omitted Sections 79A, 79B and 79C, with effect from 1 March 1974. Cases pending under those sections came to an end. Cases already finally decided were not reopened.
The ordinance had also proposed doubling the land ceiling under Section 63. That change was withdrawn when the Bill was passed, so the ceiling stayed as it was.
Is it still the law?
Yes, as far as we can find. The present state government has said it wants to restore Sections 79A and 79B, and in 2024 the Chief Minister said it would do so once it had a majority in the Legislative Council. As of late September 2026 the 2020 amendments were still in force: a ruling party legislator was then publicly urging their repeal.
This could change. If you are buying farmland, ask your lawyer to confirm the position on the date of registration, and get the purchase registered promptly once you have agreed terms.
Limits that still apply
Removing the income and occupation bars did not make all farmland freely saleable. These still matter.
- The land ceiling. Section 63 of the Land Reforms Act caps how much agricultural land a person or family may hold. It is counted in units that vary with irrigation and soil class. Most buyers of a few acres are far below it, but anyone building up a large holding should have it worked out.
- Granted land. Land the government granted to landless families, and land granted to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe families, often carries a bar on sale for a period or without government permission. A sale in breach can be cancelled even years later. Ask for the grant order and read its conditions.
- Land given to tenants. Land that came to a tenant under the land reforms can carry its own conditions on transfer. Check how the seller's family got the land.
- Government land and B-kharab. Roads, streams, tanks and other government land inside a survey number cannot be sold by anyone.
- Plantations. Coffee and other plantation land is exempt from several Land Reforms Act provisions, including the ceiling. See converting coffee or farm land in Chikkamagaluru.
NRIs and OCI cardholders
The state amendment does not help buyers outside India. Under central foreign exchange rules, an NRI or an OCI cardholder cannot buy agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse in India. They can inherit it, and they can buy other property such as a converted plot in an approved layout, a house or a flat. Read buying property in Karnataka as an NRI.
Buying farmland is not the same as buying a plot
Once you own agricultural land, you can farm it. To use it for anything else, including a house layout, a homestay or a business, the land must be converted for non-agricultural use under Section 95 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act. Converted land then needs an approved layout before plots can be sold. Using farmland for non-farm purposes without conversion can lead to penalties and to the use being stopped.
So price farmland as farmland. Do not pay a plot price for land that is not yet converted, on a promise that conversion will follow. See DC conversion in Karnataka.
Papers to check before you buy
The old question, are you allowed to buy, is mostly settled. The real question now is whether the seller can sell clean title. Check:
- RTC (pahani) for the current owner, extent, kharab and any loans or conditions noted. See RTC (pahani) and mutation.
- Mutation register extracts showing how the land passed to the seller.
- Title deeds going back several decades, and any grant or regularisation order.
- Encumbrance certificate for mortgages and earlier sales.
- 11E sketch, if you are buying part of a survey number, and whether a joint RTC needs podi first.
- Family consent. Where the land is ancestral, every family member with a share should join the sale.
The full list is in every paper to check before buying land.
After you buy
Registration is not the last step for farmland. When the sale deed is registered, the details pass electronically from the registration system to Bhoomi, the land records system, and the taluk office issues a mutation notice. Once the mutation is approved, the RTC is updated to show you as the holder.
Check the RTC a few weeks after registration. If your name, the extent or the survey number is wrong, or the mutation is held up by an objection, take it up with the taluk office straight away. Until the RTC is in your name, you will struggle to get a crop loan, apply for conversion or sell the land on. Budget too for stamp duty and the registration fee: see stamp duty and registration charges in Karnataka.
How we help
We check whether a piece of farmland can be sold to you cleanly: the grant history, tenancy, ceiling, kharab and family shares, and whether it could later be converted if that is your plan. We also find land to match a brief. Ask us about a piece of land or see our land acquisition service.
