Buying a House in Lahore: What to Check Before You Pay

A plot is land. A house is land plus a building plus everything that building has been through. The roof, the wiring, the extra room added without approval, the gas meter still in someone else's name, all of it becomes yours on the day the deed is signed. That is why buying a house needs a different kind of checking from buying a plot. The price matters, but the papers and the physical house matter just as much, and both can be checked before any money moves.

Last updated: 25 October 2026. Reviewed by Shakir Estate. Tax figures verified against FBR withholding tax summaries for tax year 2026-27 on 25 October 2026. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. For a disputed deal, speak to a property lawyer before taking any step.

The short version

• Get the paper trail first: registered sale deed, Fard, mutation record, approved building plan, completion certificate and the society or DHA no dues certificate.
• Walk the house properly: roof and ceilings for seepage, walls and floors for cracks and sagging, taps and drains for plumbing, and the wiring for anything exposed or makeshift.
• Check that what stands on the ground matches the approved plan. Extra rooms and covered extensions are the buyer's problem after purchase, not before.
• Do not pay token money before the documents are verified and the house has been visited in person.
• The verified federal taxes for 2026-27 are 1.25% for a filer buyer and 2.75% for a filer seller. Stamp duty and society transfer fees must be confirmed per transaction, and this guide explains why no single figure is quoted for them.

Start with the paper trail

Every house purchase in Lahore runs through the same core documents. Ask for originals, not photocopies, and check that the name, CNIC, plot or house number, area and description match across every document. A mismatch anywhere is a reason to pause, not a detail to sort out later.

The deed, the Fard and the mutation

The registered sale deed is the record of the sale itself, and you want the current deed plus the previous owner's deed so the chain of ownership is visible. The Fard, obtained from the PLRA Arazi Record Center or Punjab Zameen online, is the ownership record for the property. Then comes the step buyers most often skip: mutation, or Intiqal. Registry and mutation are different things. A sale deed alone does not put your name in the land record. In online mouzas the mutation is approved at the same time as the registry, but elsewhere you still have to get it entered afterwards. After registration, check that the mutation actually happened.

Punjab sale deeds are registered through PLRA's e-registration portal. The sequence runs from the e-stamp challan and payment, through a portal request and system verification of the challans and taxes, to an in-person appearance before the Sub-Registrar, after which the deed is issued with a Bahi number and document number. The portal has generated the 236K and 236C tax challans itself since late August 2026, so older instructions telling you to generate them elsewhere are out of date.

The approved plan and the completion certificate

A built house should have a sanctioned building plan, the naqsha, for the house as it stands. Separately, a completed house should have a completion certificate. In DHA, the transfer documents expressly require a completion certificate for a completed house or building, and DHA field staff inspect the house against the approved drawing before issuing one. Deviations have to be regularised with a revised drawing first. If the seller cannot produce either document, you are not looking at a paperwork delay. You are looking at a house whose legal status is unresolved.

The no dues certificate

In a housing society or DHA transfer, the No Demand Certificate confirms there are no outstanding dues or objections on the property, and it only issues once dues are cleared. For a constructed property in DHA, the NDC set also requires a completion certificate, a TIP paid receipt and clearance from Walton or Lahore Cantt Board, and a property tax receipt and clearance certificate. A vacant plot does not carry those constructed property clearances, which is one concrete way a house transfer differs from a plot transfer. Our guide to how to transfer a plot in DHA Lahore sets out the DHA sequence in detail, and the house specific clearances above sit on top of it.

One caution on NOCs: some houses genuinely need one, for example a GHQ NOC for a service benefit plot or an O&M company NOC for a specified DHA tower, but not every house does. Ask which NOC applies to this specific scheme, phase and category rather than accepting a blanket claim either way.

Walk the house like an inspector

Paperwork tells you who owns the house. Only a visit tells you what condition it is in. Visit in daylight, take your time, and look at the parts of a house that photographs never show.

Start at the top. Look at the roof and terrace for ponding water, cracks and damaged covering, then check the ceilings below for water stains. Seepage stains on a ceiling are the house telling you about a roof problem in the cheapest possible way. Then look at walls and floors: visible cracks at wall bases or near the foundation, soggy or sunken ground close to the building, sagging or uneven floors, damp patches around bathrooms and sinks. None of this proves a structural failure on its own, and a visual walkthrough is not a substitute for a professional opinion if something looks wrong. It does tell you which questions to ask and whether to bring in an engineer before paying.

Run the taps. Watch how fast drains clear, check under sinks and around fixtures for leaks, and look at the gutters and the street sewerage. Slow drainage inside can point to a clogged drain, and a clogged street sewer warns of backflow risk. Look at the wiring too: exposed or unprotected runs, dead outlets and the state of the service panel all say something about how the house was maintained, and rewiring an older house is a real cost that should be priced before purchase, not discovered after.

Finally, check the boundaries and the footprint. Confirm the boundary walls against the site plan, confirm the measurements, confirm who is actually in possession, and confirm the built structure matches the approved plan. An extra room, a covered extension or construction over a boundary line is a matter to resolve before payment. After payment it is yours to regularise.

Seven traps, and the check that exposes each one

Two more warning signs deserve attention even though they prove nothing on their own. A price far below the going rate for the block, or pressure to pay token money immediately, or a refusal to allow a proper site visit, or cash only demands, or vague answers on approval documents. Any one of these is a reason to slow down. Several together are a reason to walk away. Our token money guide explains what a token payment should and should not commit you to, and why it should never come before verification and a visit.

What a house transfer costs in 2026

This is the part where most guides invent a tidy total. This one will not, because two of the components cannot honestly be fixed in advance. Here is what is verified, and what is not.

The federal advance taxes are verified for tax year 2026-27. The buyer pays under section 236K and the seller under section 236C, both adjustable against annual income tax, and both calculated on the higher of the declared price and the FBR notified or DC value for the property. Writing a lower figure on the deed does not lower the tax.

On a Rs 25 million house, that means a filer buyer pays Rs 312,500 under 236K while a non-filer buyer pays Rs 2,625,000, and a filer seller pays Rs 687,500 under 236C. Filer status dominates the bill, which is why checking Active Taxpayers List status before the transfer date matters more than haggling over small fees. The seller may also face capital gains tax, worked out separately on filing and depending on when the property was acquired. Our property tax guide covers that in full.

Society and DHA transfer fees are in the same position. DHA's own transfer page says charges depend on phase, size and plot or building type, and published fee tables disagree with each other on rupee amounts for houses. Confirm the current schedule directly with the society or DHA before budgeting, and treat any article that prints a single house transfer fee as a fact with suspicion.

Move the meters into your name

A house purchase carries utility transfer work that a plot purchase does not. Transfer the electricity, gas and water or sewerage accounts into your name, and clear arrears first, because unpaid dues have a habit of following the meter rather than the previous owner.

For gas, SNGPL charges no fee for a transfer of connection on purchase, requires all dues to be clear, and does not require an NOC from the previous owner for a purchase transfer, though the present owner assumes risks and liabilities by affidavit. The documents are an application from the present owner, a copy of the last paid bill, a copy of the present owner's CNIC, an affidavit on stamp paper and a copy of the property document. For electricity, a LESCO change of name requires the CNIC, the latest bill and proof of ownership, plus a no-arrears certificate from the Revenue Office where needed. Water and sewerage account transfer follows the same principle, clear arrears first, even though the local office procedure varies and is best confirmed at the sub-divisional office for the property.

Check the price before you negotiate

Once the papers and the house itself check out, the remaining question is whether the asking price is fair for that block and that construction. A finished house is harder to price than a plot because construction quality, finishing tier and age all sit inside the number. Our guide to building costs in Lahore gives a useful cross-check: grey structure currently runs Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,500 per square foot of covered area and a finished A-grade home Rs 6,700 to Rs 8,800, so a seller's claim about construction value can be tested against real build costs.

Before negotiating, you can also check your house's estimated value with Shakir Estate's AI Property Value Estimator, which compares the property against current market evidence for its society, phase and block. AI valuations are estimates based on available market information and property inputs. Actual sale value can vary according to exact location, condition, plot orientation, street width, development status, demand, documentation and negotiation, so treat the result as a sanity check for the negotiation, not as an official appraisal.

Frequently asked questions

Is a sale deed enough to prove I own the house?

No. The deed records the sale, but your name enters the land record through mutation. After registration, confirm the mutation was entered, especially outside online mouzas where it is not automatic.

What if the house has no completion certificate?

Treat that as an unresolved legal status, not a missing formality. In DHA the certificate follows an inspection against the approved drawing, and deviations must be regularised with a revised drawing first. Do not pay in full until that position is clear.

Should I pay token money to hold the house while I check the papers?

Not before verification and a site visit. Token money is meant to hold a property for a few days while papers are checked, but once paid it is governed by whatever was written on the receipt, so the checks should come first and the receipt should say exactly what happens if the deal falls through.

Does a house pay different FBR tax from a plot?

No verified source gives a separate house only FBR rate. Sections 236K and 236C apply to immovable property generally. What differs for a house is the society or DHA schedule and the extra clearances, like the completion certificate and property tax clearance, that a vacant plot does not need.

Who pays what on transfer?

The buyer pays 236K plus stamp duty and registration charges plus the society transfer charges. The seller pays 236C plus any capital gains tax on filing. Both sides' FBR advance taxes are adjustable against their annual income tax.

A final word before you pay

The best house purchases in Lahore are boring ones. The deed matches the Fard, the Fard matches the mutation, the plan matches the building, the meters match the owner, and the price matches the block. None of that takes special connections. It takes originals instead of photocopies, a daylight visit instead of a photograph, and a willingness to walk away when the answers stay vague. If you are looking at a house and want a second pair of eyes on the papers or the price, message Shakir Estate on WhatsApp at +92 300 4630499 with the society, block and size, and we will tell you honestly what can be verified and what cannot, before you commit any money.