An occupancy certificate is a legal document that showcases that a particular building has been constructed as per an approved plan of the government. Moreover, this certificate ensures the government that a constructed project has complied with local laws.

Obtaining an occupancy certificate is quintessential for people applying for house loans as it directly impacts the sanction of a loan. So, read more to get a comprehensive overview.

A plethora of purposes can help to understand the importance of an occupancy certificate that it serves:

• Acts as one of the primary documents for claiming IT benefits on house loans.
• Acts as a legal identity for a property or building.
• Helps in getting water and power supply connections seamlessly.
• Serves as one of the requirements during purchasing or selling a property.

Apart from the above mentioned factors, an occupancy certificate is also required to obtain an authorised deed copy.

The general eligibility requirements of occupancy certificates application for a building are:

• Builders or promoters should have already completed the construction of the concerned property.
• The building construction must abide by a building plan and regulations as the State Government prescribes.

Some of the important documents that are required to apply for occupancy certificates are:

• Project commencement certificate.
• Completion certificate of a project.
• Fire and pollution NOC or No Objection Certificate.
• Building and sanction plan.
• Calculation sheet of an area of the floor which is signed by an authorised architect.
• Photograph of a building after the completion of construction.
• A copy of a building’s sanctioned plan.
• Photograph showing solar panel and rain harvesting.
• Report on assessment of tax stating a current receipt of tax receipt.

In addition to this, there can be other documents that a specific state may ask for based on the requirement of its portal.

As the process of applying for an occupancy certificate may minutely vary across states and its portal, this context explains an application process based on the West Bengal guidelines. However, individuals can apply for an occupancy certificate from their respective state's official land portal.

Here is a step-by-step guide as to how one can apply online for an occupancy certificate in WB:

Step 1: The process begins with applicants visiting an official portal of the West Bengal e-Disrtrict.

Step 2: On the homepage, one will find a login option. Choose your preferred language from a dropdown list.

Login Page

Step 3: One must start with a login procedure by entering a username and password. If you are not previously registered in this account, click on "New User". In case an individual has forgotten his or her password, choose "Forgot Password" to restore this.

Step 4: Upon login to a portal, applicants will be redirected to the Issuance of occupancy certificate page, which is managed by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA).

Service Page

Step 5: From this redirected page, an applicant needs to choose a service he or she wants to opt for. Here, it will be Issuance by Occupancy Certificate by NKDA.

Step 6: Upon selecting your service, the next screen will show details of all document requirements, eligibility criteria, and fees which are related to the issuance of an occupancy certificate. Click on "Apply" to proceed.

Application Page

Step 7: Once done, applicants will be able to view an application form, which needs to be filled out properly for the successful completion of this process.

Step 8: Next, provide a correct PIN, an Approved Building Permit Number, and sanction in the respective box.

Personal Details

Step 9: At this stage, applicants need to properly fill up all details like:

• Applicants name.
• Date of Birth.
• Gender.
• Age.
• Email ID.
• Aadhaar Card Number.
• Mobile Number.
• Country Name.

Once done providing all information, click on “Save and Next” for further process.

Step 10: Provide a communication address correctly on this next page.

Architect Details

Step 11: Applicants will find a section of building details to be automatically filled in as the information will be fetched from the sanctioned building plan.

Step 12: Enter the designation, name and enrolment number of a respective architect in the architect details section.

Step 13: Provide the correct designation, name and enrolment number of the concerned structural or civil engineer in the respective section.

Step 14: In ‘Geo-Technical Engineer’, provide a designation, name and enrolment number of ‘Geo-Technical Engineer’ involved.

Step 15: Provide the name, designation and enrolment number of a concerned ‘Urban Designer / Town Planner’ in this respective section.

Step 16: Applicants must provide information about the approved POC in the respective section and choose “Add” to include their POC details.

Building Details

Step 17: In Building Details for Occupancy Certificate, one must provide the building details. Upon providing the information, click on the "Add" option to save the information. In addition to this, if anyone wants to delete or edit any information as per their choice.

Step 18: Then, in 'Drawing', an applicant must provide details of drawing contents, drawing number and date of the drawing. On providing details, click on the add option to store the information.

Step 19: Individual needs to choose from the dropdown list, which will show whether a mutation has happened. Furthermore, if applicable, one needs to change the project number and provide the case number.

Step 20: Upon completing all information, the individual needs to checkbox the option "I Accept" and provide a declaration stating that all information provided is correct and valid. Finally, select "Save and Next" to save the information and proceed to further steps.

Step 21: Lastly, click on "Save Draft" so that one can view this drafted application from the database.

Document Page

Step 22: Once this application has been saved; applicants need to attach their supporting documents to their respective fields. Select a document name that you want to attach and upload the same by selecting "Upload”.

Step 23: Upon uploading all necessary documents, applicants must click on "Save and Next" to proceed further. In this case, if you want to change any information given, click on "Modify".

Step 24: Before clicking on submission of an application, an applicant must review all the information provided and check the documents uploaded to the portal. Once done, click on "Submit ". The submission of an applicant's file will lead to the generation of an acknowledgement, and this summary contains the person's contact details for future communication.

Individuals will receive automatic notification upon acceptance of that application and reach the payment step.

Payment Page

Step 25: To proceed with payment of this application, log in to the portal using credentials and select "Pending Payment Application" on the Home Page.

Step 26: One will be able to find “List of Payment Pending Application”. Applicants need to select "Issuance of Occupancy Certificate by New Town Kolkata Development Authority" from the dropdown list of "Please Select Service Name".

Step 27: Once an applicant is able to locate a pending payment application, click on "Action".

Step 28: On the redirected page, a "Payment Page" will appear, which consists of the applicant's name, AIN and remarks, if any. Here applicants can choose online or offline payment based on convenience and make their payment.

Upon successful payment, applicants will receive a message stating, "Payment Receipt Uploaded successfully".

Here is a comprehensive guide helping applicants to download an occupancy certificate from a similar website if residing in West Bengal:

Step 1: The process begins with logging in to the West Bengal e-District online portal. Provide your correct username and password leading to its home page.

Step 2: Navigate to “Approved Application” to get your NKDA certificate.

Step 3: On this redirected page, applicants can get an approved application list. Choose a service name from the option "Please Select Service Name". Here, in this case, choose Occupancy Certificate by NKDA and finally click on "Search".

Step 4: Once you locate the particular application, select "Certificate" to download your Occupancy Certificate by NKDA.

Generally, you can check your application status of an Occupancy Certificate from its respective state’s website of Real Estate Regulation Authority (RERA) website. This portal will contain the following information as the property must have registered under the Act.

It is important to understand that the process of checking the occupancy certificate application status will vary across states. However, the mandate of the RERA Act concerning builders or promoters to update the government regarding the progress of their projects has ensured that this Occupancy Certificate of a particular building is accurate.

This article specifies the complete understanding of how essential occupancy certificates are when it comes to applying for loans or claiming any tax deductions. Hence, one must know all the crucial aspects of these important certificates.