Before you launch, know whether the land can become the project you imagine.

Start with who owns the land and how it came to them, using the title documents, Patta, an encumbrance certificate, the FMB and the survey number. Then compare the recorded extent with the site on the ground, and look at access, road width, land classification and what the applicable planning rules allow for your project type. Your advocate, licensed surveyor and architect give the opinions and drawings; we coordinate the records and the work between them, so the picture is complete before you commit. See our guide to revenue records in Tamil Nadu.

It depends on the location, scale and use. Commonly: land-use or zoning clearance, layout approval from the planning authority (CMDA, DTCP or the local planning authority), building plan approval, environmental and fire clearances for larger or taller buildings, and RERA registration before you advertise or sell where it applies. Your architect and advocate confirm which apply to your land and project, and we coordinate the applications.

CMDA is the planning authority for the Chennai Metropolitan Area, while DTCP and the local planning authorities cover other areas of Tamil Nadu. Both work under the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019, as amended, and examine whether a proposed layout or building meets them. Outside CMDA's area, applications are typically made through the local body or the state's Single Window Portal for planning permission. The right authority depends on where the land falls, so confirm the jurisdiction before you sign or spend on design.

Registration with the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority is needed before you advertise, market, book or sell, where the land is more than 500 square metres or more than eight apartments are planned, counting all phases. Some projects are exempt, for example those that already had a completion certificate when RERA began, and redevelopment that involves no marketing or sale. Registered projects upload quarterly updates within fifteen days of each quarter's end, and TNRERA's proceedings of 12 December 2025 require three project bank accounts for applications received from 1 January 2026. Certificates from your architect, engineer and chartered accountant are needed for parts of this. We coordinate the paperwork with your professionals.

Where it qualifies, yes. The regularisation rules cover layouts in which plots were sold by registered deed on or before 20 October 2016. The layout promoter applies to CMDA (inside the Chennai Metropolitan Area) or the planning authority for the area. The Rules' definition of a promoter includes a registered co-operative society and an association, and a society or association should confirm with the authority that it can file before it starts. The layout framework is approved first. Individual plots are then regularised separately, so approval of the layout does not by itself regularise every plot, and roads, open space and other deficiencies may have to be rectified or paid for. If plots are still to be sold and the RERA thresholds are met, TNRERA registration may also be needed, and TNRERA lists registered regularisation layouts. As at October 2026, the Government has extended the application window for layouts to 30 June 2027 by Government Order. Charges depend on plot area, the type of local body and any open-space shortfall, so we work from the current rules and the authority's demand notice, with your advocate and surveyor.

CMDA's online checklist for a layout asks for the ownership documents in chronological order, Patta, FMB sketches (attested where they are not available online), an up-to-date encumbrance certificate, a legal opinion in the prescribed format and any earlier approvals. It also needs a layout drawing prepared under the Combined Development and Building Rules and forms signed by the owner and the professionals. DTCP and local bodies publish their own checklists, and requirements differ by authority and by residential or commercial use, so we work from the current checklist for your project.

Differences in extent or boundary are best settled with a licensed surveyor and the Survey and Revenue authorities before design work begins, because the usable area drives everything after it. Access matters because planning rules can depend on the road width and frontage, and a shortfall, or a dispute over a pathway or right of way, can limit what can be approved or built. An advocate advises on any right-of-way question. We help gather the records and coordinate the survey. See our guide to survey numbers and sub-division.

Agricultural land generally needs a change of land use before it can be developed. Outside planning areas, the Tamil Nadu Change of Land Use Rules, 2017 apply: the application goes to the local authority, which needs the DTCP Director's prior concurrence, after the Collector's concurrence for wet land or a report from the Joint Director of Agriculture for dry land, and a land-use conversion charge is collected. Within planning areas, the change is handled through the planning authority under the applicable master plan and rules. Some categories, such as water bodies, poromboke land and land fit for continued cultivation, are excluded. Rules and charges have been amended, so we work from the current ones.

It varies with the authority, the project type and how complete the file is, and the authority sets the pace, so no one can promise a timeline. Most delays come from incomplete applications or title and record issues that surface during scrutiny, which is why we check the paperwork first.

Typically the land or built-area share or revenue share, the development timeline and penalties for delay, who bears approval costs and taxes, the sequence of Power of Attorney and sale deeds, exit and dispute resolution, and what happens if approvals are refused. Every owner with a share should be a party, and an advocate should draft or review it, including registration and stamp duty. Under TNRERA's account directions, a JDA project needs two sets of the three project accounts, one for the landowner and one for the promoter, so plan the structure with your chartered accountant too. If you are the landowner, see our Landowners page.

Banks decide on loans and each has its own criteria. We help you prepare the documents they typically ask for, such as a detailed project report and the title and approval papers offered as collateral, and coordinate with the lender. Under RERA and TNRERA's directions, buyer payments go through designated project accounts and project loans have to be disclosed to the Authority, so financing is best structured with your chartered accountant and the bank.

Your architect, licensed surveyor, engineer, chartered accountant and advocate handle the drawings, surveys, certificates and legal opinions, and the authorities decide on approvals. Pinewood coordinates the process around them: we map the approvals, review the records, prepare and follow up applications, and keep everyone working from the same file. We do not replace those professionals or the authorities.