.png){kind=logo}
How Farmland India Reviews a Project: the Trust Score Method (2026)
Six weighted pillars, what Reviewed means, a worked example, and the limits of a score.
The Trust Score is a number out of 100 that our team assigns to a developer project after checking its documents across six weighted areas. This page sets out the weights, shows the arithmetic with an invented example, and says plainly what the score does not cover and what we have not yet published.
What a Trust Score is and is not
For developer projects listed on Farmland India, the Trust Score is a number out of 100 assigned by our review team after we check the documents the developer gives us. It summarises how strong those documents are across six areas. It is a tool for comparing projects on paperwork. It is not a legal opinion, not a guarantee of title and not a forecast of price or returns.
The wording matters. We say a project is Reviewed, never Verified, because the word describes the work we did: we checked source documents. It does not claim legal certainty. Plain directory listings, which show only a seller's details, carry neither the badge nor a score. For the short definition of the badge, see what the Farmland India Reviewed badge means. This page explains the method behind the number.
The six pillars and their weights
| Pillar | Weight | What a buyer should read it as |
|---|---|---|
| Legal documents | 30% | How complete and consistent the title and approval papers are |
| RERA status | 25% | Whether the project is registered on the state RERA portal, or has a stated exemption |
| Track record | 20% | What the developer has delivered before |
| Financial standing | 15% | The developer's financial position as shown in the papers we received |
| Site quality | 7% | Land condition and site-level checks such as soil, water and infrastructure |
| Buyer reviews | 3% | Feedback from buyers, kept deliberately small |
The weights add up to 100. Legal documents and RERA status together carry 55 points because they are the checks a buyer can verify from public or registered records. Buyer reviews carry only 3 points because opinions are easy to game and do not substitute for documents.
The step-by-step scoring criteria inside each pillar are not published yet. We are not going to invent them here. What we can say is what the checklist on a project page shows: items such as RERA registration, clear title, non-agricultural (NA) conversion, soil test, infrastructure and water supply, each marked complete or pending. The company-level checks shown on the design for developer pages include KYC, track record and RERA registrations on file, each with a date.
A worked example with made-up numbers
Suppose a hypothetical project earns the following share of the available points in each pillar. These figures are invented to show the arithmetic and do not describe any real project.
| Pillar | Weight | Share of pillar earned | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal documents | 30 | 80% | 24.0 |
| RERA status | 25 | 100% | 25.0 |
| Track record | 20 | 60% | 12.0 |
| Financial standing | 15 | 50% | 7.5 |
| Site quality | 7 | 70% | 4.9 |
| Buyer reviews | 3 | 0% | 0.0 |
Total: 24.0 + 25.0 + 12.0 + 7.5 + 4.9 + 0 = 73.4 out of 100. Notice what the number hides: the project is fully RERA-registered but earned only 80% on legal documents. A buyer who reads only the total would miss that 20% gap in the pillar that matters most. Always open the checklist beside the score.
How to read a score on a project page
- Read the pending items first. A score shown beside several pending checks means those checks were not yet complete when the score was set. We are reviewing how the panel presents a score next to pending items, so do not treat the number alone as the full picture.
- Check the date. The panel shows a verification date. Documents expire, mutations change and disputes are filed after publication.
- Open the underlying records yourself. Check RERA on the state portal; see how to check RERA registration.
- Do the title work. Use how to verify land title and the land due diligence checklist.
- Get a lawyer's opinion. See what the lawyer checks.
Compare projects on the pillars, not only the total. Two projects with the same total can have very different strengths. Our guide to evaluating a land developer covers what to ask beyond the score.
Individual land parcels: the Land Verification Score
Individual owner listings are different from developer projects. For parcels, a Land Verification Score is calculated automatically. The design for parcel pages shows five groups of checks: title chain, revenue records, encumbrance, land use and access, and owner identity, with pending items listing what the owner still has to supply. The inputs behind the automatic calculation are not published yet, and the final form of the display is not confirmed, so ask the listing team which documents a given score rests on and keep the reply with your records.
This is a different score from the six-pillar Trust Score. A parcel does not have a developer track record, so the pillars differ.
How the review works in practice
The review is document-led. A developer submits company details, project papers and declarations. Our team checks them against source records, enters the score, and the project page then displays it. Developer profiles carry company-level checks, each dated, such as company KYC checked, track record reviewed and RERA registrations on file. Tier labels such as Platinum or Gold were dropped from the public copy, so the score appears as a number.
We have not published the full step-by-step review criteria, the list of outside advisers if any, or a formal process for removing a badge when a document check fails. Our current position is that a listing that fails a document check should lose its badge, but we have not published a formal process, and we say so rather than imply one. Scores are intended to be refreshed on a schedule, but we have not confirmed a refresh date, so do not rely on one.
What the score cannot do
- It cannot guarantee title. Only a lawyer reading the chain of title can give an opinion, and even that is an opinion.
- It cannot predict prices or returns. A high score means the documents we reviewed were stronger; it says nothing about future value.
- It does not cover documents we did not receive.
- It does not replace a site visit; see the site visit checklist.
- It is not a recommendation to buy. Farmland India is a marketplace, not a broker or agent.
Our reading of the law behind the pillars is in guides such as RERA and farmland and managed farmland red flags.
What is unconfirmed
- The detailed scoring criteria inside each pillar.
- The refresh schedule for scores.
- The inputs and final design of the Land Verification Score.
- How the project panel will show a score beside pending checks.
- Any formal process for removing a badge.
These are items for Farmland India to confirm before this page is marked final.
