CLU for a Farmhouse vs CLU for a Plotted Colony (2026): Different Rules, Different Fees

Two different permissions

The wider CLU guide is at change of land use in India, and a warning about the commonest trap is at the CLU trap.

Haryana

Two Acts do the work. The Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963, as applied in Haryana, controls land use in declared controlled areas. From our legal library: section 4 allows the government to declare controlled areas by notification; section 6 bars building in a controlled area except with the Director's previous permission; and section 7(1) says no land in a controlled area shall, except with the Director's permission, be used for a purpose other than the one it was used for on the notification date. Section 8 requires a written application.

The Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 governs colonies. Section 2(c) defines a colony as land divided into plots for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, and excludes land divided for agriculture. Section 3 requires an owner who wants to convert land into a colony to apply for a licence unless exempt. Section 7 says that without a licence no person, including a property dealer, may transfer or advertise plots or take money. Section 10 provides imprisonment up to three years and a fine.

Our own pages describe an individual eco-friendly farmhouse framework: one acre for a single dwelling, with ground coverage limits, tree cover and wastewater conditions, administered through the District Town Planner. That page states that the framework is an exemption allowing capped residential construction while the land stays agricultural, and is not itself a CLU conversion. It also notes that a separate colony track exists and the two sets of figures could not be reconciled. We did not re-open the policy for this page. For details see farmhouse rules in Haryana and CLU in Haryana: process and fees, and for the controlled area concept see controlled area versus urbanisable area.

Uttar Pradesh

Two separate layers apply. The first is the revenue law. In the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006, as recorded in our library, section 80 deals with use of a holding for industrial, commercial or residential purposes by a bhumidhar with transferable rights, with sections 81 and 82 dealing with consequences and cancellation. (Older material and one of our own pages refer to the earlier Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, section 143; the Code replaced that Act, and the numbering differs.) We have not re-read the section for this page, so confirm the current text.

The second is planning. The Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 provides that once a development area is declared, no development of land shall be undertaken without the Vice-Chairman's written permission (section 14, with the application in section 15), with fines under section 26 and demolition under section 27. A farmhouse inside a development authority area therefore needs the authority's view on top of the revenue declaration. A colony needs a layout approved by the development authority.

The purchase cap in section 89 of the Code (5.0586 hectares, or about 12.5 acres, for an individual) is a separate question from land use; see agricultural land rules in Uttar Pradesh, land use conversion in Uttar Pradesh and farmhouse rules in Uttar Pradesh. Our farmhouse page found no statewide farmhouse minimum.

Rajasthan

Section 90-A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, as recorded in our library, says no person holding land for agriculture, and no transferee, shall use it for non-agricultural purposes without conversion, and that a person wishing to do so shall apply to the prescribed authority; in urban areas that is typically the development authority or municipality, and in rural areas the officer named in the 2007 conversion rules. Section 90-B was deleted in 2012. We could not open the 2007 rules in an official source, so who approves in a given village needs confirming locally.

For farmhouses, our Rajasthan page reports Jaipur building by-law figures (a 2,500 sq m minimum plot for a single farm house plot and a separate farm house scheme with larger minimums) from a secondary reproduction of the by-laws, which we could not confirm against the gazette, and it notes there is no statewide farmhouse definition. Those figures do not apply to other cities. See farmhouse rules in Rajasthan and land conversion under section 90A.

A note on Punjab

Punjab's colony law is the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995, which requires a licence or registration before plots are advertised, per our library. A farmhouse is dealt with separately; see farmhouse rules in Punjab and CLU in Punjab.

The mistakes buyers make

1. Accepting a CLU for the whole parcel as proof that plots can be sold. A change of use does not by itself license a layout.
2. Buying a "farmhouse plot" carved out of a larger parcel. If the seller divided land for sale without a licence, the layout is the problem.
3. Believing the farmhouse exemption is a conversion. It is a conditional permission; exceeding coverage or adding commercial use breaches it.
4. Assuming a CLU is permanent. Permissions can carry conditions and timelines. Read the order.
5. Ignoring the revenue record. If the record still says agricultural, the revenue-law steps may be incomplete. See land conversion status check.
6. Ignoring other overlays. Aravalli, forest and floodplain limits sit on top; see Aravalli and green belt restrictions.

Questions to ask before paying

• Is this a single owner's own farmhouse permission, or a licensed layout?
• May I see the order, with number, date, area and conditions, and does the area match my khasra?
• If plots are being sold, where is the licence or layout approval, and is the project registered under RERA? See how to check RERA registration.
• Has the conversion charge been paid in full, and where is the receipt?
• Has the revenue record been updated after conversion?
• Who maintains roads and services, and is there an obligation recorded?

Follow with the before-booking checklist and why CLU applications get rejected.

What is unconfirmed

We did not re-open the Acts for this page; section references come from our legal reference library, which records them as read from the Act text or a PRS or India Code copy. We could not confirm: the current Haryana fee figures against an official notification; the UP Revenue Code section 80 text and rules; the Rajasthan 2007 conversion rules from an official source; and the Jaipur by-law figures. Fees and rules change often, so confirm with the relevant authority in writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• PRS: Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975
• PRS: Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963 (Haryana)
• India Code: Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973
• India Code: Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956
• India Code: Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006