Closing on a small office unit in a completed building. The buyer's home-loan bank asked for the OC and the seller is being vague about it. What exactly is an Occupancy Certificate, who issues it, and how much should I worry if the building doesn't have one?
The OC is issued by the local municipal body (GHMC within Hyderabad) certifying the building was completed as per the sanctioned plan and is fit to occupy. No OC usually means there are deviations from the sanctioned plan, or the completion formalities were never closed — which is exactly why banks flag it and why regularising it later can cost you. It's not a paperwork nicety: occupying without OC can technically attract action, and resale or a loan against it gets harder. I'd make the OC a condition of sale, or knowingly price the risk in.
In a lot of older completed buildings the OC is genuinely missing and people still transact. But every one of those buyers takes a haircut at resale. Go in with eyes open.
Is OC the same as completion certificate?
Related but not identical — the CC certifies construction is done, the OC certifies it's fit to occupy. Ask for both.
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