TRW & Co · Land and property
CDA Plot Transfer: Process, Fees and Documents
The CDA plot transfer process for Chattogram Development Authority residential plots changed with a November 2025 housing ministry notification: most residential sales, gifts and inheritances no longer need the authority's prior permission. This guide explains the new route, the exceptions, the transfer fee, the buyer's 90-day filing duty, transfers to heirs and the lease conditions that still bind.
Key pointRegistration at the sub-registry is no longer the end of the job: the buyer must file the deed and mutation papers with CDA within 90 days, and until CDA's file shows the new lessee, building permission, bank finance and resale will stall.
At a glance
Prior permission removed
A November 2025 housing ministry notification removed lessor approval for most sales, gifts and inheritances of residential plots and flats developed by its agencies, including CDA.
Exceptions still need approval
Sub-division, amalgamation, change of use, non-residential plots, disputed or abandoned-list plots and special allotments from 2009 to 2024 keep the approval process.
Fee paid at registration
The transfer fee is paid at the sub-registry office as non-tax revenue; reports put it at 2% of deed value for flats and 3% for plots.
Ninety-day filing duty
The buyer must file the registered deed and mutation papers with CDA within 90 days; late filing attracts a daily fine up to a cap.
Lease conditions still bind
CDA leases can require building within a set period and restrict use and sub-division; a breach can expose the plot to cancellation whoever holds it.
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The short answer
The CDA plot transfer process changed in November 2025. Before then, selling, gifting or mortgaging a plot in a Chattogram Development Authority residential area needed the authority's prior transfer permission. Under a Ministry of Housing and Public Works notification issued that month, most transfers of residential plots and flats developed by the ministry and its agencies no longer need the lessor's prior approval. The deed is registered at the sub-registry office, a transfer fee is paid there, and the buyer then files the deed and mutation papers with the authority.
Approval is still needed for sub-division, amalgamation and changes of use, for non-residential plots, and for plots with disputed ownership, plots on the abandoned property list and certain special allotments. And the lease deed's own conditions, such as an obligation to build, still bind whoever holds the plot.
The legal framework for CDA plots
CDA is a statutory authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, now constituted by the Chattogram Development Authority Act 2018, which succeeded the Chittagong Development Authority Ordinance 1959. Over the decades it has developed residential areas across the city, including the Agrabad CDA Residential Area, the Chandgaon residential area, Kalpalok and Anannya.
- The lease deed. CDA residential plots are generally held on a long lease from the authority, not owned outright. The lease fixes the term, the permitted use, any obligation to build, restrictions on sub-division and the authority's right to cancel for breach.
- The Transfer of Property Act 1882. The general law on leases, sales, gifts and mortgages of immovable property.
- The Registration Act 1908. Every transfer must be registered at the sub-registry office with jurisdiction over the plot.
- The November 2025 notification. The ministry's rules removing prior lessor approval for most residential transfers, described below.
- Building control. What may be built on the plot depends on CDA's building permission process and the master plan.
CDA's estate and land functions hold the allotment file for each plot and record the current lessee. The CDA website lists its offices, residential projects and services.
What changed in November 2025
According to reports in The Business Standard and Prothom Alo, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works issued a notification on 9 November 2025 removing the need for the lessor's approval for deeds of sale, gift, inheritance, partition and loans relating to residential plots and flats developed under the ministry and its agencies. CDA is one of those agencies, so the reform reshapes the CDA plot transfer process for most residential plots.
| Issue | Before November 2025 | After November 2025 (as reported) |
|---|---|---|
| Prior permission for a residential sale, gift or inheritance | Required from the lessor authority | Not required for listed residential plots and flats |
| Where the fee is paid | To the authority with the permission application | At the sub-registry office, as non-tax revenue to the ministry |
| Transfer fee | Set by the authority | Reported as 2% of deed value for flats and 3% for plots; one report gave a different plot rate, so confirm at registration |
| After registration | Authority records the transfer it approved | Buyer files the deed and mutation papers with the authority within 90 days; late filing attracts a daily fine up to a cap |
| Authority's record update | After approval | Reported as within 30 days of receiving the papers |
| Sub-division, amalgamation, change of use | Approval required | Approval still required |
| Commercial, industrial and institutional plots | Approval required | Existing approval process continues |
| Disputed, abandoned-list or specially allotted plots | Approval required | Existing approval process continues (special allotments from January 2009 to July 2024) |
The notification also said that the authorities would publish lists of the residential plots and flats that can be transferred without approval, and could correct errors in them. Before relying on the new route, confirm with CDA that your plot is on its list and not in an excluded category.
The 90-day filing duty falls on the buyer, not the seller. Diarise it on the day of registration and keep proof of submission. A registered deed that never reaches CDA's file leaves the authority's record in the seller's name, which causes trouble later with building permission, bank loans and resale.
The CDA plot transfer process, step by step
For a residential plot that falls within the new rules, the CDA plot transfer process now runs as follows. Most of the work is done before the deed is signed: the checks in the first four steps are what protect the buyer, because once the deed is registered and the price paid, problems in CDA's file become the buyer's problems.
- Check the authority's file. Obtain from the seller the allotment letter, lease deed, possession letter, any earlier transfer records and CDA's confirmation of the current lessee. The name in CDA's file must match the seller.
- Check the plot's status. Confirm with CDA that the plot is residential, is on the list of plots transferable without approval, and is not disputed, on the abandoned property list or a special allotment from the excluded period.
- Check the lease conditions. Read the lease for building deadlines, use restrictions and cancellation clauses, and ask whether any breach notice has been issued.
- Check land records and dues. Review the khatian and mutation records, land development tax and, for built plots, Chattogram City Corporation holding tax. Ask for CDA's confirmation that no dues are outstanding.
- Draft and register the deed. Execute the sale, gift or other deed at the sub-registry office with jurisdiction, paying the registration costs and the transfer fee to the ministry through the sub-registry.
- File with CDA within 90 days. Submit a copy of the registered deed and the mutation papers to CDA, and keep the receipt. Late filing attracts a daily fine up to a cap.
- Confirm the record and mutate. Follow up until CDA's file shows you as lessee, and complete mutation with the AC Land so you can pay land development tax in your name.
For plots still requiring approval, the older route applies: an application to CDA with the deed draft, the documents above and the authority's fee, followed by CDA's permission before registration. An authority asked to permit a transfer must act lawfully and give reasons. In Writ Petition No. 1820 of 2016, the High Court Division set aside an unreasoned refusal by the housing ministry to permit the transfer of a leased government plot in Cox's Bazar and directed that permission be given.
Transfers to heirs
When a CDA lessee dies, the plot passes to the heirs under their personal law, subject to the lease. Under the November 2025 rules, inheritance deeds for residential plots no longer need prior approval, but CDA's file still has to be updated. Heirs typically need the death certificate, a warish (heirship) certificate, the lease deed and allotment papers, and any partition or heba deed among themselves.
Problems arise when one heir sells the whole plot, when the heirs cannot agree on partition, or when the lease forbids sub-division. Where the plot cannot be divided physically, heirs usually sell together and divide the proceeds, or one heir buys out the others. Our inheritance lawyers in Chattogram and the guide to a partition suit cover the options.
Timing matters for heirs. While the file stays in a deceased lessee's name, the heirs cannot easily obtain building permission, finance or a clean sale, and any lease condition that falls due in the meantime still applies. Updating CDA's file promptly after the death, even before the family decides whether to sell or build, keeps every later option open and avoids a rushed regularisation when a buyer is waiting.
The link with building permission
A buyer usually wants to build, and building permission is where an incomplete CDA plot transfer process shows up. CDA's land-use and building approval stages rely on a clean title and on the applicant's name appearing in the authority's records. If the transfer was never filed with CDA, or a mutation is missing, the application will stall.
Some CDA leases also oblige the lessee to build within a set period. In a case reported by bdnews24 in October 2025, concerning a large plot in the Agrabad CDA Residential Area, CDA's chairman said a two-year building condition had not been met and repeated notices had been issued. A buyer of an undeveloped plot should therefore ask whether any such notice exists. Our guide to the CDA building plan approval process explains the next stage.
Common objections and how to deal with them
The seller is not the lessee in CDA's file
This is the most frequent problem. Plots sold informally through powers of attorney, or inherited without updating the file, can have a registered chain that CDA has never recorded. The buyer should insist that the seller first regularises the file, through the authority or, for earlier transfers, by filing the missing deeds. Buying first and hoping to fix the record later shifts the risk to the buyer.
The plot is in an excluded category
If the plot is disputed, appears on the abandoned property list, was specially allotted in the excluded period, or is not residential, prior approval is still needed. Check this before signing. If CDA refuses permission, it should give reasons; an unreasoned refusal may be challenged, and the High Court Division has set aside such refusals in the past.
Breach of lease conditions
An unbuilt plot, an unauthorised use, or a sub-division without approval can expose the plot to cancellation. A buyer inherits that risk. Ask CDA in writing whether any breach notice is pending, and where there is a breach, negotiate its cure, an extension or an indemnity before completion.
Mortgage and bank requirements
Lenders financing a CDA plot or the building on it have traditionally asked for the authority's no-objection certificate. The November 2025 rules cover loans relating to residential plots, but banks may still ask for written confirmation from CDA of the lessee's name. Build that time into the purchase timetable.
Documents to assemble, including from abroad
A complete file makes every stage of the CDA plot transfer process faster, whether or not prior approval is needed. Assemble the following before the deed is drafted.
| Document | From whom | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Allotment letter and lease deed | Seller; certified copy from CDA if missing | Shows the lease term, conditions and the original allottee |
| Possession letter and site plan | Seller or CDA | Confirms the plot handed over and its boundaries |
| CDA confirmation of current lessee | CDA | Proves the seller is the person in the authority's file |
| Earlier transfer deeds and CDA records of them | Seller; sub-registry | Completes the chain from the allottee to the seller |
| Khatian, mutation and land development tax receipts | Seller; Ministry of Land portals | Matches the land record to CDA's file |
| Holding tax receipts for built plots | Seller; Chattogram City Corporation | Shows no municipal arrears |
| Warish certificate and death certificate | Heirs | Needed where the seller inherited the plot |
| Power of attorney, if any | Seller or buyer abroad | Must be valid and properly authenticated to support the deed |
Buyers and sellers abroad
Families in the Gulf, the UK and elsewhere buy and inherit CDA plots regularly. The CDA plot transfer process can be run through an attorney in Chattogram, but the power of attorney must be executed and authenticated in the form the sub-registry office accepts, and it should expressly cover dealing with CDA as well as registering the deed. Payments should move through banking channels with a clear paper trail. Our guides to buying land as an NRB and the firm's offices in Dubai, Singapore and London help clients sign and send documents.
An illustrative scenario
Illustrative only; no real parties. A family abroad agrees to buy a residential plot in a CDA residential area from the heirs of the original allottee. CDA's file still shows the allottee. The buyers' lawyer asks the heirs first to file the death certificate, warish certificate and partition deed with CDA so that the file shows them as lessees, and confirms that the plot is residential and not in an excluded category.
The sale deed is then registered at the sub-registry office and the transfer fee paid there. Within the 90-day window, the lawyer files the deed and mutation papers with CDA and follows up until the buyers appear in the file, then completes the AC Land mutation. Only after that does the architect start the building permission application.
Checklist: what to do next
- Collect the allotment letter, lease deed, possession letter and CDA file records.
- Confirm with CDA that the seller is the recorded lessee and the plot is transferable without approval.
- Read the lease for building deadlines, use restrictions and cancellation clauses.
- Check khatian, mutation, land development tax and holding tax records.
- Register the deed and pay the transfer fee at the sub-registry office.
- File the deed and mutation papers with CDA within 90 days, and mutate with the AC Land.
TRW & Co's CDA plot lawyers in Chattogram review files, deal with the authority and register transfers, working with our property lawyers and NRB property team. For advice on a CDA plot transfer process, contact us at info@trw.co or +880 1779 127165, or visit our law firm in Chittagong at Room 4022, Annex 2, District and Sessions Judge Court Building, Court Hill (Porir Pahar), Kotwali, Chattogram 4000.
Frequently asked questions
01Do I still need CDA permission to sell my plot?
For most residential plots, no. Under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works notification of November 2025, sales, gifts, inheritance and partition deeds for listed residential plots and flats no longer need the lessor's prior approval. Permission is still needed for sub-division, amalgamation or change of use, for non-residential plots, and for plots that are disputed, on the abandoned property list or specially allotted between January 2009 and July 2024.
02What is the CDA plot transfer fee?
Under the November 2025 rules, the transfer fee is paid at the sub-registry office as non-tax revenue to the ministry, in addition to registration costs. Most reports give the rate as 2% of deed value for flats and 3% for plots, although one report gave a different figure for plots. Confirm the applicable rate with the sub-registry office before registration.
03What must the buyer do after registering the deed?
Submit a copy of the registered deed and the mutation papers to CDA within 90 days of the transfer. Late submission attracts a daily fine up to a cap. The authority is then expected to update its records. The buyer should also complete mutation with the AC Land and start paying land development tax in their own name.
04How do heirs transfer a CDA plot?
Heirs need the lessee's death certificate, a warish certificate, the lease deed and allotment papers, and any partition or heba deed among themselves. Under the 2025 rules inheritance of residential plots does not need prior approval, but CDA's file must be updated so that the heirs appear as lessees before they sell, build or borrow. Sub-division of the plot still needs CDA's approval.
05Can CDA cancel my plot after I buy it?
If the lease conditions are breached, for example by failing to build within the required period, using the plot for an unauthorised purpose or sub-dividing it without approval, CDA may take action under the lease, which can include cancellation. A buyer takes the plot subject to those conditions, so ask CDA in writing whether any breach notice is pending before completing the purchase.
06Can an NRB buy or sell a CDA plot from abroad?
Yes. An NRB can buy or sell through a properly executed and authenticated power of attorney, with a representative attending the sub-registry office and dealing with CDA. The same checks apply: CDA's file, the plot's status, the lease conditions and the 90-day filing duty. Money transfers should go through banking channels and be documented.
Sources and official materials
- Chattogram Development Authority — CDA offices, residential areas and services
- The Business Standard: no approval needed for transfer of residential plots and flats (November 2025) — Scope, exceptions, fees and the 90-day filing rule
- Prothom Alo: transfer of government plots and flats without permission (November 2025) — Notification of 9 November 2025 and record update timeline
- Transfer of Property Act 1882 — Leases, sales, gifts and mortgages
- Registration Act 1908 — Compulsory registration of transfers
- High Court Division, Writ Petition No. 1820 of 2016 (28 August 2022) — Unreasoned refusal to permit transfer of a leased government plot set aside
General information only, current as at 2 November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an advocate–client relationship. It reflects the law of Bangladesh unless stated otherwise, and the law, court practice and official fees change frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.
