The deal

Token vs bayana: how much should you pay, and when?

By Adil Builders · Updated 25 September 2026

"Sir, just give ten lakh token today. Documents baad mein check kar lena." Almost every Lahore property deal has this moment. It is where many buyers lose money.

Token, bayana, advance: the label does not matter

People use token, bayana, advance, booking amount and earnest money almost interchangeably. Do not.

What a payment means legally comes from the written agreement and the law, not from what someone calls it.

"It's just a token" tells you nothing about:

whether it is refundable,
when it stops being refundable,
what happens if the seller backs out,
what happens if you back out,
whether it counts towards the price,
what has to happen before it is paid.

Five lakh called a token and fifty lakh called a bayana follow the same logic: read the agreement.

Before you pay anything significant

You should already know:

Who owns the property.
Who is selling it, and their right to sell.
What exactly you are buying: a file, an allotment, a plot with possession, or land.
Whether the scheme, block and plot are approved.
What the payment is for, and what happens to it if either side walks away.

If you do not know these yet, you are not ready to pay a token, however urgent the seller says it is.

"Is my token refundable?"

It depends on the agreement and the law. Never assume a token is always refundable, and never assume a bayana is always forfeited. That is why the agreement has to be reviewed before you sign and pay, not after an argument starts.

How to pay a token safely

Do the checks first. Urgency is the seller's problem, not yours.
Sign a written agreement, drafted or reviewed by your own lawyer. Not a dealer's handwritten receipt.
Pay by traceable bank transfer, not cash.
Get a proper receipt: who paid, who received, amount, date, method, purpose, the property, and the agreement it relates to.

"The dealer witnessed it" is not a financial record. For a large transaction, do not rely on a WhatsApp receipt.

How much?

There is no standard amount, and the right figure is a matter for you and your lawyer. The principle is more useful than a number: keep the amount you have at risk small until the seller has actually met their obligations. Tie each payment to something completed, never to a promise.

From Chapter 7, From "I Want It" to "It’s Mine" of Understanding Property in Lahore, built from PLRA, LDA and FBR sources.