Getting started

What does an allotment letter prove, and what doesn't it?

By Adil Builders · Updated 25 September 2026

An allotment letter is one of the first documents you will be shown when buying a plot in a Lahore housing society. It is useful. It is also routinely treated as more than it is.

What an allotment is

An allotment generally means a society or developer has allocated a particular plot, or a plot entitlement, to someone. The allotment letter is the document that shows that allocation. It typically names the scheme, the block, the plot number, the area and the allottee.

That is more specific than a file. A file says "you are entitled to a ten marla plot." An allotment letter says "Plot 123, Block A, is allocated to Mr. Ahmed."

What it does not prove

An allotment letter evidences an allocation. It is not proof of clean ownership.

On its own it does not tell you:

Whether the society had the authority to allot that plot at all.
Whether the scheme, and this block, are approved by LDA.
Whether the plot physically exists where the map says it does.
Whether possession has been given.
Whether the plot has since been transferred to someone else.
Whether there are outstanding charges against it.
What the underlying land record says about the land the plot sits on.

What to do with it

Treat the allotment letter as the start of your checks, not the end:

Confirm it with the society directly. Ask the society, not the dealer, whether the plot is currently allotted to the seller, whether it is transferable, and whether any dues or objections are on record.
Check the scheme's status with LDA, down to the block and plot level.
Check possession. Is the plot developed and handed over, or still waiting?
Visit the site with the approved layout, and check the plot sits where it should.

A genuine allotment letter can still be old, superseded, or relate to a plot that has since changed hands. Authentic is not the same as sufficient.

From Chapter 2, What Exactly Are You Buying? (free) of Understanding Property in Lahore, built from PLRA, LDA and FBR sources.