Reading the area on a 7/12: hectare, are and square metre

The first time you look at a 7/12 extract, the area column is the confusing bit. You'll see something like 0.40.50, and it isn't a decimal. Those are three separate numbers.

What the three parts mean

The area is written as hectares, then ares, then square metres. So 0.40.50 means 0 hectares, 40 ares and 50 square metres. The column header on the extract says the same thing in Marathi (हे. आर. चौ. मी.).

• 1 hectare is 100 ares, or 10,000 sq m.
• 1 are is 100 sq m. People often call it "R", from the way it's written.

To get the whole area in square metres, take the hectares times 10,000, add the ares times 100, and add the square metres. For 0.40.50 that's 0 + 4,000 + 50, which is 4,050 sq m. Put that into the converter below with "Sq.m" as the unit, and you'll see it's about 40 gunthas, or just over one acre.

Two more examples

• 1.21.40 is 1 hectare, 21 ares and 40 sq m, which comes to 12,140 sq m, or about 120 gunthas (3 acres).
• 0.10.12 is 10 ares and 12 sq m, which is 1,012 sq m, or about 10 gunthas.

Other area lines on the same extract

A 7/12 may also show pot kharab, the part of the land that can't be cultivated, separately from the cultivable area. And if the land has several holders, the area may be split between them. Read the whole extract, not just the total, and check that the area in the draft agreement matches the share you're actually buying. Our 7/12 extract checklist goes through every column.

Questions people ask

Is "R" on a 7/12 the same as a guntha?

Close, but no. One are is 100 sq m, and one guntha is about 101.17 sq m. The difference adds up over a big piece of land.

Why are there dots and not commas?

It's the convention land records use for hectare, are and square metre. Read each part on its own.

Where do I get the 7/12?

Online, from the state's land records portal. Here's how to download it, step by step.

Your next step

Open the 7/12 of the land you're considering, add up its area the way shown above, and compare it with what the seller told you. If they don't match, ask why before anything else.