Check if a Karachi Building Is SBCA Approved Before You Buy a Flat
Check if a Karachi flat or project is SBCA approved: the NOC for sale list, projects SBCA warns against, the 601 dangerous buildings and the permit QR code.
Before you book a flat or shop in Karachi, check three SBCA lists on sbca.gos.pk: Public Sale Projects, which shows builders holding an NOC for sale and advertisement; the public notice of projects with no NOC; and the Dangerous Buildings list, which counted 601 buildings in its 18 August 2026 summary.
A booking in Karachi usually starts with a brochure and a down payment. The brochure tells you about the lobby and the parking. It rarely tells you whether the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has allowed the builder to sell at all.
We went through SBCA's own website on 3 October 2026 and opened every list a buyer can use. Some are useful. Some are thin. Here is what each one shows, and what it does not.
SBCA NOC for sale is the first thing to check
SBCA warns buyers not to book units in a Karachi project that has no SBCA NOC for sale and advertisement. It lists the projects that hold one under Public Sale Projects on its website, with the plot, builder name, NOC number, date and project name.
The list is split into buildings, by year from 2010 to 2026, and housing schemes, by year from 2021 to 2026. Pick the year the builder says the NOC was issued and look for the project name and plot number.
The 2026 buildings list showed only two projects when we opened it on 3 October 2026, with NOCs dated 16 April and 31 July 2026. That is a short list for a city of Karachi's size. A project missing from it is a reason to ask questions, not proof of fraud, because the NOC may sit under an earlier year.
Ask the builder for the NOC number in writing. Then match it, word for word, against SBCA's list.
Projects SBCA warns buyers to avoid
SBCA has published a public notice naming projects that have no NOC for sale and advertisement. It warns the public not to book or buy units in them, and says SBCA will not act as an arbitrator in any dispute over them.
The notice we read lists eight projects in Karachi, in areas such as Gadap Town, Scheme-33, Scheme-45, Surjani Town and Gulshan-e-Iqbal. One is marked cancelled. SBCA files it under Illegal Societies in its menu, and the file name carries the date 31 October 2024.
That date matters. A list from 2024 cannot cover a project launched this year. Treat the notice as a red flag list, not a clean bill for everything else.
Punjab buyers have their own route to check a housing society is approved, and Islamabad has CDA's list. In Karachi, SBCA's lists are where to start.
601 Karachi buildings are on SBCA's dangerous list
SBCA's summary of buildings declared dangerous counts 601 in Karachi, dated 18 August 2026. District South has 459 of them, including 122 heritage buildings. District Central has 73. The file on SBCA's website was posted with the date 30 September 2026.
| District | Buildings declared dangerous |
|---|---|
| South | 459 (122 of them heritage buildings) |
| Central | 73 |
| Keamari | 28 |
| Korangi | 18 |
| East | 16 |
| Malir | 5 |
| West | 2 |
| Total | 601 |
The PDF we downloaded holds only this one page summary, not the street by street list. So you cannot look up an address in it. If you are renting or buying in an old building in Saddar, Lyari, Kharadar or the city centre, ask SBCA's district office directly whether that building is on the list.
Check the building plan and the QR code
SBCA's website has a search for approved building plans by plot number, file number, district and scheme. The results show the proposal status, number of floors and date of approval. Every SBCA construction permit also carries a QR code that opens SBCA's own record when scanned.
- Get the plot number and file number from the builder or seller.
- Open Approved Building Plans on sbca.gos.pk and search by plot or file number, district and scheme.
- Compare the floors. If the plan shows ground plus four and the building has seven, the extra floors were not on that approval.
- Scan the permit QR code with your phone and see what record it opens.
- Check the NOC for sale under Public Sale Projects, as above.
We could open the search page, but we could not test it with a real plot, so we cannot say how complete its records are. Even so, the floor count is the line to read first.
Check the land too. If the plot sits in Board of Revenue records, a Sindh land record check shows the entry. SBCA also lists land owning agencies, government, private and cooperative, on its site.
Check the professionals and report a problem
SBCA publishes lists of licensed architects, building designers, structural engineers, supervisors, town planners and laboratories. A project's drawings should carry names from those lists. To report an illegal building or a builder, use SBCA's complaint portal at complaints.sbca.gos.pk or its listed number, 111-007-222.
Write the plot number, the project name and what you saw. Photos help. If SBCA does not act, the Provincial Ombudsman Sindh takes complaints against Sindh government agencies, and the Pakistan Citizen's Portal is another route.
One more thing before you pay. SBCA itself says it will not arbitrate disputes over projects that have no NOC.
Common questions
How do I check if a project in Karachi is SBCA approved?
Open Public Sale Projects on sbca.gos.pk and look for the project, plot and NOC number. Then search the plot under Approved Building Plans and match the floors.
What is an SBCA NOC for sale and advertisement?
It is SBCA's permission for a builder to advertise and sell units in a project. SBCA lists the NOC number and date for each project that has one.
Can I look up my address on SBCA's dangerous buildings list?
Not from the file we found. It gives only district totals, 601 buildings in all. Ask SBCA directly about a specific building.
Will SBCA help if I paid for a flat in a project without an NOC?
SBCA's notice says it will not act as an arbitrator in disputes over projects without an NOC. That is why the check has to happen before you pay.
What is the SBCA complaint number?
SBCA's complaint portal lists 111-007-222. You can also register and file online at complaints.sbca.gos.pk.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We read these on 3 October 2026: SBCA's Public Sale Projects pages including Year-2026, the public notice filed under Illegal Societies, the dangerous buildings summary, the approved building plan search page, SBCA's FAQ on QR codes, and its complaint portal. We did not test the plan search with a real plot.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
