Vastu checklist before buying a flat: 20 site checks

By the Vastu16 teamPublished 4 October 2026

20 checks, in walking order, fit into a short site visit. The short answer to how to check Vastu before buying a flat: get the unit's plan, find North on a satellite map first, then stand near the centre and note the zones of the door, kitchen, toilets, master bedroom and centre. Score the plan afterwards.

At Vastu16 we read each room under the 16-zone school and the traditional 8-direction school, side by side [1]. What still applies to a flat, and what does not, is on our Vastu for a flat page. This post is the field procedure.

How to check Vastu before buying a flat, in order

Work from the documents to the door, then through the rooms that carry the most weight, then light and air.

Order	Stage	What it settles
1 to 5	Before the visit	Which unit, which plan, where North is
6 to 8	At the door	The entrance zone and what faces it
9 to 14	Kitchen, toilets, centre	The placements with the highest severities
15 to 19	Bedrooms, balcony, light	Comfort and daily use
20	After the visit	A score you can compare across units

In Vastu16's rule table, the highest severities sit with toilets in the north-east or at the centre (5 of 5 in both schools; N and NNE too in the 16-zone school), then a kitchen in the north-east or at the centre and a south-west main door (4 of 5) [1]. Our list of the most serious defects has every reading rated 4 or 5.

Before the visit: the plan, the sanctioned layout and North

Ask for the floor plan of the exact unit, not the typical floor. Mirror-image units put the same layout in different zones.

Ask for the sanctioned plan too. Under the RERA Act 2016, the promoter must make the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications available at booking (s. 11(3)(a)), and an allottee is entitled to that information (s. 19(1)) [2]. Advertisements must carry the project's RERA registration number (s. 11(2)). Note the carpet area as the Act defines it in s. 2(k); in Gurugram, the regulator has said sale must be on carpet area, not super area [3].

Find North before you go. Match the tower on a satellite map and line up the plan's outer walls with the building's outline. Our guide on how to find North for Vastu walks through it.

At the door: entrance zone and what is outside it

Stand near the centre of the flat, a metre from any metal, and take three compass readings a step apart. Then note the bearing from the centre to the main door. The zone is measured from the centre, not from the door.

Main door zone	16-zone school	Traditional 8-direction school
N, NE, E (and NNE)	Good	Good
SW	Avoid, 4 of 5	Avoid, 4 of 5
SSW	Avoid, 4 of 5	Falls in S (avoid, 2 of 5) or SW (avoid, 4 of 5)
S, SE	Neutral	Avoid, 2 of 5
ESE, WNW	Avoid, 3 of 5	Falls in E/SE or W/NW

Look at what faces the door. Vastu16's check does not score a lift, staircase or door opposite yours. The texts do name door faults: the Brihat Samhita (53.76 to 78) counts a door struck by a road, tree, well or pillar as a fault [4], and the Mayamata (30.38b to 40a) faults a door whose axis meets a tree, pillar or well [5].

Kitchen, toilets and the centre: the three checks that carry the most weight

Kitchen. The 16-zone school rates SE, SSE, S, W and NW as good, N, NNE and NE as avoid, 4 of 5, and SW as avoid, 3 of 5. The 8-direction school rates SE and NW good, NE 4 of 5, and SW and N 3 of 5 [1]. Check the kitchen has a window: the National Building Code 2016 asks for 25 percent more openable area in a kitchen than in other rooms (Part 3, cl. 20.1.2, Note 3) [6].

Toilets. Note every one, including attached ones. Both schools rate a north-east toilet 5 of 5. Every bathroom or WC needs at least one wall open to external air and a window or ventilator of at least 0.3 sq m opening to a shaft or open space, and a WC must not open directly into a kitchen (NBC Part 3, cl. 12.4) [6].

Centre. Find the middle of the flat. Both schools rate a toilet there 5 of 5 and a kitchen there 4 of 5 [1].

Bedrooms, balcony and light

Master bedroom. The 16-zone school rates SW, S, WSW and W good; the 8-direction school rates SW, S and W good [1]. Look for a wall where the bed head can point south or east, the direction Vastu16's guidance recommends.

Balcony. Both schools rate a balcony to the N, NE or E as good. The 8-direction school rates a south-west balcony 2 of 5.

Light and heat. The NBC sets a minimum openable window area of one-eighth of the floor area in temperate and composite climates and one-sixth in warm-humid ones, and treats any part of a room more than 7.5 m from an opening as unlit [6]. West and east glass take the most sun: the Eco-Niwas Samhita gives west walls an orientation factor of 1.156 against 0.659 for north, at latitudes under 23.5 degrees N (Table 49) [7].

What a site visit cannot tell you

A visit cannot confirm North on its own. Steel in columns and railings disturbs a phone compass [8], and NOAA notes local anomalies of 3 to 4 degrees are not uncommon [9]. Calibrate the phone with a figure-8 movement first [10]; on an iPhone, a negative heading accuracy means the reading is invalid [11].

If you paid an advance on a false statement in a model flat or advertisement, RERA s. 12 gives a route to compensation [2]. Section 14 cuts both ways: changes to your disclosed unit plan need your consent, minor changes you request or an architect certifies are allowed, and building changes need two-thirds of allottees [2]. Structural changes are never minor, so moving a toilet before possession is not a buyer's right. This is general information, not legal advice. Check your state's RERA rules or ask a lawyer.

Many buyers weigh this when they choose: nearly 67 percent of homeseekers in NoBroker's 2020 report called Vastu compliance an important factor in their decision, a figure from the Mumbai paragraph of a 17,652-person, six-metro survey [12].

Checklist

On your site visit: the 20 checks

Bring the unit's plan, a calibrated phone compass and this list.

Unit number matches the plan you hold.
Sanctioned plan seen or requested.
RERA registration number noted.
Carpet area noted.
North marked from the satellite map.
Three compass readings near the centre, away from metal.
Bearing to the main door, and its zone.
What faces the door: lift, stairs, another door.
Kitchen zone.
Kitchen window, and room for the hob away from the sink.
Zone of every toilet.
An outside wall and a window or ventilator of at least 0.3 sq m in every toilet.
No WC opening straight into the kitchen.
What sits at the centre of the flat.
Master bedroom zone.
A wall for the bed head to point south or east.
Balcony direction.
Openable windows in every room.
West or east glass without shade.
Photos of each room and the plan, with notes.

After the visit: score the plan and compare units

Enter the plan the same evening. Our guide on how to check the Vastu of a flat online covers the steps. If you are choosing between units, check each one and compare up to 8 flats side by side, because a mirror-image unit can score differently.

What is tradition and what is fact

Tradition

Zone ratings and severities: Vastu16's rule table, a draft pending consultant review [1].
Door struck by a road, tree, well or pillar: Brihat Samhita 53.76 to 78 [4]; Mayamata 30.38b to 40a [5].

Physical fact

Window area, kitchen openings and WC ventilation: NBC 2016 Part 3, cl. 12.4 and 20.1.2 [6].
West and east walls gain the most heat below 23.5 degrees N: Eco-Niwas Samhita 2024, Table 49 [7].
Phone compasses read magnetic North and are disturbed by steel: Android and Apple documentation, Sensors 2023 [10][11][8].
Sanctioned plans, model flats and plan changes: RERA Act 2016, ss. 11, 12, 14, 19 [2].

Where Vastu16 fits

Our free tool lets you score the flat's plan under both schools after the visit. It shows each room's zone, both readings and a North confidence level. It does not inspect construction, title or price, and it does not score what faces the door.

Questions people ask

How do I check Vastu before buying a flat?

Get the unit's own floor plan and the sanctioned plan first. Find North on a satellite map before the visit. On site, take compass readings near the centre of the flat, away from steel. Then note the zone of the main door, kitchen, every toilet, the master bedroom and the centre. Score the plan afterwards under both schools.

Which Vastu defects matter most in a flat?

In Vastu16's rule table a toilet in the north-east or at the centre is 5 of 5 in both schools; a toilet in N or NNE is 5 of 5 in the 16-zone school but 2 of 5 for north in the 8-direction school. Next come, among others, a kitchen in the north-east or centre and a south-west main door, each 4 of 5. These are also the hardest to change in a flat.

Can I check Vastu from the brochure floor plan?

You can start from it, but check two things. The brochure often shows a typical floor, not your unit, and units in one tower can be mirror images. The North arrow may be approximate. Ask for your unit's plan and the sanctioned plan, then verify North on a satellite map.

Is a phone compass good enough on a site visit?

A phone compass is good enough as a second check, not as the only one. Steel in columns and appliances can pull a phone compass off, and NOAA notes local anomalies of 3 to 4 degrees are not uncommon. Calibrate it, take three readings a step apart, and compare them with a satellite map.