Six REITs are listed on the NSE and BSE as of October 2026: Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Nexus Select Trust, Knowledge Realty Trust and Bagmane Prime Office REIT. They are usually compared on portfolio size, occupancy, lease expiry profile and distribution per unit, all of which each trust reports every quarter.
Listed REITs in India at a Glance
The figures below are from each trust's results for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (Q1 FY 2026-27). Occupancy is defined differently by each trust, so the basis is shown next to the number.
| REIT | Asset type | Sponsor | Listed on NSE and BSE | Portfolio (30 June 2026) | Occupancy (30 June 2026) | Distribution per unit, Q1 FY 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embassy Office Parks REIT | Office parks, with hotels | Embassy group and Blackstone entities | 1 April 2019 | Over 52 million sq ft, 5 cities | 90% by area; 93% by value | ₹6.31 |
| Mindspace Business Parks REIT | Office parks | K Raheja Corp group | 7 August 2020 | About 46.2 million sq ft | 92.1% committed, including new acquisitions | ₹6.67 |
| Brookfield India Real Estate Trust | Office | Brookfield affiliate | 16 February 2021 | 37.2 million sq ft; 32.6 million operating | 93% committed | ₹5.60 |
| Nexus Select Trust | Retail malls | Wynford Investments Limited | 19 May 2023 | 10.7 million sq ft retail; 19 malls, 15 cities | 96% leased | ₹2.442 |
| Knowledge Realty Trust | Office | Sattva Developers and a Blackstone entity | 18 August 2025 | 46 million sq ft | 93% | ₹1.70 |
| Bagmane Prime Office REIT | Office parks, Bengaluru | Bagmane group | 14 May 2026 | 19.6 million sq ft; 16.6 million completed | 98.7% committed | ₹1.50 (partial quarter) |
Distribution per unit cannot be compared directly across trusts because unit prices differ widely. Bagmane Prime Office REIT was listed for only part of the quarter. According to the Indian REITs Association, the six trusts together manage more than 214 million sq ft of office and retail space, and their combined market capitalisation was above ₹2.17 lakh crore as of 11 August 2026.
How a REIT Pays Its Investors
A REIT collects rent from the properties it owns, mostly through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), and passes the cash on to unitholders. The SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 require a REIT to distribute at least 90% of its net distributable cash flows, and to declare distributions at least once every six months. All six listed REITs declared a distribution for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
The five REITs that were listed during FY 2025-26 distributed over ₹8,900 crore to unitholders in that year. In the first quarter of FY 2026-27, the six listed REITs distributed ₹3,136 crore to more than 4.85 lakh unitholders, according to the Indian REITs Association.
A distribution is not a single type of income. Each payout is broken into components such as interest, dividend, other income and repayment of SPV debt, and the split varies by trust and by quarter. The split matters because each component is taxed differently.
How REIT Income Is Taxed
The rules below are for financial year 2026-27, the first year governed by the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026. The treatment of distributions is taken from the tax notices that listed REITs issued to unitholders for FY 2026-27.
- Interest: taxable in the unitholder's hands at the rate applicable to that unitholder. The REIT deducts tax at source at 10% for resident unitholders and at 5% plus surcharge and cess for non-residents.
- Dividend: exempt for the unitholder, with no tax deducted at source, where the SPVs paying the dividend have not opted for the concessional company tax regime under section 200 of the 2025 Act (section 115BAA of the 1961 Act). Where an SPV has opted for that regime, the dividend is taxable.
- Repayment of SPV debt: no tax is deducted at source on this component.
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, passed by the Lok Sabha in August 2026, proposes to remove the link between the SPV's tax regime and the dividend exemption. The treatment that applies to a particular payout is stated in the REIT's distribution notice for that quarter.
Selling units on the exchange gives rise to capital gains. Listed REIT units held for 12 months or less are short-term assets, and the gain is taxed at 20%. Units held for more than 12 months are long-term, and gains above ₹1.25 lakh in a financial year are taxed at 12.5% without indexation. These rates apply to sales on which securities transaction tax is paid, and exclude surcharge and cess.
REIT vs Buying Property
A listed REIT unit and a directly owned property both produce rental income, but they differ in entry cost, liquidity and regulation.
| Parameter | Listed REIT | Physical property |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum purchase | One unit on the exchange | Full price of the property |
| Where it is bought and sold | NSE and BSE, through a demat account | Private sale with registration |
| Payout rule | At least 90% of net distributable cash flows | None; depends on rent collected |
| Payout frequency required | At least once every six months | As per lease |
| Regulator | SEBI | State RERA and registration authorities |
| Management | REIT manager | Owner |
| Long-term holding period for capital gains | More than 12 months | More than 24 months |
| Mutual fund classification | Equity-related instrument from 1 January 2026 | Not applicable |
| Main risks | Vacancy, lease expiries, interest rates, unit price movement | Vacancy, tenant default, title disputes, slow resale |
SEBI's circular of 28 November 2025 reclassified REIT units as equity-related instruments for mutual funds and specialised investment funds from 1 January 2026, with inclusion in equity indices permitted from 1 July 2026. A REIT unit price moves every trading day, so the market value of a holding can fall even when rents are steady.
Small and Medium REITs (SM REITs)
SEBI notified the Small and Medium REIT framework in March 2024 by amending the REIT Regulations. An SM REIT runs separate schemes, and each scheme owns assets worth at least ₹50 crore and less than ₹500 crore. The minimum subscription, and the price of one unit at issue, is ₹10 lakh.
A scheme must hold at least 95% of its assets in completed, revenue-generating properties. The payout rule is tighter than for large REITs: the SPV distributes at least 95% of its net distributable cash flows to the scheme, the scheme distributes 100% of its net distributable cash flows to unitholders, and distributions are made every quarter.
Property Share Investment Trust has listed three SM REIT schemes on the BSE: PropShare Platina (December 2024, an office asset in Bengaluru), PropShare Titania (August 2025, an office asset in Thane) and PropShare Celestia (April 2026, an office asset in Ahmedabad). Each scheme holds a single asset, so a holder's income depends on one building and its tenants.
Risks to Weigh Before Investing
REIT distributions are not fixed. They depend on how much space is leased and at what rent, and occupancy differs from trust to trust, as the table above shows.
- Concentration: some portfolios lean heavily on one city. Bagmane Prime Office REIT's six business parks are all in Bengaluru, and Bengaluru assets account for 75% of Embassy Office Parks REIT's gross asset value as of 30 June 2026.
- Lease expiry: when leases end, space may be re-let at a lower rent or stay vacant. Weighted average lease expiry (WALE) indicates how soon this risk arises.
- Limited cash retention: because at least 90% of net distributable cash flows must be paid out, a REIT relies largely on borrowing or new unit issues to fund acquisitions, and higher interest rates raise its financing costs.
- Price risk: units are traded on the exchange and can trade above or below the net asset value the trust reports.
- SM REIT specifics: a ₹10 lakh unit size and single-asset schemes mean larger exposure to one property.
What are the top 3 REITs to invest in
There is no official ranking of REITs, and which three come out on top depends on the measure used. By portfolio area as of 30 June 2026, the three largest are Embassy Office Parks REIT (over 52 million sq ft), Mindspace Business Parks REIT (about 46.2 million sq ft) and Knowledge Realty Trust (46 million sq ft). The Mindspace and Knowledge Realty figures are close and are reported on each trust's own basis.
By reported occupancy on the same date, the order is different: Bagmane Prime Office REIT (98.7% committed), Nexus Select Trust (96% leased) and then Brookfield India Real Estate Trust and Knowledge Realty Trust at 93% each. Size and occupancy describe the portfolio; they do not indicate how the unit price will move.
Which REIT is best to buy now
No public measure identifies a single REIT as the one to buy, and the six trusts are not like-for-like. Five own offices and one owns malls; one is confined to a single city while others are spread across several; two were listed only in 2025 and 2026 and have a short distribution record.
The measures that are published and can be compared are:
- Distribution yield: distributions per unit over the past year divided by the current unit price. It changes daily with the price.
- Occupancy: the share of completed area that is leased or committed.
- WALE: the average remaining lease term.
- Net asset value per unit: the trust's valuation of its assets less debt, per unit. Nexus Select Trust, for example, reported a net asset value of ₹164 per unit in its Q1 FY 2026-27 update.
- Tax mix of the distribution: the share paid as interest, dividend and repayment of debt, which determines the post-tax amount.
How much dividend does REIT pay in India
What a REIT pays is a distribution, of which dividend is only one component. SEBI rules set a floor of 90% of net distributable cash flows; they do not fix an amount per unit. Nexus Select Trust states that it paid out 100% of its net distributable cash flows for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
For that quarter, the declared distributions per unit were ₹6.67 for Mindspace Business Parks REIT, ₹6.31 for Embassy Office Parks REIT, ₹5.60 for Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, ₹2.442 for Nexus Select Trust, ₹1.70 for Knowledge Realty Trust and ₹1.50 for Bagmane Prime Office REIT (for the part of the quarter after listing). Embassy Office Parks REIT's payout for the quarter totalled ₹598 crore.
Key Takeaways
- Six REITs are listed in India as of October 2026; five own offices and one owns retail malls.
- The five REITs listed during FY 2025-26 distributed over ₹8,900 crore in that year; the six distributed ₹3,136 crore in Q1 FY 2026-27.
- A REIT must distribute at least 90% of net distributable cash flows; an SM REIT scheme must distribute 100%, every quarter.
- The tax on a distribution depends on its components, and gains on units held for more than 12 months are taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh in FY 2026-27.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the top listed REITs in India in 2026?
The listed REITs are Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Nexus Select Trust, Knowledge Realty Trust and Bagmane Prime Office REIT. Embassy Office Parks REIT has the largest portfolio by area, at over 52 million sq ft as of 30 June 2026.
What minimum payout percentage do REITs in India distribute to investors?
A REIT must distribute at least 90% of its net distributable cash flows to unitholders, and must declare distributions at least once every six months. The listed REITs currently declare distributions every quarter.
How can individual investors buy REIT units in India?
REIT units trade on the NSE and BSE and are bought through a demat and trading account in the same way as shares. SEBI reduced the trading lot to one unit in 2021, so the minimum purchase is the price of a single unit.
How are REIT payouts taxed in hands of investors in 2026?
For FY 2026-27, the interest component is taxable at the unitholder's applicable rate, with 10% tax deducted at source for residents. The dividend component is exempt where the SPVs have not opted for the concessional tax regime under section 200 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. No tax is deducted on repayment of SPV debt.
What is WALE in REIT property evaluations?
Weighted average lease expiry (WALE) is the average remaining term of the leases in a portfolio, weighted by rent or area. A longer WALE means fewer leases come up for renewal in the near term. Nexus Select Trust reported a retail portfolio WALE of 4.5 years as of 30 June 2026.
What is the difference between investing in REITs and buying physical commercial real estate?
A REIT unit gives a small share in a large, professionally managed portfolio with many tenants and can be sold on the exchange on any trading day. A directly owned commercial property gives full control over one asset, but requires the full purchase price, depends on one or a few tenants and takes longer to sell.
