OC certifies that the building has complied with all the required building standards, local laws and it is safe to occupy. ..
The OC is issued only once the building has been completed in all respects and can be occupied. The legal possession of the Flat by the Owner is valid only with the Occupancy Certificate.
Obtaining Occupancy Certificate and Completion certificate can be mandatory under respective State laws. As per these state laws, one cannot legally move into a building unless the developer gets an occupancy certificate from the respective local administrative or civic bodies.
The corporation or municipality can ask the apartment owners to leave such illegally occupied flats or impose heavy penalties in the name of ‘regularization’.
If the building construction is completed as per the building approval plan and if it also meets other building standards like distance from road, height of the building, if rain water harvesting system is in place etc., the civic authorities will issue CC.
So, the main difference between Completion certificate & Occupancy Certificate is that CC shows that the building construction is done as per the plan which was approved by the concerned authorities.
And after getting this, occupancy certificate will be given to all buyers so that they can take possession of their Flats / properties.
Before buying the flat you may enquire about this with the seller and the society also, if you dont get satisfactory reply or if your advocate opines that it may not be safe to buy the property without the statutory requirement of CC being furnished you may have a second thought over it.