"It was a very old and dilapidated house. The family had been advised by the municipal authorities to shift to another house," police said.
The deceased were identified as Shivanand Nagappa Allagi (42), his wife Danamma (32) and their two sons Pramod (9) and Prashanth (3), police said.
Another son of the couple, Prasad (13) however escaped with minor injuries, they said.