Before 2016 a homebuyer's leverage against a developer was a badly drafted agreement and hope. The possession date was indicative, the area you paid for included the lobby and the lift shaft, and the money you handed over could quietly fund a different project in another city. RERA did not make developers honest. It made those three things illegal.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 requires most under-construction projects to be registered before they can be advertised or sold, prices to be quoted on carpet area, and 70% of buyer money to sit in a project-specific escrow account.
The bottom line
What to check before paying anything: the project's RERA registration number on your state portal, the possession date filed with RERA, and any complaints already recorded against the developer.
What you get if possession is late: either interest for every month of delay, or a full refund with interest — your choice, not the builder's.
What it does not cover: completed properties holding a completion certificate, and projects too small to require registration.
Registration is the first thing to verify
Developers must register most projects with the state Real Estate Regulatory Authority before advertising or selling. Registration applies above a threshold, commonly land area over 500 square metres or more than eight apartments.
A project that should be registered and is not is a serious warning. Check the state portal yourself rather than accepting a number printed on a brochure.
Carpet area, not super built-up
RERA makes carpet area — the usable floor area within the walls — the mandatory basis for pricing and selling.
The old practice of quoting a per-square-foot price against super built-up area, which folded in lobbies, lifts and shared spaces, is gone. You pay for what you can stand in.
Where your money has to sit
Seventy per cent of the amounts collected from buyers must go into a separate escrow account, usable only for that project's construction and land cost.
This provision exists because diverting funds from one project to finance the next was the mechanism behind most stalled developments. Tying the money to the building is what stops a delay in one project cascading into five.
What the developer must publish
For every registered project the developer uploads and keeps current the project plan and layout, the status of statutory approvals, the names of contractors and architects, the carpet area of units, and the quarterly progress of construction.
That last item is the useful one. You can check from your phone whether the project is actually moving, instead of asking a sales office that is paid to reassure you.
Delayed possession
This is the most common grievance, and the Act gives the buyer the choice.
Stay in the project and claim interest for every month of delay until possession. Or withdraw and demand a full refund of your money with interest.
The rate matters as much as the right. The interest the developer pays you must be the same rate the developer would have charged you for a delayed instalment, which ended the one-sided contracts where a buyer's late instalment cost real money and a builder's late building cost almost nothing. The rate is prescribed by the rules and generally linked to a benchmark lending rate.
These rights come from the statute and the registered agreement, so a clause the builder inserted to the contrary does not override them.
Structural defects
The developer must rectify any structural or quality defect brought to notice within five years of possession, free of cost, within 30 days. It covers the shoddy work that surfaces in the first monsoon after handover.
Agents have to register too
Real estate agents who sell or facilitate sales in a registered project must themselves be registered with RERA and quote their registration number. Brokers were entirely unregulated before this. An unregistered agent pushing a project is a signal worth acting on.
Filing a complaint
Every state runs its own authority and portal — MahaRERA in Maharashtra at maharera.maharashtra.gov.in, and equivalents elsewhere — but the flow is much the same. A complaint is filed under Section 31 against a registered project, and you do not need a lawyer.
- Open your state RERA portal and click New Registration. Create an account and verify the OTP sent to your mobile.
- Log in and open the complaint form. Enter the project's RERA registration number, the promoter's details, and a clear statement of the grievance — delayed possession, an altered plan, or a quality defect.
- Upload the documents in the prescribed format: the agreement for sale, all payment receipts, the allotment letter, and your correspondence with the builder.
- Pay the fee online. MahaRERA charges Rs. 5,000 per complaint.
- Submit. Both you and the promoter are notified by email and the complaint appears on each dashboard. Hearings follow, often by video, and move considerably faster than a civil court.
The Authority can order the developer to complete the project, hand over possession, refund money with interest, or pay compensation. Many states also run a conciliation forum for settlement by mediation before formal adjudication, which is worth trying where the dispute is about timing rather than principle.
If you are dissatisfied with the order, appeal to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within the prescribed period.
The penalties behind it
A developer who fails to register a project can be penalised up to 10% of the estimated project cost, and continued violation can attract imprisonment. False information and other breaches carry monetary penalties.
These consequences are what changed developer behaviour. Buyer-friendly rules on paper had existed before; enforceable ones had not.
Where RERA stops
It governs registered, under-construction projects. Very small projects and completed properties holding a completion certificate fall outside it.
For grievances that are really about defective service, consumer law offers a parallel remedy. And while RERA proceedings are fast, the outcome still turns on your documentation — the agreement for sale, the payment receipts, and what you put in writing.
Before you book
- Verify the RERA registration number on the state portal.
- Confirm the carpet area and the price per unit of carpet area.
- Check the possession date filed with RERA, not the one in the brochure.
- Read the agreement for sale before paying anything.
- Confirm the selling agent is RERA-registered.
- Look up existing complaints against the developer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a project is RERA-registered? Search the registration number on your state authority's portal. Every registered project has a public page carrying its approvals and quarterly progress.
What can I claim if possession is delayed? Either interest for every month of delay until you get possession, or a full refund with interest if you withdraw. The choice is yours.
What does it cost to file a complaint? It varies by state. MahaRERA charges Rs. 5,000 per complaint, and you can file without a lawyer.
How long is the developer liable for defects? Five years from possession for structural and quality defects, to be rectified free of cost within 30 days of notice.
Does RERA cover a flat I bought in a completed building? Generally no. A property with a completion certificate falls outside the Act, though consumer law may still apply.
Where do I appeal a RERA order? To the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, within the prescribed period.