The enactment of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) fundamentally reshaped India’s real estate sector. Designed to replace an opaque system with strict statutory accountability, RERA equips home buyers across Indian states with enforceable legal rights against builder defaults, project delays, and unfair contract terms.
A core right under RERA is transparent access to verified project information. Developers are legally bound to register their residential or commercial projects with the state RERA authority before marketing them. Promoters must upload approved sanction plans, layout specifications, land title certificates, utility approvals, and quarterly progress updates to the public RERA portal, ending misleading brochure promises.
RERA also protects buyers from project delays through strict financial discipline. Section 4(2)(l)(D) mandates that developers deposit 70% of buyer collections into a dedicated escrow account in a scheduled bank, restricted strictly to land acquisition and construction costs. This prevents developers from siphoning funds into other commercial ventures.
If a promoter fails to hand over possession by the date committed in the registered Agreement for Sale, Section 18 empowers the buyer to withdraw from the project and claim a full refund along with interest prescribed under state rules. Alternatively, buyers opting to stay in the project are entitled to monthly interest payouts from the builder for every month of delay.
Furthermore, RERA provides a mandatory five-year structural defect liability period. If structural defects or poor workmanship surface within five years of possession, the builder must rectify them free of cost within 30 days. Should disputes arise, buyers can file complaints before the RERA Adjudicating Officer or Appellate Tribunal for fast-track resolution without entering long civil litigation. ases across local Civil Courts and the Revenue Court Portal prevents buyers from inheriting long-drawn family partition suits or land acquisition proceedings initiated by government authorities.