First Home Possession: What Starts on Key Day

Most first-home buyers picture possession as one happy day: a ribbon, a key, a photo at the door. In reality it is a short chain of steps. Bills begin, a legal clock starts, and some of your rights depend on what you sign. Knowing the order helps you stay calm and in control.

The steps, in the order they usually happen

1. Occupancy certificate. The local authority certifies the building as fit to live in. Getting it is the builder's job under section 11(4)(b) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA).
2. Offer of possession. The builder writes to say your home is ready and sends the final payment demand.
3. Inspection. You check the flat and list every defect in writing.
4. Possession letter and keys. You sign a letter recording the handover date.
5. Accounts move to you. Maintenance, electricity, water and property tax.
6. Conveyance deed. The registered document that gives you title, under section 17(1) of RERA.
7. Association handover. Common areas pass to the residents' association.

You will notice there is no fixed date anywhere in this list. The date that applies to you is the one written in your own agreement for sale.

What the offer of possession sets off

An offer of possession is a letter, not the handover itself. Still, three things often begin from it:

• The last payment. Your final instalment usually falls due here. If you have a home loan, tell your bank early so the last disbursement is ready.
• The two-month window. Section 19(10) of RERA asks you to take possession within two months of the occupancy certificate.
• Maintenance, in some agreements. If yours says maintenance starts from the offer, delaying key collection will not delay the bill.

If an offer arrives before the occupancy certificate exists, ask to see the certificate before you do anything else.

Renting and paying an EMI at the same time

This is the part first-time buyers feel most. Say your rent is ₹25,000 a month and your EMI is already running. Every extra month of overlap costs another ₹25,000. Giving notice too early is worse, because you may have nowhere to go if handover slips by a few weeks.

A sensible plan: give notice only once you have seen the occupancy certificate for your block and have the inspection date in writing. Budget for one or two months of overlap as a safety margin.

Two different start dates: maintenance and property tax

Maintenance starts on the date in your agreement. Ask how it is calculated, and what any deposit or corpus fund is for. Until the residents' association takes over, the builder or its agency manages the building and holds that money, so get the terms in writing now.

Property tax follows the local body's own process. In Karnataka, that means getting your unit assessed and the khata into your name with whichever body covers the area. This is your job, not the builder's, and starting late only builds arrears.

Utilities on day one

• Photograph the electricity and water meters, with the readings visible.
• Ask whether the power supply is a permanent connection or still a temporary construction supply.
• Apply to move the electricity account into your name.
• Ask which points in your home run on power backup.
• Keep the first bill in your name as proof of the changeover date.

The five-year safety net

Section 14(3) of RERA gives you five years from the handover date to report a structural defect, or a defect in workmanship, quality or services, or a breach of the agreement. The builder must fix it within thirty days, at no charge.

Two practical points. The clock runs from the date on your possession letter, so make sure that date is the day you actually took the keys. And a chat with the site supervisor is not a report. Send it by email or letter, with photos, and keep the reply.

Your first week in the new home

• Apply for the khata and utility transfers. They are slow, so start now.
• Recheck each item on your snag list and photograph the repairs.
• Keep the possession letter, occupancy certificate, final account statement and snag list together in one folder.
• Do not sign a "no dues" or "full and final" letter while defects are still open.
• Do not start carpentry that hides a defect, such as a damp wall, until it has been fixed.
• Ask in writing when the conveyance deed and association handover will happen.

Inspection day, step by step

1. Go in daylight. Cracks, uneven paint and damp patches are easier to see.
2. Carry a kit. A tape measure, a phone charger to test sockets, a small ball or marble to check floor slope, and a notebook.
3. Start at the front door and move room by room in one direction, so nothing is skipped.
4. Run every tap and flush. Check for leaks under sinks and around the base of toilets.
5. Open and shut every door and window. Check locks, handles and gaps.
6. Measure the rooms and add them up. Compare with the carpet area in your agreement.
7. Photograph each defect and number it on your list.
8. Send the list by email the same day and ask for a date for repairs.

A worked rent-and-EMI example

All figures here are illustrative. Your rent is ₹25,000 and your full EMI is ₹45,000. While both run, you pay ₹70,000 a month on housing. If handover slips by two months after you planned, that is ₹50,000 of extra rent. If you had given notice too early, you might also face a short-term stay or storage, which costs more. Keeping ₹50,000 to ₹75,000 aside as an overlap fund turns a stressful delay into a planned expense.

Common mistakes at handover

• Signing the possession letter before the inspection is done.
• Accepting a possession date on the letter that is earlier than the day you got the keys.
• Paying the final instalment before seeing the occupancy certificate.
• Reporting defects only by phone or in person.
• Losing the snag list. Keep a copy in your email and in your folder.

For the full journey from first visit to moving in, see our first home guide.