"RERA protects buyers" is true and also not very useful. When something goes wrong, you need to know which section to point at. This guide maps eight sections of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 to the stage of buying a first home where each one helps. Where the Act leaves details to the State, such as interest rates or forms, we say so instead of guessing a number.
Before you even visit: section 3
Section 3(1) says a promoter may not advertise, market, book, sell or invite buyers for a project in a planning area until it is registered with the State's RERA authority. Note the words advertise and market. Even an ad or a WhatsApp brochure for an unregistered project breaks the rule, whether or not money changes hands.
Section 3(2) lists exceptions: land up to 500 square metres or up to eight apartments across all phases, projects with a completion certificate from before the Act began, and renovation that involves no new sale. The State government may lower the first threshold.
Use it for: turning "Is this project real?" into a yes-or-no question with a registration number.
While shortlisting: section 4
To register, a promoter files its title deed, any encumbrance details, the sanctioned plan and layout plan, the draft allotment letter, agreement for sale and conveyance deed, the number and area of homes, the names of the architect, engineer and contractors, and more. Section 4(2)(l) adds signed declarations: (A) legal title, (B) no encumbrances or their details, (C) the completion timeline, and (D) the separate bank account rule.
Use it for: knowing what papers exist. You are not asking a favour when you ask for them.
Checking the project online: section 11
Section 11(1) puts each project on the authority's website, updated every quarter with bookings, project status and approval status. Section 11(2) says ads must show the registration number and the authority's website. Section 11(3) requires the sanctioned plans and a stage-wise completion schedule to be available at booking.
Use it for: spotting a stale page. Quarterly updates are compulsory, and a long gap tells you something.
Keep the brochure: section 12
If you pay an advance relying on an ad, brochure or model flat, and a statement in it is wrong, section 12 entitles you to compensation. If you choose to leave, you get your money back with interest at the prescribed rate, plus compensation.
Use it for: giving weight to every printed promise. Save the brochure, the price sheet and screenshots.
Before big money: section 13
Section 13(1) caps advances at ten per cent of the cost until a written agreement for sale is signed and registered. Section 13(2) says the agreement must follow the State's prescribed format and state the payment dates, the possession date, and the interest rates both sides pay on default.
Use it for: getting the order right. Agreement first, then the larger payments.
After you move in: section 14
Section 14(1) requires building to follow the sanctioned plans. Under section 14(2), changes inside your own home need your consent, and changes to the building or common areas need written consent from at least two-thirds of the buyers. Section 14(3) gives a five-year window after handover: structural defects, or defects in workmanship, quality or services, reported in that time must be fixed free within thirty days, or you can claim compensation.
If possession is late: section 18
If the promoter cannot hand over by the date in the agreement, section 18(1) lets you choose:
- Leave: get your money back with interest and compensation.
- Stay: get interest for every month of delay until handover.
The interest rate is fixed by the State rules, not by the builder. Section 18(2) covers loss from defective land title, and section 18(3) covers other broken obligations.
Your rights and your duties: section 19
You can get information on sanctioned plans and specifications, the stage-wise schedule, possession as declared, refunds where the promoter fails, and the building documents after possession. In return, you must pay on schedule, pay interest if late, help form the residents' association, take possession within two months of the occupancy certificate, and join in registering the conveyance deed.
A worked example of delay interest (illustrative)
Suppose you have paid ₹40 lakh so far and possession is late. If the rate set in the State rules worked out to, say, 10% a year, the interest for one month of delay would be ₹40,00,000 × 10% ÷ 12 = about ₹33,333. Six months of delay would be about ₹2 lakh. The 10% here is only for the arithmetic. Look up the rate in the current Karnataka rules, and apply it to the amount you have actually paid.
Step by step: if something goes wrong
- Write to the promoter first. Quote the section, describe the problem, attach proof and ask for a reply by a date.
- Keep everything. Agreement, receipts, brochure, emails and photos, all dated.
- File a complaint with the State authority under section 31 if the reply does not resolve it. Karnataka RERA accepts complaints online.
- Appeal if needed. Section 44 allows an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the authority's order, within the time the Act sets.
Common mistakes first-home buyers make
- Paying more than ten per cent before the agreement is registered.
- Throwing away the brochure, which section 12 makes useful evidence.
- Waiting years to report a defect, when section 14(3) gives five years from handover.
- Delaying possession after the occupancy certificate, which section 19 asks you to take within two months.
Why your own duties matter too
Buyers sometimes treat section 19 as small print. It is not. If you pay late, you owe interest at the same kind of prescribed rate the promoter pays you for delay. If you refuse possession for months after the occupancy certificate, your own position in any later dispute is weaker. Meeting your duties keeps your rights strong.
A checklist by stage
- Shortlisting: registration number found on the Karnataka RERA website (section 3); documents listed in the registration noted (section 4); quarterly updates current (section 11).
- Booking: brochure, price sheet and ads saved (section 12); advance kept within ten per cent until the agreement is registered (section 13).
- Agreement: possession date, payment dates and default interest written in (section 13(2)).
- Construction: any change to your flat only with your written consent (section 14(2)).
- Handover: possession taken within two months of the occupancy certificate (section 19); snag list given in writing (section 14(3)).
- After moving in: association formed and common areas handed over (sections 11 and 17).
What RERA does not do
| Common belief | The reality |
|---|---|
| RERA approves the project | It registers it. Plan approvals come from planning authorities |
| Registration means good quality | Nothing in the Act grades construction; section 14(3) gives a remedy for defects |
| Title is guaranteed | Section 4(2)(l)(A) is the promoter's own declaration; do your own title check |
| The Act sets the interest rate | The rate is in each State's rules |
Use the sections in purchase order: 3, 4 and 11 while choosing; 12 and 13 while booking; 14, 18 and 19 in reserve. The Shalott Marque, for example, is registered as PRM/KA/RERA/1251/308/PR/180826/008871, and you can look it up on the Karnataka RERA website yourself. Our first home guide puts these checks into a simple sequence.