If you are buying in a new or under-construction project, the single most useful ten minutes you can spend is on your state's RERA website. It costs nothing, needs no login in most states, and tells you more about a project than any brochure.
This guide walks through what RERA is, which projects must register, and exactly what to check once you find the project page.
What RERA is, in one paragraph
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, usually called RERA, came fully into force on 1 May 2017. It requires builders (called promoters in the Act) to register projects with a state regulator before advertising or selling, to disclose key project details publicly, and to follow rules on how buyers' money is handled. Every state and union territory has its own authority and website, for example MahaRERA in Maharashtra, UP RERA in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana RERA, Karnataka RERA and Tamil Nadu RERA.
Which projects must register? Broadly, any project where the land is larger than 500 square metres, or which has more than eight apartments across all phases. Real estate agents who sell in registered projects must also register with the authority.
Step 1: Find the registration number
A registered project must show its RERA registration number, and the authority's website address, on every advertisement and brochure. Note it down exactly. If a salesperson says registration is "applied for" or "coming next month", treat that as a warning: under the Act, a promoter cannot advertise, market or sell units in a project that needs registration until it is registered.
Step 2: Search the project on the state portal
Open your state's RERA website and look for a section such as Registered Projects or Project Search. You can usually search by registration number, project name, promoter name or district. If the project doesn't appear at all, ask the builder for the exact registration number and search again before going any further.
Step 3: What to check on the project page
Once you open the project's details, work through this list:
- Registration validity: the registration date and the promoter's declared completion date. This declared date is what you can hold the promoter to.
- Promoter details: company name, directors or partners, and their past projects. Search those older projects on the same portal too.
- Approved plans and specifications: sanctioned layout and building plans, and the specifications promised. Compare them with what the brochure shows.
- Land and title documents: many states require the title documents or a title report to be uploaded.
- Unit inventory: the number and type of apartments, with carpet area for each type.
- Quarterly progress updates: promoters must update the project page every quarter with booking status and construction progress.
- Complaints and orders: many portals list complaints filed against the project and orders passed by the authority.
Step 4: Read the quarterly progress reports
The quarterly updates are where a project's real story shows. Compare the construction status across the last few quarters. A project that has shown the same "excavation complete" status for a year, while the declared completion date gets closer, deserves hard questions.
Download the PDFs from the portal and keep them. If the project is delayed later, documents you saved at the time of booking are useful evidence.
Protections you get in a RERA-registered project
Knowing your rights helps you spot when a builder is asking for something unusual:
- Escrow of buyer money: the promoter must deposit 70% of the amounts collected from buyers in a separate bank account, to be used only for the cost of land and construction of that project.
- Cap on advance payment: a promoter cannot take more than 10% of the apartment cost as an advance or application fee before signing a registered agreement for sale.
- Delay compensation: if possession is not given by the date in the agreement, the buyer can choose to withdraw and get a refund with interest, or stay and receive interest for every month of delay.
- Structural defects: the promoter is responsible for fixing structural defects reported within five years of handing over possession.
Red flags to watch for
- The project or agent is not registered, but sales are under way.
- The declared completion date on RERA is later than the date the sales team promises verbally.
- Quarterly updates are missing or haven't changed for several quarters.
- Several complaints or orders against the same promoter for delays or refunds.
- Pressure to pay a large booking amount before an agreement for sale is registered.
RERA registration is necessary, but it is not proof that a project is risk-free. It tells you the project is on the regulator's radar and gives you remedies if things go wrong. You still need to verify title, approvals and the builder's track record.
Where to go next
Use RERA as your first filter, then work through title, encumbrance and approvals. Our guide to the encumbrance certificate is a good next step, and if something on a RERA page doesn't make sense, ask the PropRaahi community.