Real Estate and Infrastructure Laws: RERA, Title, Builders and Contracts

My builder has delayed possession. What are my options?

You have three main routes, and the right one depends on what you want. If you want your money back, a RERA complaint under section 18 for refund with interest is usually the most direct. If you want the flat, you can claim interest for every month of delay until possession. If the project is stuck and the builder is in financial trouble, the NCLT route under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code may become relevant, though it rarely puts money in individual buyers' hands quickly.

The Supreme Court held in Newtech Promoters and Developers v State of UP (2021) that homebuyers can choose between RERA and the consumer commission, and that RERA authorities can order refund with interest themselves, while compensation beyond that goes to the adjudicating officer. Many buyers in Noida and Gurugram have chosen RERA because it is a specialised forum; others prefer the consumer commission because it can award compensation for harassment along with refund.

Before choosing, check the builder buyer agreement for the promised date and any grace period, the payment receipts, the RERA registration of the project and its declared completion date, and whether you have a home loan under a subvention scheme. Each of these affects the claim and the forum. Our page on consumer and competition laws explains the consumer route in more detail.

RERA, consumer commission, NCLT or civil court: which forum?

Filing the same claim in two forums at once usually leads to one of them being stayed or dismissed. Pick one and pursue it properly.

How RERA protects homebuyers in Delhi NCR

RERA requires every real estate project above the threshold (land over 500 square metres or more than eight apartments) to be registered with the state authority before it is advertised or sold (section 3). The developer must deposit 70% of the money collected from buyers in a separate account and use it only for construction and land cost of that project (section 4). That rule was meant to stop the old practice of diverting buyers' money into new land purchases.

The developer cannot take more than 10% of the cost as advance without a written agreement for sale, registered where the law requires (section 13). Plans and specifications cannot be changed without the buyer's consent, and major changes need two-thirds of allottees (section 14). For five years from possession, the developer must rectify structural defects and workmanship problems within 30 days of being told, at its own cost (section 14(3)).

Buyers have duties too. Section 19 requires the allottee to pay instalments on time and to take possession within two months of the occupancy certificate. A buyer who stopped paying without reason, or who refuses possession after the occupancy certificate, weakens their own claim considerably.

Filing a RERA complaint in UP, Haryana or Delhi

A RERA complaint is filed online before the authority of the state where the project is located: UP RERA for Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad projects, Haryana RERA at Gurugram for Gurugram projects, and the Delhi RERA for the relatively few registered projects within Delhi. The complaint sets out the agreement, the payments, the promised date, the delay and the relief sought, with the documents attached and the prescribed fee paid.

Hearings are held before a bench of the authority, often through video conferencing. The developer files a reply, the buyer may file a rejoinder, and the authority passes an order for refund or delay interest at the rate fixed under the state rules. If compensation for other loss is claimed, it goes to the adjudicating officer.

Getting the order is one half; getting paid is the other. If the developer does not pay, the authority issues a recovery certificate and the amount is recovered as arrears of land revenue through the district collector (section 40). In practice, recovery against a struggling developer can take a long time, and buyers need to follow up with the collectorate, not just wait. An appeal by either side goes to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within 60 days, and a developer appealing must first deposit the amount ordered (section 43(5)).

RERA provisions homebuyers rely on most

My builder is in insolvency. What happens to my flat?

Since 2018 the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code treats homebuyers as financial creditors. Once the NCLT admits a builder into the corporate insolvency resolution process, a moratorium stops all recovery proceedings, including RERA and consumer cases, and buyers must file their claims with the interim resolution professional in the prescribed form, usually as a class through an authorised representative.

Homebuyers can themselves start insolvency against a builder only if at least 100 allottees of the same project, or 10% of them, join the application. That threshold exists to stop individual buyers using the NCLT as a recovery forum. In most stalled projects the realistic aim is a resolution plan under which another developer completes construction, rather than a cash refund.

If your builder is already before the NCLT, file your claim on time, keep track of the Committee of Creditors' meetings through the authorised representative, and read any resolution plan carefully before the vote. Our pages on insolvency cases in Delhi and NCLT practice explain the process further.

How do I check the title of a property before buying?

Trace the chain of ownership back as far as the documents go, ideally thirty years or to the original allotment, and get certified copies of each registered deed from the sub-registrar's office. Check that each transfer was by a registered document, that the names, areas and boundaries match across documents, and that every heir who had a share has joined or relinquished. A missing heir is the most common hidden defect in resale property.

Then check encumbrances. Search the sub-registrar records for mortgages or other transactions, check whether the property is mortgaged to a bank (ask for the loan closure letter and release of the original deeds), search court websites for pending cases in the seller's name, and check MCD or authority records for dues, sealing or demolition notices. For a flat in a new project, check the RERA registration, the approved plan, and whether the occupancy or completion certificate has been issued.

In Noida and Greater Noida, most land is leased by the development authority, so the authority's transfer memorandum and its record of dues matter as much as the sale deed. In Delhi, DDA properties need the lease and conversion deed checked. Advocate B.K. Singh's habit is to read the earliest document in the chain first, because that is where defects that no later document can cure usually sit.

Documents for a title check or builder dispute

Registration, stamp duty and why GPA sales do not give title

Ownership of immovable property worth one hundred rupees or more passes only by a registered sale deed (section 54 of the Transfer of Property Act read with section 17 of the Registration Act 1908). An unregistered document required to be registered cannot be used as evidence of the transfer (section 49). The deed must be presented for registration within four months of execution. Since 2001, an agreement to sell has to be registered for the buyer to claim protection of possession under section 53A.

Stamp duty is a state subject. Delhi and Uttar Pradesh each set their own rates, with concessions for women buyers in some cases, and duty is calculated on the higher of the sale price and the circle rate notified by the government. Paying stamp duty on a lower value than the circle rate invites proceedings for deficient duty, and declaring a lower price to save tax creates its own problems later.

The Supreme Court in Suraj Lamp and Industries v State of Haryana (2011) held that sales by GPA, agreement to sell and will do not transfer title. Those documents may give the holder some rights, but not ownership. If you are offered a property on such papers, assume the title is defective until a registered conveyance is in place. Where a seller who signed an agreement to sell refuses to execute the sale deed, the buyer's remedy is a suit for specific performance within three years, explained on our civil law practice page.

From booking to conveyance: what to check at each stage

1. Before booking

   Check the project's RERA registration and the details on the RERA website: approvals, completion date, litigation and quarterly progress. Search for complaints against the developer before paying any token amount.

2. Agreement for sale

   Read the builder buyer agreement before signing, especially possession date, grace period, delay compensation, cancellation and forfeiture terms, and super area versus carpet area. RERA rules prescribe a model agreement, and clauses that cut down your statutory rights are open to challenge.

3. Payments

   Pay only by banking channels and keep every receipt. Link payments to construction stages, not to dates alone, and be cautious about subvention or assured return schemes.

4. Offer of possession

   An offer of possession should come with the occupancy certificate. Check the final demand for unexplained charges and inspect the flat for defects before accepting the keys.

5. Conveyance and mutation

   Insist on a registered conveyance deed within the period RERA requires, then apply for mutation with the authority or society. Without the registered deed, you are not the owner in law.

Possession without an occupancy certificate

An offer of possession without an occupancy or completion certificate is generally not treated as a valid offer by RERA authorities and consumer commissions. The occupancy certificate shows the building was completed according to the sanctioned plan and is fit to occupy. Buyers who accept so-called fit-out possession without it often find themselves unable to get a conveyance deed, water and power connections, or a loan against the flat.

Developers sometimes press buyers to accept possession by threatening holding charges or maintenance from a date before the certificate. Holding charges have been disapproved by consumer forums in many cases, and RERA rules in several states regulate them. Reply in writing, ask for the certificate, and keep a record of the reply.

Once the occupancy certificate is issued, take possession within the two months RERA allows. If you have genuine defects, note them in writing at the time of possession and ask for rectification under the five-year defect liability clause; refusing possession altogether is rarely the right answer.

Construction and infrastructure contract disputes

Infrastructure and construction disputes usually turn on delay, extensions of time, variations, escalation, unpaid running bills, liquidated damages and encashment of performance bank guarantees. Most government and large private contracts, including CPWD, NHAI and state agency contracts, contain an arbitration clause and often a tiered dispute process: engineer's decision, dispute board or conciliation, then arbitration. Skipping a mandatory step can delay the case, so follow the contract's ladder.

The 2018 amendment to the Specific Relief Act made courts cautious about stopping infrastructure projects. Section 20A and section 41(ha) restrict injunctions that would impede or delay an infrastructure project, and section 20B provides for designated courts for such suits. Courts are also slow to restrain a client from encashing a bank guarantee; the exceptions are narrow, such as clear fraud. The practical effect is that contractors must plan for money claims through arbitration rather than relying on a quick stay.

Records decide these cases: hindrance registers, minutes of site meetings, letters seeking extension, measurement books, and the contemporaneous emails that show who caused delay. Contractors who keep these properly recover far more than those who reconstruct events years later. For the arbitration process itself, see arbitration and conciliation, and for interim relief and award challenges in the Delhi High Court, arbitration cases in Delhi.

Common construction disputes and the usual route

Land acquisition: compensation and challenges

Most land acquisition since 2014 is governed by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013. It requires a social impact assessment in most cases, consent of 80% of affected families where land is acquired for private companies and 70% for public-private partnership projects, and rehabilitation and resettlement benefits. Compensation is based on market value, multiplied by a factor in rural areas, plus the value of structures and trees, plus a solatium equal to 100% of that amount.

If you are dissatisfied with the award, you can seek a reference to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority under section 64, within the time the Act allows, and appeal from there to the High Court. Acquisitions for national highways follow the National Highways Act 1956, where compensation disputes go to an arbitrator appointed by the Central Government. Older acquisitions under the 1894 Act raise their own questions of lapse and enhanced compensation, which depend closely on dates.

Delhi has seen little fresh acquisition in recent years, with the DDA's land pooling policy used in some areas, while Noida, Greater Noida and the expressway corridors have seen large acquisitions and long-running compensation disputes. We handle these matters in general civil and writ practice, and with associate counsel where the land is outside Delhi NCR.

Mistakes homebuyers and property buyers make

Buyers sign builder buyer agreements without reading them, then discover one-sided cancellation and forfeiture clauses. They pay large sums in cash or to associated companies without receipts. They accept possession without an occupancy certificate. They wait years after the promised date before complaining, hoping the builder will deliver, and lose the chance to act while the developer still has money.

Resale buyers rely on photocopies supplied by the seller and skip the sub-registrar search. They pay full price on GPA papers. They do not check whether all heirs of a deceased owner have signed. And they sign sale deeds showing a lower price than they paid, which creates problems with tax authorities and weakens any later claim for refund.

Contractors sign extension letters that waive their delay claims, or accept final bills with a no-claim certificate without recording protest. Both can defeat a strong arbitration claim later.

When not to litigate a real estate dispute

If the project is nearly complete and the developer is solvent, a delay interest claim, or simply a written negotiation for adjustment of delay interest against the final demand, may serve you better than a refund case that sets you back to renting for years. Many developers settle delay claims at the time of possession when pressed in writing.

If your builder is already in insolvency, a fresh RERA or consumer case will be stayed by the moratorium, and the effort is better spent on filing your claim correctly. If a construction dispute is small relative to the cost of arbitration, negotiation or mediation is often the commercial answer. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing; RERA fees, court fees and arbitration costs are separate.

How we handle real estate matters

We act for homebuyers, resale buyers and sellers, landowners, contractors and smaller developers, before RERA authorities in Delhi, UP and Haryana, consumer commissions, civil courts, arbitral tribunals and the NCLT. Advocate Sadhna Singh prepares the payment chronology and document set for builder complaints. Advocate B.K. Singh advises on the choice of forum, reads title chains and argues contested matters. His background is on his profile page.

We are careful about what we promise. A RERA order in your favour is not the same as money in your account, and we tell clients plainly what recovery involves against a developer in difficulty.

What to do this week about a builder or property dispute

• Put together the agreement, allotment letter, all receipts and bank statements in date order
• Print the project's RERA registration page and quarterly updates
• Check whether any insolvency case is pending against the developer
• Reply in writing to any demand or possession offer you dispute, and ask for the occupancy certificate
• For resale property, apply for certified copies of the title chain before paying more
• Do not sign a no-claim, waiver or settlement letter without advice
• Send the papers through our online enquiry page for a first review