In short. Appeal to the state's Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within 60 days of receiving the RERA order. Under section 43(5), a promoter's appeal is not heard until it deposits at least 30% of the penalty or the whole amount payable to the allottee, with interest and compensation. Allottees make no deposit. A further appeal lies to the High Court on a question of law.
This post deals with one stage of a RERA dispute: what happens after the authority has decided. It explains who can appeal, the time limit, how the builder's deposit is worked out, what the tribunal looks at, and where the case goes after the tribunal. Filing the original complaint is covered in our post on filing a RERA complaint in Delhi, UP and Haryana, and the choice between refund and delay interest in builder delayed possession: refund or interest under RERA.
For homebuyers, the deposit rule is the single most useful feature of the appeal system. It means a builder cannot use an appeal simply to buy time without putting the money on the table. For builders, it means the decision to appeal is also a cash decision, and it has to be taken quickly. Our wider practice on property and builder disputes is described on the real estate and infrastructure laws page.
- Law
- Sections 43 to 58, RERA 2016
- Appeal lies against
- Orders of the RERA authority or adjudicating officer
- Time limit
- 60 days from receipt of the order; delay condonable for sufficient cause
- Builder's deposit
- At least 30% of penalty, or full amount due to allottee, or both
- Allottee's appeal
- No pre-deposit; only the fee in the state rules
- Next step
- Appeal to the High Court within 60 days on a question of law (s.58)
Who can appeal a RERA order, and against what?
Any person aggrieved by a direction, order or decision of the RERA authority or of its adjudicating officer can appeal to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. Section 44(1) also lets the appropriate government and the competent authority appeal. In practice, almost every appeal is filed by one of two people: the promoter (the builder or developer) or the allottee (the buyer).
The orders that most often go to appeal are refund orders under section 18, orders for interest on delayed possession, directions to hand over possession or execute the conveyance deed, penalties imposed on promoters for not registering a project or for breaking the Act, and compensation awarded by the adjudicating officer under sections 71 and 72. Real estate agents can appeal penalties imposed on them too.
The word "aggrieved" matters. An allottee who got a refund but at a lower interest rate than the rules allow, or from a later date than the agreement supports, is aggrieved even though the complaint was allowed. A builder who was told to pay interest on a sum that includes taxes and charges it never received is aggrieved even if the main finding of delay is correct. You do not need to have lost outright to appeal.
What is the time limit for a RERA appeal?
The appeal must be filed within 60 days from the date on which the aggrieved person receives a copy of the order. The clock runs from receipt of the copy, not from the date the order was pronounced, so keep the email or post by which the order reached you. Many authorities now upload orders on their portals, and the date you downloaded it may be treated as the date of receipt if no copy was sent.
The tribunal can admit an appeal after 60 days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for the delay. Sufficient cause means a real explanation for each stage of the delay, supported by documents where possible: illness with medical papers, a change of counsel with dates, a pending review or rectification application, an order received late. Tribunals in the NCR have refused long, unexplained delays, and a builder who sat on an order for months while the allottee started recovery is unlikely to get much sympathy.
If the order contains an arithmetical slip or a clear typing error, it is usually better to ask the authority to correct it under its rectification power while also keeping an eye on the appeal deadline. Do not let a rectification request run past the 60 days without filing the appeal; the two can go side by side.
The provisions that govern the appeal
Six sections of the Act do most of the work. The state rules and the tribunal's own regulations fill in the forms, fees and procedure.
Section 43(5), RERA 2016
Any person aggrieved by an order of the authority or adjudicating officer may appeal to the tribunal having jurisdiction. The proviso is the deposit rule: a promoter's appeal shall not be entertained unless the promoter first deposits with the tribunal at least 30% of the penalty, or such higher percentage as the tribunal decides, or the total amount to be paid to the allottee including interest and compensation, or both, as the case may be, before the appeal is heard.
Section 44, RERA 2016
Appeal within 60 days of receipt of the order, in the prescribed form with the prescribed fee. Late appeals can be admitted for sufficient cause. The tribunal hears the parties and may pass interim orders. The Act asks the tribunal to try to dispose of the appeal within 60 days and to record reasons where it cannot.
Section 53, RERA 2016
The tribunal is guided by the principles of natural justice rather than the strict procedure of the Code of Civil Procedure, and has the powers of a civil court for summoning witnesses, ordering production of documents, receiving evidence on affidavit and issuing commissions.
Section 56, RERA 2016
A party may appear in person or through a legal practitioner, chartered accountant, company secretary, cost accountant or one of its officers.
Section 57, RERA 2016
Every order of the tribunal is executable as a decree of a civil court, and the tribunal can send it to the civil court for execution.
Section 58, RERA 2016
Appeal from the tribunal to the High Court within 60 days of communication of its order, on the grounds in section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure (a substantial question of law). The High Court can allow a further 60 days for sufficient cause. No appeal lies from an order passed with the consent of the parties.
How much does the builder have to deposit?
The deposit depends on what the order says. If the order imposes a penalty, the promoter must deposit at least 30% of the penalty, and the tribunal can ask for more. If the order directs the promoter to pay money to the allottee, such as a refund with interest, delay interest or compensation, the promoter must deposit the total amount payable to the allottee, including that interest and compensation. If the order does both, both deposits are needed.
Read that second limb carefully, because builders often misread it. It is not 30% of the refund. It is the whole amount the order directs the builder to pay the allottee. For a refund order with interest running for several years, this can be a large sum, and it is the reason many promoters settle rather than appeal.
The interest part keeps growing. Most RERA orders award interest at the rate in the state rules until the date of actual payment, so the amount due on the day you deposit is higher than the amount on the day of the order. Tribunals generally expect the deposit to be worked out under the terms of the order up to a recent date; the safe course is to file a short calculation sheet with the appeal showing principal, interest up to the date of deposit and any compensation, so there is no argument about a shortfall later.
When Advocate B.K. Singh reads a RERA order for a promoter who is thinking of appealing, the first thing he works out is this figure, before the merits. A strong legal ground is of little use if the company cannot arrange the deposit within the 60 days, and a weak ground is not worth locking up the money for a year or more.
Deposit at a glance
This table shows what the promoter must deposit for the usual kinds of RERA orders. An allottee's appeal needs no deposit in any of these cases.
| What the order directs | Deposit before the promoter's appeal is heard | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Penalty only (for example, for selling without registration) | At least 30% of the penalty, or a higher percentage fixed by the tribunal | Tribunal may fix more than 30% where the facts are serious |
| Refund of the amount paid, with interest (s.18) | The total amount payable to the allottee, including interest | Work out interest up to the date of deposit |
| Interest for every month of delay until possession | The interest accrued and payable under the order | Accrual continues, so the figure rises each month |
| Compensation by the adjudicating officer (s.71, 72) | The total compensation awarded, with any interest on it | Applies equally to adjudicating officer orders |
| Refund or compensation plus a penalty | Both: the full amount due to the allottee and at least 30% of the penalty | Two separate figures in one calculation sheet |
| A direction only, with no money (for example, execute the conveyance deed) | No money deposit under the proviso | The tribunal may still put conditions on any stay |
The deposit is usually made by demand draft, bank transfer or fixed deposit receipt in favour of the tribunal or its registrar, as its regulations or practice directions require. Check the current mode with the tribunal's registry before you prepare the papers, because a deposit in the wrong form can cost you a hearing date.
A made-up deposit calculation
Here's a made-up example. A buyer paid ₹62 lakh for a flat in a Greater Noida project between 2018 and 2020. Possession was promised by 2021 and never offered. UP RERA allowed her complaint in 2026 and directed the promoter to refund ₹62 lakh with interest at the rate in the state rules from each date of payment until the date of refund, and also imposed a penalty of ₹2 lakh for a separate breach of the Act.
The promoter wants to appeal, arguing that part of the delay was covered by a force majeure extension. On the day its counsel prepares the appeal, the interest worked out under the order comes to about ₹27 lakh. Before the appeal can be heard, the promoter must deposit roughly ₹89 lakh for the allottee's money (₹62 lakh plus ₹27 lakh) and at least ₹60,000 towards the penalty. If it files without the deposit, the appeal will sit unheard and is likely to be dismissed.
The buyer, for her part, thinks the authority should have awarded compensation for the rent she paid while waiting. That claim belongs to the adjudicating officer, not the authority, so the better course for her is a compensation application before the adjudicating officer rather than an appeal on that point. She can still defend the promoter's appeal, and she pays nothing to do so.
Can the tribunal waive or reduce the deposit?
No, not the deposit of the amount payable to the allottee. In Newtech Promoters and Developers v State of UP (2021), the Supreme Court upheld the proviso to section 43(5) against the challenge that it was harsh and discriminatory. The Court said a statutory appeal is not an absolute right, that promoters and allottees are different classes with different obligations, and that a promoter who wants to appeal should show its bona fides by depositing the amount the authority has already found due.
The proviso does give the tribunal room on one point: in a penalty case it can ask for more than 30%. It does not give the tribunal power to accept less than the statutory minimum. What tribunals sometimes do is allow a short time to complete the deposit, for example where the appeal was filed on the last day and the draft is being prepared. That is a matter of grace, not a right, and repeated requests for time usually end in dismissal.
Promoters sometimes try to avoid the tribunal altogether and go straight to the High Court in a writ petition, arguing that the order is without jurisdiction. High Courts usually decline to interfere where a statutory appeal is available, and they do not let a writ be used to escape the deposit condition. A writ is worth considering only in a genuinely exceptional case, such as an order passed against a party that was never served, and even then the court may put the party on terms. Our post on writ petitions in the Delhi High Court explains when a writ is the right remedy.
Does filing an appeal stop the allottee from recovering the money?
Filing an appeal does not, by itself, stay the RERA order. Unless the tribunal grants a stay, the allottee can apply to the authority for execution, and the authority can issue a recovery certificate to the Collector for recovery as arrears of land revenue. The process is explained in our post on recovery certificates and execution of RERA orders.
In practice, once the promoter has deposited the full amount with the tribunal, the money is secure, and the tribunal will usually stay coercive recovery while the appeal is pending, since the allottee's money is already lying with it. That is the bargain the proviso strikes: the promoter gets a hearing, and the allottee gets security.
An allottee who sees the promoter file an appeal without a deposit should point this out at the first hearing and ask for the appeal not to be entertained. An allottee should also keep pressing for execution before the authority until the tribunal actually passes a stay order. A mere filing number is not a stay.
When should an allottee appeal?
An allottee should appeal when the order has gone wrong on something that changes the money or the outcome, not on wording. Common good grounds are a wrong starting date for interest (for example, from the date of the order instead of the date of each payment), an interest rate lower than the state rules prescribe, refusal of refund when the promoter had clearly failed to give possession on the agreed date, or a finding that a grace period applied when the agreement did not provide one.
The Supreme Court in Newtech described the allottee's right to a refund under section 18(1), where the promoter fails to give possession as agreed, as unqualified. An order that forces an allottee to wait for possession with delay interest, when the allottee clearly asked to exit, can often be challenged on that basis. The reverse also happens: an allottee who wanted the flat but was given a refund can argue that the choice was the allottee's to make.
There are also bad reasons to appeal. If the real complaint is that the authority did not award compensation for mental agony or rent, that is usually a matter for the adjudicating officer, and the tribunal will not award what the authority had no power to grant. If the complaint is that the builder has not paid, that is execution, not appeal. And if the order is broadly right and only the reasoning is thin, an appeal mostly gives the builder a chance to reopen the whole case.
How to file an appeal before the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal
The forms differ slightly from state to state, but the sequence is the same in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Get the order and fix the deadline
Obtain a copy of the order (certified or as uploaded by the authority) and note the date you received it. Count 60 days from that date and diarise a date well before it for filing. If you are already late, start preparing a delay application with dated reasons at once.
Decide the grounds and the relief
List what exactly is wrong: jurisdiction, interest rate, dates, calculation, findings on delay, refusal to consider a document. State what you want instead, such as setting aside, modification of the interest rate, or remand for fresh hearing. Vague grounds such as "the order is against law" do not help.
Work out and arrange the deposit (promoter only)
Prepare a calculation of the amount payable to the allottee under the order up to the expected date of deposit, plus at least 30% of any penalty. Arrange the demand draft, transfer or fixed deposit in the form the tribunal accepts, and keep proof ready to file with the appeal.
Draft the memorandum of appeal
Use the prescribed form and attach a synopsis, list of dates, the grounds, the relief sought, and an application for interim relief or stay if needed. Add a delay condonation application if the appeal is late. The appeal is supported by an affidavit.
Pay the fee and file
Pay the fee in the state rules and file physically or online as the tribunal's registry requires. Serve a copy on the other side, including the allottee or promoter and, where needed, the authority. Keep the diary number and track objections raised by the registry.
Attend the first hearing
At the first hearing, the tribunal checks the deposit, limitation and whether interim relief is needed. Be ready to show proof of deposit and a short note on why a stay is or is not justified. Many appeals are decided on whether the deposit was complete before any argument on merits.
Arguments and order
The tribunal hears both sides, usually on the record of the authority and written submissions. It may confirm, modify or set aside the order, or send the matter back to the authority. Obtain the order promptly, because the 60 days for a High Court appeal start from its communication.
Documents for a RERA appeal
The tribunal works mainly on the record that was before the authority, so the appeal paper book should let a member understand the case without hunting through files.
The order and the record
- Copy of the impugned order with proof of the date of receipt
- The original complaint with annexures
- The promoter's reply and any rejoinder
- Written submissions filed before the authority
- Order sheets of the hearings before the authority
The transaction papers
- Allotment letter and builder buyer agreement
- Payment receipts and bank statements
- Demand letters and offer of possession, if any
- RERA registration certificate and extension orders for the project
- Occupation or completion certificate, if obtained
Appeal formalities
- Memorandum of appeal in the prescribed form with affidavit
- Proof of deposit and calculation sheet (promoter)
- Fee receipt
- Vakalatnama or authorisation, and board resolution for a company
- Delay condonation application with supporting documents, if late
- Stay or interim relief application, if needed
Which tribunal: Delhi, UP or Haryana?
The appeal goes to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal of the state or union territory whose authority passed the order. For a project in Delhi, that is the Delhi Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. For Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad projects decided by UP RERA, it is the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, which sits at Lucknow. For Gurugram and Faridabad projects decided by Haryana RERA, it is the Haryana Real Estate Appellate Tribunal at Chandigarh.
The UP and Haryana tribunals are some distance from the NCR, which affects how hearings are handled. Video hearings have become common, but parties should be ready for physical hearings when the tribunal requires them. Counsel based in the NCR often coordinate with local counsel for appearances, and the cost of that should be part of the decision to appeal.
Each tribunal has its own regulations on the format of the appeal, paper book size, service and listing, and these get amended. The UP tribunal, for instance, has amended its regulations more than once. Before filing, check the current version on the tribunal's website or with its registry, and ask us for the current format if you are not sure.
What does the tribunal actually look at?
The tribunal is a first appeal on facts and law, so it can look at the whole case again, but in practice it concentrates on a few things. First, did the authority or adjudicating officer have jurisdiction over this relief? The Supreme Court in Newtech drew the line clearly: refund with interest and interest for delay are for the authority, and compensation is for the adjudicating officer. An authority order awarding compensation, or an adjudicating officer order awarding a refund, is open to challenge on that ground alone.
Second, the dates. The agreed date of possession, any grace period written into the agreement, extensions of registration granted by the authority, and the date of any valid offer of possession decide how much interest is due. An offer of possession made without an occupation certificate is generally not treated as a valid offer, and tribunals look at that closely.
Third, the money. Tribunals check whether interest has been allowed on amounts the allottee actually paid to the promoter, as against taxes paid to the government or loan interest paid to the bank, whether payments made by a bank under a subvention scheme are treated correctly, and whether the rate is the one in the rules. Many appeals succeed in part on arithmetic alone.
Fourth, fairness of the hearing. An order passed without considering a reply that was on record, or without giving a party a chance to file one, is often sent back to the authority. A remand is not a win for anyone; it adds months. Raise natural justice grounds only where they are real.
Mistakes that sink RERA appeals
- Counting 60 days from the wrong date. The clock runs from receipt of the copy. If you received the order by email, that date is likely to be taken as the date of receipt.
- Depositing only part of the money. A promoter who deposits the principal but not the interest, or 30% of the refund instead of the full amount, has not complied with section 43(5).
- Appealing to ask for what the authority could not grant. Compensation claims belong before the adjudicating officer. Raising them for the first time in appeal wastes a hearing.
- New documents without explanation. The tribunal can admit additional evidence, but it expects a reason why the document was not filed before the authority.
- Treating the filing as a stay. Until the tribunal passes an order, recovery can continue. Promoters who assume otherwise are often surprised by a recovery certificate.
- Ignoring settlement. Many appeals end in a settlement once the promoter has made the deposit. Parties who refuse to discuss terms on principle can lose a year for a small difference.
How long does a RERA appeal take, and what happens to the deposit?
The Act asks the tribunal to try to decide an appeal within 60 days. That rarely happens. Depending on the tribunal and its workload, an appeal can take several months to over a year, and more where the matter is remanded. Do not plan on the 60-day figure.
The deposit stays with the tribunal while the appeal is pending, usually in a fixed deposit that earns interest. When the appeal is decided, the money goes where the final order directs: to the allottee if the promoter's appeal fails, back to the promoter to the extent the appeal succeeds. Tribunals have, in suitable cases, released part of the deposit to the allottee during the appeal, sometimes on conditions. If you are an allottee who has waited years, it is worth asking.
Settlement during the appeal is common and often sensible. Once the money is with the tribunal, the dispute is mostly about the interest and the date, and both sides can see the range of outcomes. A settlement recorded before the tribunal is binding, and section 58 bars an appeal from an order made with the consent of the parties, so read the terms before you agree.
After the tribunal: second appeal to the High Court
A party aggrieved by the tribunal's order can appeal to the High Court within 60 days of its communication, and the High Court can allow another 60 days for sufficient cause. The appeal lies only on the grounds in section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which means a substantial question of law. A disagreement about how the tribunal read the facts or the evidence is not enough.
For a Delhi tribunal order the appeal goes to the Delhi High Court; for UP, to the Allahabad High Court; for Haryana, to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Act does not repeat the deposit rule at this stage, but the High Court can put conditions on any stay, and it usually expects the money already deposited to remain secure. From the High Court, a special leave petition to the Supreme Court is possible within 90 days, as explained in our post on special leave petitions, and our Supreme Court practice page covers that stage.
Few RERA disputes need to go that far. Where the question is a genuine point of law, such as whether a particular project needed registration, or how a statutory interest rate applies to a category of payments, a second appeal makes sense. Where it is about a few months of interest, it rarely does.
What to do this week if you have a RERA order
- Note the date you received the order and count 60 days from it.
- Read the operative part and write down exactly what it directs: refund, interest, possession, penalty, compensation.
- Promoter: calculate the deposit up to a realistic filing date and check whether the money can be arranged in time.
- Allottee: check the interest start date, the rate and the amounts on which interest was allowed against your receipts.
- Decide whether the problem is one for appeal, for rectification by the authority, for the adjudicating officer, or for execution.
- Collect the full record from the authority: complaint, reply, rejoinder, written submissions, order sheets.
- If the other side has appealed, find out whether the deposit has been made and keep pursuing execution until a stay is granted.
- Get the papers read by an advocate before the deadline is close, not after.
A practical view on whether to appeal
An appeal is worth filing when there is a clear error that changes the money or the result, when it can be filed in time, and, for a promoter, when the deposit can be arranged without hurting the project. It is rarely worth filing to buy time, because the deposit takes away that advantage, and tribunals have little patience for appeals that are really requests for instalments.
For a homebuyer, the deposit rule changes the arithmetic of the whole dispute. Once a promoter's appeal is filed with the full deposit, the money is safe, and the question is only how much and when. If the choice was between RERA and a consumer commission at the start, our post on RERA or consumer court for a flat buyer explains why some buyers choose differently, and the consumer court page covers that route.
If you have a RERA order and want an advocate to read it before the 60 days run out, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at B.K. Singh & Associates can look at the order and the record and tell you the deadline, the deposit and whether an appeal is worth it. You can send the papers through the online enquiry page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the limitation period for a RERA appeal?
Sixty days from the date you receive a copy of the order of the RERA authority or adjudicating officer, under section 44(2) of the Act. The tribunal can admit a late appeal if you show sufficient cause for the whole delay. Long, unexplained delays are often refused.
Does an allottee have to make a pre-deposit to appeal a RERA order?
No. The deposit condition in the proviso to section 43(5) applies only to promoters. An allottee pays the appeal fee prescribed in the state rules and nothing more.
Is the RERA pre-deposit 30% of the refund amount?
No. The 30% figure applies to penalties. Where the order directs the promoter to pay money to the allottee, the promoter must deposit the total amount payable, including interest and compensation.
Can the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal waive the pre-deposit?
It cannot reduce the deposit below what section 43(5) requires, and the Supreme Court upheld the condition in Newtech Promoters (2021). The tribunal may sometimes allow a short time to complete the deposit, but that is discretionary.
Can a builder file a writ petition instead of a RERA appeal?
High Courts usually refuse to entertain writs where the statutory appeal is available, and they will not let a writ be used to avoid the deposit. A writ may be considered in a genuinely exceptional case, such as a clear lack of jurisdiction or no notice at all.
Does filing a RERA appeal stop recovery by the allottee?
Not by itself. Only a stay order from the tribunal stops execution. Until then, the allottee can seek a recovery certificate from the authority.
Where is the UP Real Estate Appellate Tribunal?
The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal sits at Lucknow and hears appeals against UP RERA orders, including projects in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. Hearings may be physical or by video depending on its current practice.
Can I appeal against an adjudicating officer's compensation order?
Yes. Section 44 covers orders of both the authority and the adjudicating officer. If the promoter appeals a compensation order, it must deposit the compensation awarded with any interest before the appeal is heard.
Can new documents be filed before the RERA Appellate Tribunal?
The tribunal can allow additional documents, but it usually wants a good reason why they were not filed before the authority. File them with a short application explaining the reason.
Who gets the money deposited with the tribunal?
It goes as the final order directs: to the allottee if the promoter's appeal fails, or back to the promoter to the extent the appeal succeeds. Tribunals have sometimes released part of it to allottees during the appeal on conditions.
Can I appeal to the High Court against a RERA Appellate Tribunal order?
Yes, under section 58, within 60 days of the order being communicated, with up to 60 more days for sufficient cause. The appeal lies only on a substantial question of law, like a second appeal under section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Can a RERA appeal be settled?
Yes, and many are, especially once the promoter has deposited the money. A settlement recorded by the tribunal binds both sides, and no appeal lies from a consent order, so read the terms carefully first.
Written and reviewed at B.K. Singh & Associates
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M., with more than twenty years of practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district courts and tribunals across Delhi NCR. This article explains the general law as of 24 October 2026; it is not legal advice on your facts.