Your Chennai Flat Has Its Occupancy Certificate: The RERA Clocks That Start Now
Once a Chennai project receives its occupancy certificate, the RERA Act sets several clocks: two months for the allottee to take possession under Section 19(10), charges under Section 19(6), the promoter's outgoings under Section 11(4)(g), and conveyance and document handover under Section 17.
The message from the builder may arrive as a short email: the occupancy certificate for your tower has been received, please complete your final payments and schedule your handover. For a Chennai family that has waited years for an apartment, it feels like the finish line. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, it is better read as a starting gun. Several obligations, on both the buyer and the builder, are tied to that certificate.
This guide sets out what the Act says happens after the occupancy certificate is issued: how long the buyer has to take possession, which charges become the buyer's, what the builder still pays, and when title and documents are supposed to move.
The short answer. Section 19(10) of the Act says every allottee shall take physical possession of the apartment within a period of two months of the occupancy certificate issued for it. Section 19(6) makes the allottee responsible for payments due under the agreement for sale and for a share of registration charges, municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges and other charges. Section 11(4)(g) says the promoter pays the outgoings it collected from allottees until it transfers physical possession. Section 17(1) requires a registered conveyance deed, and where no local law sets the period, within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate. The trade-off: moving fast after the certificate protects you from interest and disputes, but the same speed can push you into a handover before you have checked the flat properly.
What is an occupancy certificate under RERA?
The permission to occupy the building. In the text of the RERA Act published by the Telangana regulator, Section 2(zf) defines an occupancy certificate as the occupancy certificate, or such other certificate by whatever name called, issued by the competent authority permitting occupation of any building, as provided under local laws, which has provision for civic infrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity.
Two parts of that definition matter. The name can differ by city, so a Chennai buyer should look at what the competent authority actually issued rather than the label on the builder's email. And the definition ties the certificate to civic infrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity, which is a useful prompt to check that those services are in place in the flat you are being handed.
Section 11(4)(b) puts the duty on the builder. It says the promoter shall be responsible to obtain the completion certificate or the occupancy certificate, or both, as applicable, from the relevant competent authority as per local laws, and to make it available to the allottees individually or to the association of allottees. A buyer is entitled to see it, not just hear about it.
How long does a buyer have to take possession?
Two months. Section 19(10) says every allottee shall take physical possession of the apartment, plot or building, as the case may be, within a period of two months of the occupancy certificate issued for the said apartment, plot or building.
The clock is tied to the certificate issued for your unit, not to the email that announces it. If the certificate for your block was issued on 1 November 2026, the two-month period under Section 19(10) would run to the start of January 2027. A buyer who learns of the certificate late should ask the builder for its date in writing, because that date, not the date of the letter, is what the section refers to.
The Act frames possession as a duty of the allottee, not just a right. Section 19(3) gives the allottee the right to claim possession as per the promoter's declaration under Section 4(2)(l)(C), and Section 19(10) adds the obligation to take it within two months of the certificate. Our earlier report on a Chennai buyer's rights after possession covers what follows the handover.
| After the occupancy certificate | Whose duty | What the Act says |
|---|---|---|
| Take physical possession | Allottee | Within two months of the occupancy certificate, Section 19(10) |
| Make the certificate available | Promoter | To allottees individually or to the association, Section 11(4)(b) |
| Pay outgoings collected from allottees | Promoter | Until physical possession is transferred, Section 11(4)(g) |
| Register the conveyance deed | Promoter, with allottee participation | Within the local law period, or three months from the certificate if no local law, Sections 17(1) and 19(11) |
| Hand over documents and plans | Promoter | To the association as per local laws, or within thirty days of the certificate if no local law, Section 17(2) |
Which charges become the buyer's?
Those the agreement and the Act place on the allottee. Section 19(6) says every allottee who has entered into an agreement for sale under Section 13 shall be responsible to make necessary payments in the manner and within the time specified in the agreement, and shall pay at the proper time and place the share of the registration charges, municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges, ground rent, and other charges, if any.
Section 19(7) adds that the allottee shall be liable to pay interest, at the prescribed rate, for any delay in payment of any amount or charges due under Section 19(6). Section 19(8) says these obligations and the interest liability may be reduced when mutually agreed between the promoter and the allottee. So a buyer who needs more time to arrange the final loan disbursement has a statutory basis to ask, but any relief depends on the builder agreeing to it.
This is where the two-month window bites. A buyer who delays taking possession may find the agreement's timelines for the final instalment, maintenance and taxes running anyway. Read your agreement for the exact triggers, because Section 19(6) points back to the manner and time specified in it.
What does the builder still pay?
The outgoings it collected, until it hands over. Section 11(4)(g) says the promoter shall pay all outgoings until he transfers the physical possession of the real estate project to the allottee or the associations of allottees, which he has collected from the allottees, for the payment of outgoings. The section lists land cost, ground rent, municipal or other local taxes, charges for water or electricity, maintenance charges, mortgage loan and interest on mortgages or other encumbrances, and other liabilities payable to competent authorities, banks and financial institutions which are related to the project.
Its proviso says that if the promoter fails to pay any of the outgoings it collected before transferring the project, the promoter continues to be liable, even after the transfer of the property, to pay them and any penal charges to the authority or person to whom they are payable. For a buyer, the practical check is simple: before handover, ask for receipts showing that the property tax, water and electricity dues collected from you have actually been paid.
When must title and documents move?
Section 17(1) says the promoter shall execute a registered conveyance deed in favour of the allottee along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of allottees or the competent authority, and hand over physical possession of the apartment to the allottee and the common areas to the association, together with the other title documents, within the period specified as per sanctioned plans as provided under the local laws. Its proviso says that, in the absence of any local law, the conveyance deed shall be carried out by the promoter within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate.
The buyer has a part to play here too. Section 19(11) says every allottee shall participate towards registration of the conveyance deed as provided under Section 17(1). Section 17(2) adds that after obtaining the occupancy certificate and handing over physical possession, the promoter shall hand over the necessary documents and plans, including common areas, to the association of allottees or the competent authority as per the local laws, and in the absence of a local law, within thirty days after obtaining the occupancy certificate.
Where a local law sets the timeline, Section 17 points to it rather than to the three-month fallback, so Chennai buyers should check the state position. Our report on the association of allottees under RERA and the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act explains how the two interact.
What should a Chennai buyer do in the two months?
Use the window to check, pay and document, in that order. In a project such as Prestige Park Street in Velachery, written records make every follow-up easier.
- Ask the builder for a copy of the occupancy certificate and note the date it was issued for your unit, since Section 19(10) runs from that date.
- Read the agreement for sale for the triggers on the final instalment, maintenance and taxes that Section 19(6) points back to.
- Arrange the final loan disbursement early, and if you need more time, seek the builder's written agreement under Section 19(8).
- Inspect the flat for water, sanitation and electricity connections, the civic infrastructure the occupancy certificate definition refers to.
- Ask for receipts showing that outgoings collected from you, such as taxes and utility charges, have been paid, as Section 11(4)(g) requires.
- Take possession within two months and keep the dated possession letter.
- Track the conveyance deed and the handover of documents and plans to the association under Section 17.
Frequently asked questions
How soon after the occupancy certificate must I take possession?
Section 19(10) of the RERA Act says every allottee shall take physical possession of the apartment, plot or building within a period of two months of the occupancy certificate issued for it. Ask the builder for the certificate and its issue date, because the two-month period runs from that certificate, not from the handover email.
Who pays property tax and utility charges before possession?
Section 11(4)(g) says the promoter pays all outgoings it collected from allottees, including municipal taxes and water or electricity charges, until it transfers physical possession. If it fails to pay them, the promoter remains liable even after transfer. Separately, Section 19(6) makes the allottee responsible for its share of such charges as per the agreement.
Can the builder charge interest if I delay final payments?
Section 19(7) says the allottee is liable to pay interest at the prescribed rate for any delay in payments due under Section 19(6), which include amounts under the agreement and shares of charges such as taxes and maintenance. Section 19(8) allows these obligations and the interest to be reduced if the promoter and the allottee mutually agree.
When should the conveyance deed be registered after the occupancy certificate?
Section 17(1) requires a registered conveyance deed within the period specified under local laws. Where there is no local law, its proviso says the promoter must carry it out within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate. Section 19(11) requires the allottee to participate in registering it.
Last updated 2026-10-26. PropNewz Team.
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