After the Keys: What Your Builder Still Owes Your Association Under RERA in Bengaluru

The handover ceremony at a Whitefield project ends with keys, a welcome kit and a group photograph. A week later, the residents' messaging group lights up with questions. Who owns the shops at the clubhouse entrance? Where are the approved plans for the sewage treatment plant? When does the builder hand over the common areas? Nobody at the ceremony mentioned any of this, and the developer's site office has already started packing up.

Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, possession is not the end of a promoter's obligations. MoHUA's official FAQ on the Act sets out what continues after the keys: the handover of common areas, the transfer of title and documents, the insurance provision and the five-year defect liability. This guide explains each for a Bengaluru buyer and association.

The short answer. Section 2(n) defines common areas to include community and commercial facilities, which are to be handed to the association of allottees. Section 17 provides for transfer of the apartment's title to you and of the undivided proportionate title in common areas to the association, with the promoter handing over the necessary documents and plans. Section 14(2) keeps the promoter liable for structural and specified defects for five years from handover, with 30 days to rectify. The trade-off: these rights are real but they are not self-executing; an organised association that asks in writing gets far more than individual owners who wait.

Are community and commercial facilities part of the common areas?

MoHUA's Frequently Asked Questions on the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 addresses this directly. It says Section 2(n) defines common areas to include community and commercial facilities, so they are an integral part of the project, to be handed over to the association of allottees.

For residents, that answer reframes the clubhouse question. Facilities provided within the project for the community, and commercial facilities provided as part of it, are treated as common areas under the Act's definition. If the builder's paperwork describes such facilities as retained or separately saleable, compare that with the agreement for sale, the sanctioned plan and the project's disclosures on the Karnataka RERA portal, and raise any mismatch in writing.

Our earlier explainer on clubhouses and common areas under Karnataka's new apartment law covers how the state's own legislation approaches the same question.

What must pass to you and to the association under Section 17?

The FAQ explains that Section 17 provides detailed provisions for transfer of title of the apartment to the allottee and the undivided proportionate title in the common areas of the project to the association of allottees. It also states that the promoter is responsible for handing over the necessary documents and plans to the association of allottees or the competent authority, as the case may be.

So there are two strands. Your own title is completed through the registered conveyance of your flat. The association's title is the undivided proportionate share in common areas. Alongside both comes a set of documents and plans that the association needs to run the building: approved plans, as-built drawings and the records that let the association maintain and insure what it now owns.

The FAQ also lists, among the allottee's duties under Section 19, taking possession, participating in forming the association and registering the conveyance deed. Rights and duties run together: the association can only receive what it is organised to accept.

Does the builder have to insure the project?

Section 16 contemplates it, but it is not automatic. The FAQ says Section 16 requires the promoter to seek insurance of the real estate project towards title of the land and towards construction of the project. It then adds that the provision shall come into effect only after, and in the manner, notified by the appropriate Government.

For a Bengaluru association, the practical step is to ask the builder in writing whether any such insurance is in place and, if not, to plan the building's own insurance from the date it takes charge. Do not assume a title or construction policy exists simply because Section 16 is in the Act.

How long does defect liability last after possession?

The FAQ explains that under Section 14(2) the promoter is liable for five years from the date of handing over possession to the allottee for structural defects or any other defect as specified. It is the promoter's duty to rectify such defects within 30 days, and if the promoter fails to do so, the aggrieved allottees are entitled to receive appropriate compensation as provided under the Act.

Five years is a long time for memories, not for paperwork. Each owner should note the handover date in writing, report defects by email with photographs, and keep the builder's acknowledgements. The association should keep a common register for defects in shared areas. Our earlier explainer on Section 14(2) defect liability covers how compensation claims proceed.

What should a new association do in its first few months?

Move early, while the builder's team is still on site. In a large project such as Prestige Rosewood in Varthur, or any multi-tower development, the volume of documents and facilities makes an organised approach essential.

1. Record each owner's handover date in writing, since defect liability runs five years from it.
2. Ask the builder for a written list of all common areas and facilities, including community and commercial ones.
3. Compare that list with the agreement for sale, the sanctioned plan and the Karnataka RERA portal disclosures.
4. Request the documents and plans that Section 17 says the promoter must hand over, and log what is received.
5. Ask whether any Section 16 title or construction insurance is in place, and arrange the building's own cover.
6. Set up a dated defect register for common areas and encourage owners to report flat defects by email.
7. Follow up unrectified defects after 30 days in writing, keeping copies for any claim.

What do owners themselves owe during the handover?

The Act does not put the whole burden on the builder. MoHUA's FAQ lists the allottee's duties under Section 19: making payments for the apartment, liability towards interest for delay in payment, responsibility to take possession, participating in the formation of the association, and registering the conveyance deed.

Each of those duties connects to the builder's obligations above. An association that has not been formed cannot receive the common areas or the documents. A flat whose conveyance is not registered leaves the owner's own title incomplete. An owner who delays taking possession also delays the inspection and reporting that the five-year defect period depends on.

So the first months after the keys are a shared job. Owners should register their conveyance deeds promptly, join the effort to form the association and keep their own payment records clean. The FAQ also notes that the rate of interest for delay is the same whether the promoter or the allottee is at fault, under the Explanation to Section 2(za). A clean record on your side makes it easier to press the builder on theirs.

What if the builder holds back facilities or documents?

Start with a written request that cites the provisions above and sets a reasonable date for a reply. Keep the tone factual. If the builder does not respond or disputes the position, the FAQ notes that Section 31 allows an aggrieved person to file a complaint with the Authority or the Adjudicating Officer for violations of the Act. A file that shows clear requests, dates and the builder's responses will carry more weight than a list of grievances assembled later.

Frequently asked questions

Are the clubhouse shops and community facilities in my project common areas?

MoHUA's RERA FAQ says Section 2(n) defines common areas to include community and commercial facilities, so they are an integral part of the project, to be handed over to the association of allottees. Check how your agreement and the sanctioned plan describe these facilities, and raise any mismatch with the builder in writing.

What must the builder transfer to the association under Section 17?

According to MoHUA's FAQ, Section 17 provides for transfer of title of the apartment to the allottee and of the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of allottees. It also makes the promoter responsible for handing over the necessary documents and plans to the association or the competent authority, as the case may be.

Is my builder required to insure the project's title and construction?

MoHUA's FAQ says Section 16 requires the promoter to obtain insurance towards title of the land and construction of the project, but that the provision comes into effect only after, and in the manner, notified by the appropriate Government. Ask whether such a notification applies in Karnataka before relying on any insurance cover.

How long is the builder liable for defects after possession?

MoHUA's FAQ says that under Section 14(2) the promoter is liable for five years from the date of handing over possession for structural defects or other specified defects, must rectify them within 30 days, and if it fails, the aggrieved allottees are entitled to appropriate compensation under the Act. Keep dated records of every defect notice.

Last updated 2026-11-13. PropNewz Team.