Agreement for Sale vs Conveyance Deed: What Each Does for a Bengaluru New-Flat Buyer Under RERA
Under the RERA Act, the agreement for sale must be written and registered before the promoter takes more than ten per cent of the cost, and must specify the items in Section 13(2). The conveyance deed under Section 17 transfers title with an undivided share in common areas. This guide compares the two for Bengaluru buyers.
A new-flat purchase in Bengaluru can produce two thick documents several years apart. The first is signed early, sometimes while the tower is still a pit: the agreement for sale. The second is signed at the end, after the building is finished: the sale deed, which the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 calls the conveyance deed. It is easy to treat the first as a formality and the second as the real thing, or the other way round. Under the Act, each does a different job.
This guide explains what the Act requires of each document, when each must be signed and registered, and what a buyer should check in both.
The short answer. Section 2(c) of the Act defines an agreement for sale as an agreement entered into between the promoter and the allottee. Section 13(1) says a promoter shall not accept more than ten per cent of the cost as an advance or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it, and Section 13(2) lists what that agreement must specify. Section 17(1) requires the promoter to execute a registered conveyance deed in the allottee's favour, with undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association, within the period under local law, or three months from the occupancy certificate where there is none. The trade-off: the agreement protects you during construction, but only the conveyance deed completes the transfer of title, so neither can be skipped or skimmed.
What is the agreement for sale under RERA?
The contract that governs the construction years. In the text of the Act published by the Telangana regulator, Section 2(c) defines an agreement for sale simply as an agreement entered into between the promoter and the allottee. Section 13(2) then says it shall be in such form as may be prescribed and shall specify the particulars of development of the project, including the construction of building and apartments, along with specifications and internal and external development works, the dates and the manner by which payments are to be made by the allottees, the date on which possession is to be handed over, the rates of interest payable by the promoter to the allottee and by the allottee to the promoter in case of default, and such other particulars as may be prescribed.
That list is the backbone of a buyer's rights during construction. The possession date in the agreement is the date against which delay is measured under Section 18(1), and the interest rates in it must respect Section 2(za), which says the rate a promoter charges an allottee on default shall equal the rate the promoter would pay the allottee on its own default.
When must the agreement be registered?
Before the builder takes more than ten per cent. Section 13(1) says a promoter shall not accept a sum more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment, plot or building as an advance payment or an application fee, from a person without first entering into a written agreement for sale with such person and registering the said agreement for sale under any law for the time being in force.
In practice, this means the agreement should be both written and registered by the time your payments cross ten per cent of the cost. A buyer who has paid more without a registered agreement should raise it with the builder in writing. Our earlier report on sale agreement versus sale deed in Bengaluru covers the same distinction more generally.
| Point | Agreement for sale | Conveyance deed |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An agreement between the promoter and the allottee | The registered deed transferring the apartment to the allottee |
| When it is signed | Before the promoter takes more than ten per cent of the cost | Within the local law period, or three months from the occupancy certificate if none |
| Registration | Must be written and registered under Section 13(1) | Must be a registered conveyance deed under Section 17(1) |
| Common areas | Specifies development particulars and works | Undivided proportionate title in common areas to the association |
| Draft available in advance | Proforma filed at registration under Section 4(2)(g) | Proforma filed at registration under Section 4(2)(g) |
What is the conveyance deed and when is it due?
The document that transfers title. 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, and 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.
Section 11(4)(f) restates the duty in the promoter's list of obligations: to execute a registered conveyance deed of the apartment in favour of the allottee along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas, as provided under Section 17. Section 11(4)(a) adds that the promoter remains responsible for its obligations under the Act and the agreement for sale until the conveyance of all the apartments to the allottees and the common areas to the association.
What does the buyer have to do?
Pay, take possession and take part in registration. Section 19(6) makes every allottee who has entered into an agreement for sale under Section 13 responsible for making payments in the manner and within the time specified in it, and for paying a share of registration charges, municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges and other charges. Section 19(10) requires the allottee to take physical possession within two months of the occupancy certificate. Section 19(11) says every allottee shall participate towards registration of the conveyance deed as provided under Section 17(1).
The agreement also gives the buyer a shield between signing and conveyance. Section 11(4)(h) says that after the promoter executes an agreement for sale for any apartment, it shall not mortgage or create a charge on that apartment, and that any such mortgage or charge shall not affect the right and interest of the allottee.
What if the conveyance deed is delayed?
The promoter's obligations do not lapse. Section 11(4)(a) keeps the promoter responsible for all obligations under the Act and to the allottees as per the agreement for sale until the conveyance of all the apartments to the allottees and the common areas to the association. Section 18(3) says that if the promoter fails to discharge any other obligations imposed on it under the Act or in accordance with the agreement for sale, it shall be liable to pay compensation to the allottees in the manner provided under the Act.
A buyer whose deed has not been executed within the applicable period can write to the promoter, citing Section 17(1), and if that fails, Section 31(1) allows any aggrieved person to file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer. Conveyance does not end everything either: the proviso to Section 11(4)(a) keeps the five-year defect liability under Section 14(3) running even after the conveyance deeds are executed.
Can the two documents say different things?
They should not contradict the filing. Section 4(2)(g) requires the promoter to file, at registration, the proforma of the allotment letter, agreement for sale and the conveyance deed proposed to be signed with the allottees. That means a buyer can compare the agreement and the deed actually offered with the drafts filed with the regulator, years apart.
Before signing either, read it against the proforma and against the Act. If the conveyance deed you are asked to sign describes the common areas, the unit or the land share differently from the agreement and the filed proforma, ask the builder to explain the difference in writing. Our report on the first 30 days after booking a flat covers what to do right after signing the agreement.
For buyers in a project such as Brigade Banashankari, or any other, the same checklist applies across both stages.
- Download the proforma agreement and conveyance deed filed under Section 4(2)(g) before booking.
- Check that your agreement specifies the items in Section 13(2), including payment dates, possession date and default interest for both sides.
- Make sure the agreement is written and registered before your payments exceed ten per cent of the cost, as Section 13(1) requires.
- Keep the registered agreement safe, since it fixes the possession date used to measure delay under Section 18(1).
- After the occupancy certificate, take possession within two months under Section 19(10) and keep the possession letter.
- Track the conveyance deed against the local law period, or three months from the occupancy certificate if there is none, under Section 17(1).
- Before signing the conveyance deed, check that it conveys the undivided proportionate title in common areas and matches the filed proforma.
Frequently asked questions
Is an agreement for sale the same as a sale deed under RERA?
No. Section 2(c) of the RERA Act defines an agreement for sale as an agreement between the promoter and the allottee, and Section 13(2) lists what it must specify. Title passes through the registered conveyance deed that Section 17(1) requires the promoter to execute in the allottee's favour, with undivided proportionate title in the common areas.
Must the agreement for sale be registered?
Section 13(1) says a promoter shall not accept more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment as an advance payment or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale with the buyer and registering it under any law for the time being in force.
When must the builder execute the conveyance deed?
Section 17(1) requires a registered conveyance deed within the period specified as per sanctioned plans under the local laws. Its proviso says that in the absence of any local law, the promoter shall carry out the conveyance within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate. Section 19(11) requires the allottee to participate.
Can I see the conveyance deed before the flat is ready?
The draft, yes. Section 4(2)(g) requires the promoter to file the proforma of the allotment letter, agreement for sale and conveyance deed proposed to be signed with allottees when it applies for registration. Section 11(1) requires the Section 4(2) details to be entered on the Authority's website for public viewing.
Last updated 2026-10-26. PropNewz Team.
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