Karnataka RERA: Verifying a Project and the 70 Percent Rule

A Bengaluru buyer booking an under construction flat in Devanahalli in September 2026 asked a question most buyers never think to ask: where does my money actually go while the building comes up? The answer, written into the law, is that most of it is meant to sit in a separate account and be spent only on that project. Karnataka RERA is not just a registry of project names, it is a set of rules about how a buyer's money is held and released. Learning to read a project's RERA page is really about learning where your payments are protected, and where they are not.

The short answer. Karnataka RERA registers real estate projects and requires promoters to keep seventy percent of the money they collect from buyers in a separate bank account, to be spent only on that project's construction and land. You can verify a project free on the official portal at rera.karnataka.gov.in and read its registration status, promoter, completion date, and quarterly progress. The trade-off is that RERA protects how your money is held and disclosed, but it does not guarantee timely delivery, so reading the disclosures matters more than simply confirming a number exists.

What is Karnataka RERA and what does it protect?

Karnataka RERA is the state authority under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 that registers projects and holds promoters to the disclosures and financial rules the Act lays down. It maintains a public register at rera.karnataka.gov.in where any buyer can look up a project, and it gives buyers a forum to complain when a promoter defaults. The central purpose is protection: the Act forces disclosure of what a project is, who is building it, and by when, and it puts rules around how the money collected from buyers may be used.

For a buyer, this is the difference between trusting a brochure and reading a record. The brochure is written to sell. The RERA page, by contrast, is written to disclose, and the two do not always end up saying the same thing.

Which projects must be registered?

Under Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, a project must be registered where the land is more than 500 square metres or more than eight apartments are proposed, counting all phases, and a promoter cannot advertise, market, book, or sell in such a project before it is registered. You can read the provision in the official statute on India Code. Almost every Bengaluru apartment project crosses that threshold, so a large project without a registration number is being sold in a way the law does not allow.

This is why the registration number is the first thing to confirm, and why its absence is a warning rather than a formality. A registered project has agreed to play by the Act's rules, including the financial ones that follow. A very small builder floor on a tiny plot can genuinely fall below the threshold, so a missing number there is worth a direct question rather than an automatic rejection, but any project at apartment scale should carry a number you can verify yourself on the portal.

What is the seventy percent rule and why does it matter to a buyer?

Under Section 4 of the Act, a promoter must deposit seventy percent of the amounts realised from buyers into a separate bank account, to be used only for the cost of construction and the land for that project. The money cannot be freely diverted to other projects, and the promoter can withdraw from the account only in proportion to the stage of completion, certified by an engineer, an architect, and a chartered accountant. This is the rule that most directly protects a buyer's payments, because it is designed to stop the common failure where money collected for one project is spent finishing another.

For a buyer, the practical value is knowing that this protection exists and applies to a registered project. It does not make delay impossible, but it puts a legal fence around the majority of your money and ties its release to actual construction progress rather than to the promoter's convenience. A project that is registered is subject to this discipline, which is one more reason the registration status is worth confirming yourself.

The remaining thirty percent is not free money for the promoter either, but the seventy percent is the part most directly ring fenced for building the homes that buyers have paid for. When you understand this, the quarterly progress updates on the portal take on a different meaning. They are not just photographs of a construction site, they are the mechanism that is supposed to govern how much the promoter can draw down, because withdrawals are tied to certified stages of completion. A project that reports little progress quarter after quarter is also a project where, in principle, less of that account should have been released, and a large mismatch between the money collected and the work done is exactly the kind of thing a buyer and, ultimately, the authority can question.

How do I verify a project on the Karnataka RERA portal?

Open the official portal at rera.karnataka.gov.in and search the registered projects by the project name or the promoter name. The register is public, so you do not need to be a buyer or pay a fee to look a project up. When the record opens, read it rather than only checking that a number is present. The table below shows what to look at, where it sits, and why it matters to a buyer.

What should I read in the project's disclosures?

Read the completion date, the quarterly progress, and the complaint history, not just the registration number. Under Section 11 of the Act, a promoter must keep the project page updated, including periodic progress, so the page is a living record rather than a one time certificate. Compare the declared completion date with what the sales team told you, and look at whether the quarterly updates show steady progress or long gaps. A project that is registered but visibly behind its own declared timeline is telling you something the brochure will not.

None of this is investment advice. The aim is to make sure the project is registered, that the disclosures match what you are being sold, and that you understand the protections that apply to your money. For related checks on the property itself, see our guides on the encumbrance certificate and title search and on the occupancy certificate versus completion certificate.

How does RERA verification fit with my other checks?

RERA verification confirms the project is registered, disclosed, and subject to the Act's financial rules, and it works alongside the title, encumbrance, and cost checks rather than replacing them. Confirming the RERA page does not tell you the title is clear or the money you owe at registration, so you still run those checks separately. A buyer weighing a launch such as Godrej Nurture in Electronic City would confirm the RERA registration and read its disclosures, then verify the title and budget the stamp duty and registration on top. Used together, the checks tell you the project is legitimate, the title is sound, and the cost is understood. No single one of them is enough on its own, and the RERA page in particular is a starting point that rewards a careful reading rather than a quick glance at whether a number exists.

A seven step RERA verification checklist

Use this order before you pay any booking amount on a Bengaluru project, and repeat the quick version before you sign.

1. Open rera.karnataka.gov.in and search the registered projects.
2. Search by the project name, then by the promoter name for renamed phases.
3. Confirm the registration status shows the project as registered and current.
4. Note the declared completion date and compare it with the sales pitch.
5. Read the quarterly progress updates for steady, real construction.
6. Check the promoter's other projects and any complaints or orders.
7. Save a dated screenshot of the record before you pay anything.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I verify a Bengaluru project under RERA? On the official Karnataka RERA portal at rera.karnataka.gov.in, where you can search registered projects by the project name or promoter name without a login or fee. The record shows the registration status, the promoter, the declared completion date, the quarterly progress updates, and any complaints, which lets you check a project against the government's own record before you book.

What is the seventy percent rule under RERA? Under Section 4 of the Act, a promoter must keep seventy percent of the money collected from buyers in a separate bank account, used only for that project's construction and land. Withdrawals are allowed in proportion to construction progress, certified by an engineer, architect, and chartered accountant, which is designed to stop a buyer's money being diverted to another project.

Does a RERA registration guarantee the project will finish on time? No. Registration confirms the project is on the government register and subject to the Act's disclosure and financial rules, but it does not guarantee timely delivery or quality. Its value is that the promoter has declared a completion date, must update progress, and must hold most of your money in a controlled account, giving you disclosures to read.

What should I do if a Bengaluru project has no RERA number? Treat it as a reason to stop and verify. A large project must be registered before it can be advertised or sold, so a missing number is a serious warning. Ask for the registration number in writing, confirm it yourself on rera.karnataka.gov.in, and do not pay a booking amount until you have seen the project on the register.

Last updated 2026-09-19. PropNewz Team.