Checking a Builder's Track Record in Bengaluru: What RERA Makes Them Disclose About Past Projects
A Bengaluru buyer's guide to the builder disclosures in a RERA registration: the five year project record under Section 4(2)(b), enterprise, agent and contractor details, the title affidavit, where to see them, the Section 60 penalty, and a booking check.
Two Bengaluru launches sit side by side on a buyer's shortlist. The flats are similar, the prices are close and both sales teams describe their builder as "trusted" and "experienced". The buyer wants something firmer than a slogan. How many projects has each builder delivered recently, and were any of them late or in court? The RERA Act does not leave that to the brochure. When a promoter registers a project, it must disclose its record over the past five years, and that disclosure is a useful document for a buyer to read before booking.
The short answer. Section 4(2)(b) of the RERA Act requires a promoter's registration application to include brief details of the projects it launched in the past five years, whether completed or under development, including their current status, any delay in completion, details of cases pending, details of type of land and payments pending. The application must also carry the enterprise's details and the promoter's photographs, the names of its real estate agents, contractors, architect and structural engineer, and a sworn declaration on title and encumbrances. Section 60 provides a penalty of up to five per cent of the project's estimated cost for false information or other contravention of Section 4. The trade-off: the disclosure gives you a structured record to test the sales pitch against, but it is the builder's own account, so treat it as a starting point and check what you can independently.
What does a builder have to disclose about past projects?
A five year record. Section 4(2)(b) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 says the promoter shall enclose with its registration application "a brief detail of the projects launched by him, in the past five years, whether already completed or being developed, as the case may be, including the current status of the said projects, any delay in its completion, details of cases pending, details of type of land and payments pending".
Each item in that list answers a buyer's question. The current status tells you what is finished and what is not. Any delay in completion tells you how the builder's past promises have fared. Details of cases pending tell you whether the builder is in dispute. Type of land and payments pending tell you about the base on which past projects stand.
What else does the registration application reveal about the builder?
Who the builder is and who is building for it. Section 4(2)(a) requires brief details of the enterprise, including its name, registered address, type of enterprise, such as proprietorship, society, partnership, company or competent authority, the particulars of registration, and the names and photographs of the promoter.
Section 4(2)(j) requires the names and addresses of the promoter's real estate agents, if any, for the proposed project. Section 4(2)(k) requires the names and addresses of the contractors, architect, structural engineer, if any, and other persons concerned with the development of the project. For a buyer, that list tells you whether the agent selling to you is named in the filing, and who is actually responsible for the structure.
The sworn statements matter too. Section 4(2)(l) requires a declaration, supported by an affidavit signed by the promoter or a person it authorises, that it has legal title to the land with legally valid documents, that the land is free from all encumbrances or, as the case may be, details of the encumbrances, and the time period within which it undertakes to complete the project or phase.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' FAQs on RERA, dated July 2025, describe the same framework: Section 4 sets out the details, information and undertaking the promoter must provide to the authority for registration, while the forms to be filled and fees to be paid are determined by rules made by the appropriate government. The application also carries the paperwork you will sign later. Section 4(2)(g) requires the proforma of the allotment letter, agreement for sale and conveyance deed proposed to be signed with allottees.
Where can a buyer see these disclosures?
On the regulator's public records. Section 34(b) of the Act says the functions of the authority include publishing and maintaining a website of records, for public viewing, of all real estate projects for which registration has been given, with details as may be prescribed, "including information provided in the application for which registration has been granted". Section 34(c) adds a database, for public viewing, of promoters entered as defaulters, including project details, where registration has been revoked or the promoter has been penalised under the Act, with reasons.
So information from the builder's own application is meant to be published on the authority's website, with the details the rules prescribe. Check what the record for your project actually shows, and ask the builder for anything you cannot find. Our guide to what the RERA website records show under Section 34 walks through what to look for, and our explainer on verifying a K-RERA registration shows how to search a project.
The record keeps moving after registration. Section 11(1) requires the promoter to keep the project's web page on the authority's website updated quarterly with the number and types of apartments booked, the number of garages booked, the approvals taken and those pending after the commencement certificate, and the status of the project. A builder whose past projects ran late is worth watching quarter by quarter on the new one.
What if the builder's disclosure is false?
The Act penalises it. Section 60 says that if any promoter provides false information or contravenes the provisions of Section 4, it shall be liable to a penalty which may extend up to five per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, as determined by the authority.
False statements can also put the registration itself at risk. Section 7(1) lets the authority revoke a registration after being satisfied that the promoter is involved in any kind of unfair practice or irregularities, and its explanation includes making a statement that represents that the promoter has an approval or affiliation it does not have, or that makes a false or misleading representation concerning the services. A buyer who spots a mismatch between the disclosure and the facts can raise it. Section 31(1) lets any aggrieved person file a complaint with the authority or the adjudicating officer for any violation of the Act.
How should you read a builder's five year record?
Look for patterns, not just totals. A list of projects launched tells you scale. The status and delay entries tell you about reliability. Pending cases and pending payments tell you about stress points. Read each past project's entry with three questions in mind: Was it finished? Was it finished when promised? Is anything still unresolved?
Then test the record against what you can see. Search the past projects by name on the regulator's website. Check whether any of them appear on the defaulters database under Section 34(c). Visit one or two completed projects from the list and speak to residents if you can. The record is the builder's own account, and the point is to verify it, not to take it on trust.
The agent list has legal weight. Section 9(1) says no real estate agent shall facilitate the sale or purchase of any plot, apartment or building in a project registered under Section 3 and sold by the promoter in a planning area without obtaining registration as an agent. An agent who is neither named in the project filing nor registered is a reason to slow down.
Finally, compare the people. If the same contractor or structural engineer named under Section 4(2)(k) worked on a past project with a long delay, ask the builder what has changed. If the agent who approached you is not named under Section 4(2)(j), ask why.
How do the disclosures compare?
This table maps the Section 4(2) disclosures that reveal the most about a builder.
| Disclosure | What it tells you | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise details and promoter photographs | Who the builder is and how it is organised | Section 4(2)(a) |
| Projects launched in the past five years | Status, delays, pending cases, type of land, payments pending | Section 4(2)(b) |
| Real estate agents for the project | Whether your agent is named in the filing | Section 4(2)(j) |
| Contractors, architect, structural engineer | Who is responsible for building it | Section 4(2)(k) |
| Affidavit on title and encumbrances | Whether title is claimed clean or encumbrances are listed | Section 4(2)(l)(A), (B) |
What should you check before booking?
Run through this list for each builder on your shortlist.
- Find the project's registration record on the regulator's website.
- Read the list of projects launched in the past five years.
- Note any project shown as delayed, with pending cases or pending payments.
- Search the defaulters database for the promoter's name.
- Check whether your agent is named among the project's agents.
- Note the contractor, architect and structural engineer named.
- Read the affidavit on title and encumbrances before paying a token.
For a registered project, such as the one on our page for Sumadhura Solea in Rachenahalli, start with the K-RERA number and work outward to the builder's other projects listed in its filing.
Frequently asked questions
Does a builder have to disclose delayed projects under RERA?
Yes. Section 4(2)(b) of the RERA Act requires the registration application to include brief details of projects the promoter launched in the past five years, whether completed or under development, with their current status, any delay in completion, details of pending cases, type of land and payments pending.
Where can I see a builder's RERA disclosures?
Section 34(b) of the RERA Act says the authority must publish and maintain a public website of records of registered projects, including information provided in the registration application. Section 34(c) adds a public database of promoters entered as defaulters where registration was revoked or a penalty imposed, with reasons.
What is the penalty for false information in a RERA application?
Section 60 of the RERA Act says a promoter that provides false information or contravenes Section 4 is liable to a penalty which may extend up to five per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, as determined by the authority. False representations can also be grounds for revoking registration under Section 7.
Does the RERA filing name the contractor and architect?
Yes. Section 4(2)(k) requires the registration application to include the names and addresses of the contractors, architect, structural engineer, if any, and other persons concerned with the development of the project. Section 4(2)(j) also requires the names and addresses of the promoter's real estate agents for the project, if any.
Last updated 2026-10-21. PropNewz Team.
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