Buying a Booked Flat From the Original Allottee: What RERA Section 2(d) Means for a Bengaluru Buyer

A Bengaluru buyer finds a flat in a tower that is still going up. The seller is not the builder but the person who booked it a year or two ago, signed the agreement for sale and has paid part of the price. The seller wants out, and the flat comes with a construction-linked payment schedule still running. Before money changes hands, the buyer needs to know one thing above all: under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, will the buyer step into the seller's shoes as an allottee?

This guide explains what the Act says about who counts as an allottee, which rights and duties come with the booking, and what to verify with the seller, the promoter and the lender before you agree to take the flat over.

The short answer. Section 2(d) of the Act defines an allottee as the person to whom a plot, apartment or building has been allotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoter, and it expressly includes the person who subsequently acquires the allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise. A person who takes the flat on rent is excluded. So a buyer who properly acquires the allotment from the original allottee comes within the definition, along with the rights in Sections 18 and 19 and the payment duties in Section 19(6) and 19(7). The trade-off: you inherit the seller's position, which includes the remaining payments and the record of what has already been paid, so the paperwork has to be checked as carefully as the flat.

Does a buyer from the original allottee count as an allottee?

Yes, by definition. In the text of the Act published by the Telangana regulator, Section 2(d) says an allottee, in relation to a real estate project, means the person to whom a plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, has been allotted, sold, whether as freehold or leasehold, or otherwise transferred by the promoter, and includes the person who subsequently acquires the said allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise, but does not include a person to whom such plot, apartment or building is given on rent.

The phrase "subsequently acquires the said allotment" is what matters for a resale before possession. It brings the later buyer inside the Act's protections. The words "through sale, transfer or otherwise" are broad, but the acquisition still has to be of the allotment itself, which is why the transfer paperwork, and the promoter's record of it, matter so much.

Our earlier report on allottee rights when buying an under-construction flat on resale looks at the same definition. This guide focuses on the checks before you pay.

Which rights come with the allotment?

The same rights the seller had. Section 19(1) entitles the allottee to obtain information on sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications approved by the competent authority. Section 19(2) entitles the allottee to know the stage-wise time schedule of completion, including water, sanitation, electricity and other amenities. Section 19(3) entitles the allottee to claim possession, and Section 19(5) to have the necessary documents and plans, including those of the common areas, after physical possession is handed over.

If the project runs late, Section 19(4) entitles the allottee to claim a refund with interest and compensation where the promoter fails to give possession in accordance with the agreement for sale, and Section 18(1) sets out the choice between withdrawing with a refund and staying with interest for every month of delay. Our guide to withdrawing or staying when possession is delayed explains those two routes.

What duties come with it?

The remaining payments, on the agreed schedule. Section 19(6) says every allottee who has entered into an agreement for sale shall make the necessary payments in the manner and within the time specified in that agreement, and pay their share of registration charges, municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges, ground rent and other charges. Section 19(7) makes the allottee liable to pay interest at the prescribed rate for any delay in those payments.

That has a practical edge. If the seller has missed a demand before the transfer, the interest on that delay is part of what you would be stepping into, unless it is settled first. Section 11(5) adds that the promoter may cancel an allotment only in terms of the agreement for sale, and that an aggrieved allottee may approach the Authority if the cancellation is not in accordance with the agreement, unilateral and without sufficient cause. Either way, you need to know whether any default or cancellation notice is already on the file.

How do I check what the seller has actually paid?

Through the agreement, the receipts and the promoter's own ledger. Section 13(1) says a promoter shall not accept more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment as an advance or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it. So if a seller says a large share of the price has been paid, there should be a registered agreement for sale behind it.

Take a hypothetical flat priced at Rs 80 lakh in the agreement for sale. If the seller's receipts show Rs 48 lakh paid to the promoter, which is 60 per cent of the price, then Rs 32 lakh remains payable to the promoter on the schedule in the agreement. Whatever you agree to pay the seller is in addition to that Rs 32 lakh. A statement of account from the promoter, matching the seller's receipts, is the simplest way to confirm both numbers.

It is also worth checking where the seller's money went. Section 4(2)(l)(D) requires seventy per cent of the amounts realised from allottees to be deposited in a separate account in a scheduled bank and withdrawn in proportion to the percentage of completion. Payments made by bank transfer to the promoter's designated account leave a clear trail.

What about the seller's home loan and the promoter's lender?

Both need checking. If the seller financed the booking with a home loan, ask for the lender's written position on closure before you pay, since the seller's loan documents may give that lender rights over the allotment. On the promoter's side, Section 11(4)(h) says that after the promoter executes an agreement for sale for an apartment, it shall not mortgage or create a charge on that apartment, and that if any such mortgage or charge is made, it shall not affect the right and interest of the allottee who has taken or agreed to take it.

Section 11(4)(a) also keeps the promoter responsible for all obligations under the Act and to the allottees as per the agreement for sale until conveyance. Because the definition of allottee includes a later acquirer, that is another reason to make sure the promoter has recorded you as the allottee.

What should a Bengaluru buyer do before taking over a booking?

Use this list to turn the Act into a transfer plan. Each step maps to a section above.

1. Get a copy of the registered agreement for sale and confirm the flat number, price and payment schedule.
2. Match the seller's receipts to a statement of account from the promoter showing amounts paid and due.
3. Ask the promoter in writing whether any demand is overdue, any interest is due, or any cancellation notice has been issued.
4. Check the project's registration and quarterly updates on the regulator's website for progress and the declared completion date.
5. If the seller has a home loan, get the lender's written position on closure before you pay the seller.
6. Ask the promoter for its transfer process and fees in writing, and make sure it records you as the allottee.
7. Arrange your own loan for the remaining instalments before you commit, so the next demand does not fall due unpaid.

If you are looking at a booking in a large Bengaluru project such as Lodha Hoskote on the Whitefield to Hoskote road, ask for the phase and tower registration as well, since the Explanation to Section 3 treats each phase as a stand alone project needing its own registration.

What if the promoter will not record the transfer?

Then stop and take advice before paying. The Act's protection for a later buyer turns on acquiring the allotment, and a promoter that has not recorded the transfer may continue to treat the seller as the allottee for demands, notices and possession. Section 31 allows any aggrieved person to file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer for any violation of the Act, rules or regulations, and our checklist for the first 30 days after booking a flat sets out the records any new allottee should keep.

Buying a booked flat can work well for both sides. The seller exits, and the buyer gets a flat in a project already under way. The Act makes the later buyer an allottee, but only the paperwork makes it true in practice.

Frequently asked questions

Is a person who buys a booked flat from the original allottee covered by RERA?

Yes. Section 2(d) of the RERA Act defines an allottee to include the person who subsequently acquires the allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise. It excludes a person to whom the flat is given on rent, so the buyer must acquire the allotment itself, not just occupy the flat.

Do I have to pay the seller's overdue instalments?

Section 19(6) requires an allottee to make payments in the manner and time set in the agreement for sale, and Section 19(7) makes the allottee liable for interest on any delay. So overdue demands and interest should be settled or accounted for before you take over the allotment.

Can the builder mortgage a flat after the agreement for sale?

Section 11(4)(h) says that after executing an agreement for sale, the promoter 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 who has taken or agreed to take it.

How much can a builder take before a registered agreement for sale?

Section 13(1) says a promoter shall not accept more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment as an advance or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it, so larger payments by a seller should have a registered agreement behind them.

Last updated 2026-10-25. PropNewz Team.