Buying a Shop or Office in a Bengaluru Project? RERA Treats It as an Apartment

A Bengaluru professional who has rented a small clinic for a decade decides to buy instead. The project is a new mixed-use block on a busy road: shops on the ground floor, offices above, and apartments in a separate tower. The sales manager suggests that RERA is really about homes, and that the office units are sold on simpler terms. Is that right?

Not according to the definitions in the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The Act's meaning of apartment expressly includes offices, shops, showrooms and godowns, and its meaning of building covers commercial use. This guide explains what that means for someone buying commercial space in a registered project, which buyer protections carry over, and what to check before booking.

The short answer. Section 2(e) of the RERA Act says apartment, whether called block, chamber, dwelling unit, flat, office, showroom, shop, godown, premises, suite, tenement, unit or by any other name, means a separate and self-contained part of immovable property used or intended to be used for any residential or commercial use, such as residence, office, shop, showroom or godown, or for carrying on any business, occupation, profession or trade. So the Act's buyer protections that apply to an apartment can apply to a shop or office in a real estate project. The trade-off: the definitions bring commercial units inside the Act, but how a particular unit and project are treated, including whether the project needed registration at all, still turns on the facts and the state's rules.

Does RERA cover shops and offices?

The definition says so in terms. In the text of the Act published by the Telangana regulator, Section 2(e) lists office, showroom, shop and godown among the names an apartment may go by, and it describes the use as any residential or commercial use such as residence, office, shop, showroom or godown, or for carrying on any business, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other type of use ancillary to the purpose specified.

The definition of building points the same way. Section 2(j) says building includes any structure or erection or part of a structure or erection which is intended to be used for residential, commercial or for the purpose of any business, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other related purposes.

And Section 2(zn) defines real estate project as the development of a building or a building consisting of apartments, or converting an existing building or part of it into apartments, or developing land into plots or apartments, for the purpose of selling all or some of them, including the common areas, development works, improvements, structures and easements. Read together, a mixed-use project selling shops and offices fits these definitions.

Which buyer protections carry over to commercial units?

The ones written for apartments and allottees. Because a shop or office is an apartment under Section 2(e), the person who buys one is an allottee under Section 2(d), which means the person to whom an apartment has been allotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoter. That opens the same sections a home buyer would rely on.

Disclosure duties carry over as well. Section 11(3)(a) says the promoter, at the time of booking and issue of the allotment letter, shall make available to the allottee the sanctioned plans and layout plans along with specifications approved by the competent authority. Section 19(1) says the allottee is entitled to obtain that information. For a commercial buyer, the sanctioned plan is where you confirm the unit's size, its position on the floor and its access, before any money moves.

For the measurement side in detail, see our guide on measuring carpet area at handover, which applies equally to an office floor plate.

Does every commercial project need RERA registration?

The registration rule and its exemptions apply here too. Section 3(1) says no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building in any real estate project in any planning area without registering it with the Authority. Since shops and offices are apartments under Section 2(e), the rule reaches them.

Section 3(2) lists the exemptions: land not exceeding five hundred square metres or apartments not exceeding eight inclusive of all phases; projects with a completion certificate before the Act commenced; and renovation, repair or redevelopment not involving marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment. A small commercial building with a handful of shops may fall inside the first exemption, so ask the promoter which applies and check land area and unit count.

Leasing is a separate matter. The definition of allottee in Section 2(d) excludes a person to whom a plot, apartment or building is given on rent. A business that only leases a shop is a tenant, not an allottee.

What should a commercial buyer look at in the agreement?

The same essentials as a home buyer, plus the details that matter for a business. Section 13(2) says the agreement for sale must specify the particulars of development, including specifications and internal and external development works, the dates and manner of payments, the date of possession, and the default interest rates both ways.

For a shop or office, the specifications schedule deserves a close read: floor loading, power, frontage and access are things a business depends on. Section 14(2)(i) says the promoter shall not make additions or alterations to the sanctioned plans, layout plans, specifications and the nature of fixtures, fittings and amenities of the unit agreed to be taken without the buyer's previous consent, and the explanation says minor changes exclude closing of any required means of access, ingress or egress.

A separate question is how the space may legally be used once bought. Our earlier piece on running a business from a residential flat in Bengaluru covers why the approved use of a unit matters, and the same logic makes it worth confirming that a commercial unit's approved use fits your trade.

Where does a commercial buyer complain?

Through the same routes. Section 31(1) says any aggrieved person may file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer for any violation or contravention of the Act, rules or regulations against any promoter, allottee or real estate agent. Section 71(1) provides for an adjudicating officer, who is or has been a District Judge, to adjudge compensation under sections 12, 14, 18 and 19.

A business buyer may also have losses that a home buyer does not, such as rent paid elsewhere during a delay. Section 72 asks the adjudicating officer to consider the amount of loss caused as a result of the default, among other factors, so keeping a record of such costs is worthwhile.

How should you compare a commercial unit with a residential one in the same project?

Carefully, and on the same basis. Mixed-use projects often price shops, offices and apartments differently, and may show the commercial units on a different area measure in marketing material. Since all are apartments under Section 2(e), ask for every unit's carpet area as defined in Section 2(k), and compare price per square foot of carpet area across options.

Check the project's registration number on the regulator's portal, as you would for a home. The PropNewz page for Purva Orient Grand in Sudhama Nagar, for example, lists K-RERA number PRM/KA/RERA/1251/310/PR/210907/004299, the kind of number to match before any booking amount changes hands, whatever the unit type.

1. Confirm the project is registered, or ask which Section 3(2) exemption the promoter relies on.
2. Ask for the unit's carpet area as defined in Section 2(k), not only a super built-up figure.
3. Keep pre-agreement payments within ten per cent of cost, as Section 13(1) requires.
4. Read the specifications schedule for power, loading, frontage and access, and keep a copy.
5. Confirm the approved use of the unit suits the business you plan to run.
6. Note the possession date and default interest clauses required by Section 13(2).
7. Keep records of business costs caused by any delay, since Section 72 weighs the loss caused.

Frequently asked questions

Is a shop or office covered under RERA?

Yes. Section 2(e) of the RERA Act defines apartment to include an office, showroom, shop or godown, used or intended to be used for residential or commercial use or for carrying on any business, occupation, profession or trade. A buyer of such a unit in a real estate project is an allottee under Section 2(d).

Does a commercial project need RERA registration?

Section 3(1) bars a promoter from advertising, marketing, booking or selling any apartment, plot or building in a project in a planning area without registration. Section 3(2) exempts projects with land up to five hundred square metres or up to eight apartments, among other listed exemptions.

Is a shop tenant an allottee under RERA?

No. Section 2(d) of the RERA Act defines allottee as the person to whom a plot, apartment or building has been allotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoter, including later acquirers, but it does not include a person to whom such plot, apartment or building is given on rent.

Can the builder change my office unit's access after booking?

Section 14(2)(i) says the promoter shall not alter the sanctioned plans, specifications or fixtures of the unit agreed to be taken without the buyer's previous consent. Its explanation says minor changes exclude a change to or closing of any required means of access, ingress or egress.

A shop or office is a business decision as well as a property purchase, but the Act's definitions mean the paperwork deserves the same care as a home. This is general buyer information, not legal or investment advice.

Last updated 2026-10-27. PropNewz Team.