A Buyer Dies Before Handover: What RERA Means for the Family Left Holding the Booking
An under construction flat booked in one person's name becomes a problem for the family if that person dies before handover. This guide explains how the RERA Act's definition of allottee, its rights on delay and refund, and its complaint route apply to heirs of a Bengaluru buyer, and what paperwork the family should gather first.
Picture a two bedroom flat on Sarjapur Road, booked in 2024 in one spouse's name, with a registered agreement, a home loan and a possession date in 2027. Then the buyer dies. The family is grieving, the builder's demand letters keep coming, and nobody is quite sure whose name the flat will finally be registered in, or whether the delay interest and refund rights in the agreement still mean anything.
They do. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was written around a person it calls the allottee, and its definition is wide enough to cover those who step into a booking after the original buyer. This guide explains what the law says, what it leaves to other laws, and the order in which a Bengaluru family should deal with the paperwork.
The short answer. Under Section 2(d) of the RERA Act, an allottee includes the person who subsequently acquires the allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise, so heirs who succeed to a booking can claim the same rights to information, possession, delay interest and refund under Sections 18 and 19, and any aggrieved person can complain under Section 31. The trade-off: RERA protects the booking once the family's right to it is established, but proving who that family member is depends on succession law and documents outside RERA, which can take months.
Does a RERA booking survive the buyer's death?
Nothing in the Act's definition of an allottee ties the booking to the original buyer alone, and that definition gives the family a clear legal footing. Section 2(d) defines an allottee, in relation to a real estate project, as the person to whom a plot, apartment or building has been allotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoter, and it includes the person who subsequently acquires the said allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise. It excludes only a person to whom the unit is given on rent.
The words "or otherwise" matter. The Act does not list inheritance by name, but it does not confine the definition to a sale. Once heirs have acquired the allotment, they fit the definition and take on both the rights and the duties of an allottee. How they acquire it, and which family members are entitled, is a question for succession law and the documents the deceased left behind, not for RERA.
What rights pass to the heirs under RERA?
The same rights the buyer had. Section 19(1) entitles the allottee to obtain information about sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications. Section 19(2) entitles the allottee to know the stage-wise time schedule of completion, including water, sanitation and electricity. Section 19(3) entitles the allottee to claim possession, and Section 19(5) entitles the allottee to the necessary documents and plans after physical possession.
The money rights pass too. Section 18(1) makes the promoter liable, if it fails to complete or give possession in accordance with the agreement for sale, to return the amount received with interest at the prescribed rate and compensation where the allottee wishes to withdraw, and to pay interest for every month of delay where the allottee stays. Section 19(4) states the same refund entitlement from the allottee's side.
| Question | Where the answer sits | What it means for the family |
|---|---|---|
| Who counts as the allottee now? | RERA Section 2(d), "or otherwise" | Heirs who acquire the allotment are covered |
| Who exactly are the heirs? | Succession law and the deceased's documents | Needs proof outside RERA |
| Delay interest or refund | RERA Sections 18(1) and 19(4) | Rights continue for whoever holds the allotment |
| Instalments falling due | RERA Sections 19(6) and 19(7) | Late payment can attract interest |
| Complaints | RERA Section 31(1) | Any aggrieved person may file |
Do the heirs have to keep paying instalments?
The duties come with the booking. Section 19(6) makes every allottee who has entered into an agreement for sale responsible for making the necessary payments in the manner and within the time specified in that agreement, along with their share of registration charges, municipal taxes, utilities, maintenance and other charges. Section 19(7) makes the allottee liable to pay interest at the prescribed rate for any delay in those payments. Section 19(8) allows these obligations and that interest to be reduced when mutually agreed between the promoter and the allottee.
So the first practical step is to write to the builder promptly. Inform them of the death, share the death certificate, name a family contact, and ask in writing for a pause on penal interest while succession papers are arranged. Section 19(8) gives the builder room to agree, though it does not oblige them to. A written request also creates a record that the family acted quickly.
The home loan is a separate contract with the lender, governed by the loan agreement and any insurance attached to it, not by RERA. Tell the bank early, ask whether a loan protection or credit life policy was taken at sanction, and ask the lender in writing how disbursements for future construction stages will be handled. If there was a co-borrower, read the loan agreement to see what it says about that person's liability.
Keep the two tracks apart in your head. The builder deals with the allotment and the agreement for sale. The bank deals with the loan and the mortgage. Mixing them up can leave the family chasing the wrong party for the wrong document.
How do heirs prove their right to the booking?
With the documents a builder and, later, a sub-registrar will accept. Typically that starts with a death certificate and then turns on whether there is a registered will, a nomination in the builder's records, or neither. Which document is enough depends on the deceased's personal law and the builder's own process, so ask the builder in writing exactly what it needs to change the name on the allotment, and get a lawyer to confirm that the route is sound before any family member signs a release.
Our guides on buying inherited property from legal heirs and on taking over a booking from the original allottee cover the documents in more detail. The point to remember is that a builder updating its records is not the same as legal title. Title for an under construction flat comes with the conveyance deed, which Section 17(1) requires the promoter to execute in favour of the allottee.
Can the family complain to K-RERA while succession is pending?
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. The words "any aggrieved person" are wide. Expect to have to show why you have a stake in the unit, so carry the death certificate, the agreement for sale, payment records and whatever succession document exists or has been applied for.
If the project is delayed, the family can also choose between delay interest and a refund under Section 18(1). That choice is worth making deliberately. A refund ends the family's link with the project, while staying keeps the home and the delay interest. If you are still comparing projects in the same corridor, for example a launch such as Sobha Mullur on Sarjapur Road, look at how each builder's agreement handles nomination and transfer on death before you book.
What if the family would rather sell the booking?
That is possible in principle, because the same Section 2(d) covers a person who acquires the allotment through sale. In practice, the family will first need to establish its own right to the booking before it can pass that right on, and the agreement for sale may set conditions or charges for any transfer. Read those clauses before talking to prospective buyers.
A buyer who takes over the booking from the heirs steps into the allottee's shoes, with the same rights to possession and the same duty to pay the remaining instalments. Expect that buyer, and any lender financing them, to ask for the succession documents and the builder's written consent to the transfer. Weigh the sale price against the instalments still due and any delay interest that the family would otherwise keep.
What should a buyer do now to spare the family later?
Three small steps. Ask your builder whether it records a nominee for the booking and, if it does, register one. Keep the agreement for sale, receipts and the RERA registration number in one place the family knows about. And consider whether a registered will that names who should take the flat would make life simpler, taking legal advice on how it fits your personal law.
- Inform the builder of the death in writing and share the death certificate.
- Ask the builder in writing for a pause on penal interest under Section 19(8).
- Tell the lender and ask about any loan protection insurance.
- Ask the builder exactly which documents it needs to transfer the allotment.
- Have a lawyer confirm the succession route before anyone signs a release.
- Collect the agreement, receipts and RERA registration number in one file.
- Decide deliberately between delay interest and a refund if the project is late.
Frequently asked questions
Does a RERA booking end when the buyer dies?
No. Section 2(d) of the RERA Act defines an allottee to include the person who subsequently acquires the allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise. Heirs who acquire the allotment fit that definition and take on the rights and duties of an allottee, though succession law decides who those heirs are.
Can heirs claim delay interest or a refund from the builder?
Yes. Section 18(1) makes the promoter liable to refund with interest and compensation where the allottee withdraws, or to pay interest for every month of delay where the allottee stays, if possession is not given as per the agreement. Section 19(4) states the refund right from the allottee's side.
Do heirs have to keep paying the builder's instalments?
The duties come with the booking. Section 19(6) requires payments as per the agreement for sale, and Section 19(7) makes the allottee liable for interest on delay. Section 19(8) lets the promoter and allottee agree to reduce these, so a written request for a pause is worth making.
Who can file a RERA complaint after the buyer's death?
Section 31(1) says any aggrieved person may file a complaint with the Authority or adjudicating officer for contraventions of the Act against a promoter, allottee or agent. The family should carry the death certificate, agreement, payment records and any succession document to show its stake in the unit.
Last updated 2026-10-30. PropNewz Team.
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