A buyer eyeing an under construction tower in Chembur was asked to pay 30 percent of the flat cost as booking, with the registered agreement promised for later, once a few floors were up. It sounded normal, because plenty of builders ask for it. It is also exactly what the law forbids. Under the real estate regulation framework that governs every registered project in Maharashtra, a promoter cannot take more than 10 percent of the flat cost until a written agreement for sale has been signed and registered. Knowing that one number changes the balance of power at the booking table.

The short answer. Section 13 of the real estate regulation law says a promoter cannot accept more than 10 percent of the cost of an apartment as an advance or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it. So the sequence is protective by design: pay up to 10 percent, get the agreement for sale registered, then continue with the payment schedule. The trade off to understand is that the registered agreement carries stamp duty and registration cost, but it is also the document that makes the builder's promises on price, carpet area and possession legally enforceable.

What does Section 13 actually require?

Section 13 sets a hard ceiling on pre-agreement money. It states that a promoter shall not accept a sum more than 10 percent of the cost of the apartment, plot or building as an advance payment or application fee from a buyer without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering that agreement. In plain terms, the builder can collect a booking amount of up to a tenth of the cost, but must then put a registered agreement in place before asking for more.

This is not a guideline or a courtesy. It is a statutory limit that applies to every project registered under the regulator, which today covers effectively all under construction sales offered to the public in Maharashtra. A demand for 20 or 30 percent before any registered agreement exists is not standard practice to be tolerated, it is a breach of the rule that exists to protect you.

The reason the law fixes the number at 10 percent is that this is the stage where a buyer is most exposed. You have committed emotionally, you may have paid a token, and the natural pull is to keep paying to secure the flat. By capping the pre-agreement money at a tenth of the cost, the rule limits how much you can lose before an enforceable contract exists, and it forces the builder to formalise the deal early rather than sitting on large sums with only a receipt to show for them. The 10 percent is a floor of protection, not a target you are obliged to reach.

Why does the registered agreement matter so much?

Because the registered agreement for sale is where the builder's promises stop being marketing and become obligations. It records the exact flat, the carpet area, the total price and payment schedule, the date of possession and the consequences of delay. Once it is registered, those terms bind the promoter, and the regulator and the courts can hold the builder to them. Without it, you are relying on a brochure and a sales conversation, neither of which you can enforce.

The registration step is what gives the document its weight. A registered agreement is part of the public record, is far harder to dispute or quietly alter, and is what a bank will expect to see before disbursing a home loan against an under construction flat. Paying stamp duty and registering the agreement is therefore not a cost to resent, it is the moment your booking turns into an enforceable purchase.

How does the payment sequence work in practice?

The safe sequence follows the law rather than the builder's cash flow. You pay the booking amount, capped at 10 percent of the cost, and in return you insist on a written agreement for sale that is then registered at the sub registrar office. Only after that registration do further instalments become due, typically linked to construction stages. If a builder wants more than 10 percent before the agreement is registered, that is the moment to pause and point to the rule.

Reading the table top to bottom, the registered agreement sits early and everything else depends on it. That placement is deliberate, because the law wants your money protected by an enforceable contract before the bulk of it is committed.

One practical point often confuses first time buyers in Maharashtra. For an under construction flat, the stamp duty and registration are usually paid on this agreement for sale, not on a separate sale deed executed years later at possession. That is why the registered agreement is such a central document here: it is both the enforceable contract and the instrument on which your statutory charges are paid. Budget for those charges at the agreement stage rather than assuming they fall due only at handover, so the timing of the registration does not catch your cash flow by surprise.

What if a builder demands more than 10 percent first?

Treat it as a red flag and hold your position. A promoter asking for well above 10 percent before any registered agreement exists is asking you to give up the protection the law hands you. A confident, compliant builder will have no difficulty registering the agreement at the right stage, because it is a routine part of a properly run project. Reluctance to do so is itself information about how the project is being run.

If a builder insists, or if the project turns out not to be registered with the regulator at all, you have a formal route. Buyers can raise the issue with the Maharashtra regulator, whose remit includes exactly these compliance failures. Before you escalate, get the demand and your objection in writing, since a clear paper trail strengthens any complaint and often prompts the builder to fall back into line without further steps. Equally, do not sign a side letter that waives the agreement stage in exchange for a discount, because a waiver cannot override a statutory protection and simply leaves you exposed.

How do you protect yourself before booking?

Start by confirming the project is registered with the regulator, because the 10 percent protection assumes a registered project in the first place. Check the registration on the official Maharashtra regulator portal at maharera.maharashtra.gov.in and note the details the builder is required to disclose there. Then make your booking conditional, in writing, on a registered agreement for sale at the 10 percent stage rather than a vague promise to register later.

None of this requires you to be adversarial, only informed. The law has already set the sequence in your favour, and your job is simply to hold the builder to it. A buyer who calmly asks for the registered agreement at the right point, and declines to over pay before it exists, is doing nothing more than insisting on the process the regulator designed. It also helps to get the allotment letter and the payment schedule in writing at booking, so that the promised sequence is documented from the start and the builder cannot later claim a different understanding when the agreement is due to be registered.

A seven step checklist for an under construction booking

1. Confirm the project is registered on maharera.maharashtra.gov.in before paying anything.
2. Read the disclosed details, including the promised possession date and the approved plans.
3. Keep your booking payment within 10 percent of the flat cost.
4. Insist on a written agreement for sale and get it registered at the sub registrar office.
5. Check that carpet area, price, payment schedule and possession date are stated in the agreement.
6. Release further instalments only after the agreement is registered, as per its schedule.
7. Keep every demand and payment in writing so you can escalate if the rule is broken.

Following this order keeps your money behind an enforceable contract at every step. Before you even shortlist, run the checks in our guide on how to verify a MahaRERA project before booking, and to budget the registration itself, see our note on Maharashtra stamp duty and registration charges.

Can a builder ask for 30 percent before the agreement for sale?

No. Section 13 of the real estate regulation law bars a promoter from taking more than 10 percent of the apartment cost as an advance or application fee before a written agreement for sale is signed and registered. A demand for 20 or 30 percent before that registration breaches the rule, and you can insist on the agreement first.

Why must the agreement for sale be registered, not just signed?

Registration makes the agreement part of the public record and far harder to dispute or alter, and it is what a bank relies on before disbursing a home loan on an under construction flat. A registered agreement turns the builder's promises on carpet area, price and possession into enforceable obligations, which an unregistered document does not reliably do.

What should the registered agreement for sale contain?

It should state the specific apartment and its carpet area, the total cost and the full payment schedule, the date of possession and the consequences if the builder delays. Check each of these before you sign, because these are the terms the regulator and the courts will hold the promoter to if anything goes wrong later.

What can I do if the builder or project breaks the rule?

First confirm the project is registered on the official regulator portal, then keep the builder's demand and your objection in writing. If a builder demands more than 10 percent without a registered agreement, or the project is unregistered, you can raise a complaint with the Maharashtra regulator, whose remit covers exactly these compliance failures.

Last updated 2026-07-15. PropNewz Team.