RERA Order Not Honoured? How Bengaluru Buyers Enforce It Under Sections 40, 57, 63 and 64
When a promoter ignores a RERA order, Section 40 allows recovery of unpaid money as arrears of land revenue, Section 57 makes Tribunal orders executable as civil decrees, and Sections 63 and 64 add escalating penalties. A step by step guide for Bengaluru buyers after a missed compliance date.
Winning a RERA order can feel like the end of a long fight. For some buyers it is only the middle. The order says the promoter must refund the money with interest, or pay compensation, or finish the common areas by a date. Then the date passes. A Bengaluru buyer holding that order needs to know what the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 says happens next, because the Act has several enforcement tools and they do not all work the same way.
This guide sets out how RERA orders are enforced, the escalating penalties for promoters who do not comply, and what a buyer should do once the compliance date has passed.
The short answer. Section 40(1) makes unpaid interest, penalty or compensation imposed by the adjudicating officer, the Authority or the Appellate body recoverable from the promoter as an arrears of land revenue, in the manner prescribed. Section 40(2) says other orders and directions shall be enforced in the prescribed manner if not complied with. Section 57(1) makes every Appellate Tribunal order executable as a decree of a civil court. A promoter who ignores the Authority's orders faces a daily penalty that can cumulatively reach five per cent of the estimated project cost under Section 63, and one who ignores the Tribunal's orders can face imprisonment of up to three years, a fine that can reach ten per cent, or both, under Section 64. The trade-off: these tools are strong on paper, but each one needs the buyer to go back and ask for it, which takes time and paperwork.
How is a RERA refund or compensation order recovered?
As arrears of land revenue. In the text of the Act published by the Telangana regulator, Section 40(1) says that if a promoter, an allottee or a real estate agent fails to pay any interest, penalty or compensation imposed by the adjudicating officer, the Regulatory Authority or the Appellate body under the Act or its rules and regulations, it shall be recoverable from that person, in the manner prescribed, as an arrears of land revenue.
The Act leaves the manner of that recovery to the prescribed rules. Our earlier report on recovery of unpaid RERA orders under Sections 40 and 63 covers the same sections from another angle.
Section 40(2) covers orders that are not about money. If the adjudicating officer, the Authority or the Appellate Tribunal issues an order or directs any person to do, or refrain from doing, any act it is empowered to direct under the Act, then in case of failure to comply, the order or direction shall be enforced in the manner prescribed.
What happens if a promoter ignores the Authority's order?
A daily penalty that builds up. Section 63 says that if any promoter fails to comply with, or contravenes, any of the orders or directions of the Authority, it shall be liable to a penalty for every day during which the default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to five per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, as determined by the Authority.
Section 63 adds a penalty for the default itself; the original order directing the refund, compensation or works still stands. It is a pressure tool: each day of default adds to the promoter's exposure.
| Tool | What it does | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery as arrears of land revenue | Unpaid interest, penalty or compensation recovered in the prescribed manner | Section 40(1) |
| Enforcement of other directions | Orders to do or not do an act enforced in the prescribed manner | Section 40(2) |
| Tribunal orders as civil decrees | Executable by the Appellate Tribunal with the powers of a civil court | Section 57(1) |
| Promoter ignores Authority orders | Daily penalty, cumulatively up to five per cent of estimated project cost | Section 63 |
| Promoter ignores Tribunal orders | Imprisonment up to three years, fine up to ten per cent cumulatively, or both | Section 64 |
What if the promoter ignores the Appellate Tribunal?
The consequences step up. Section 57(1) says every order made by the Appellate Tribunal shall be executable by the Tribunal as a decree of a civil court, and for this purpose the Tribunal shall have all the powers of a civil court. Section 64 then says that if any promoter fails to comply with, or contravenes, any order, decision or direction of the Appellate Tribunal, it shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years, or with a fine for every day of default which may cumulatively extend up to ten per cent of the estimated cost of the project, or with both.
That is the most serious consequence in the enforcement chain, and it applies after the matter has gone through appeal. A buyer whose order has been upheld by the Tribunal is holding a decree that the Tribunal itself can execute.
Do the same rules apply to buyers?
Yes, and buyers should know that before they ignore an order themselves. Section 40(1) applies to allottees as well as promoters. Section 67 says an allottee who fails to comply with or contravenes the Authority's orders, decisions or directions is liable to a penalty for the period of default, which may cumulatively extend up to five per cent of the plot, apartment or building cost. Section 68 says an allottee who fails to comply with the Appellate Tribunal's orders or directions may be punished with imprisonment of up to one year, or with a daily fine that may cumulatively extend up to ten per cent of the plot, apartment or building cost, or both.
If an order goes against you, for example directing you to pay outstanding dues before possession, the same enforcement logic applies in reverse.
How large can these penalties get?
Large, because they are tied to the size of the project or the flat. Take a hypothetical project whose estimated cost, as determined by the Authority, is Rs 150 crore. Under Section 63, a promoter that keeps ignoring the Authority's order faces a daily penalty that may cumulatively reach five per cent of that figure, or Rs 7.5 crore. Under Section 64, ignoring the Appellate Tribunal can bring a daily fine that may cumulatively reach ten per cent, or Rs 15 crore, with or without imprisonment of up to three years.
On the buyer's side, the ceilings are tied to the cost of the flat. For an apartment costing Rs 80 lakh, the cumulative cap under Section 67 for ignoring the Authority would be five per cent, or Rs 4 lakh, and under Section 68 for ignoring the Tribunal, ten per cent, or Rs 8 lakh, with or without imprisonment of up to one year. These are upper limits written as "may extend up to", not automatic amounts, but they show that the Act expects both sides to comply.
What should a Bengaluru buyer do when the compliance date passes?
Go back to the forum that made the order, with paper. These steps follow the sections above.
- Note the compliance date in the order and the date you received a copy of it.
- Write to the promoter after the date passes, quoting the order and asking for compliance within a short, stated period.
- If the order is for money, ask the Authority or adjudicating officer to recover it as arrears of land revenue under Section 40(1).
- If the order directs an act, such as completing works, ask for enforcement of the direction under Section 40(2).
- Ask the Authority to consider a daily penalty under Section 63 for the period of non-compliance.
- If the order is from the Appellate Tribunal, apply to the Tribunal to execute it as a decree under Section 57(1).
- Keep a dated log of every application, hearing and response, with copies of each document filed.
For the earlier stages of a dispute, our forum guide on where Bengaluru buyers file and appeal under RERA sets out the complaint and appeal path.
How long can enforcement take?
The Act does not set a single timetable for recovery, because the manner of recovery under Section 40 is left to the prescribed rules. What a buyer controls is speed of follow-up: the sooner you return to the forum after a missed deadline, the sooner the penalty clock under Section 63 or Section 64 becomes relevant to the promoter.
It also helps to keep the original order, every later order and your own applications in a single file, in date order. If several buyers in the same project hold similar orders, an association of allottees can coordinate the follow-up so that the Authority sees the full picture of non-compliance across the project rather than one complaint at a time.
An order is a right on paper. Enforcement is how it becomes money in your account or work done on your building, and the Act gives buyers more than one lever to make that happen.
Frequently asked questions
How is an unpaid RERA refund order recovered?
Section 40(1) of the RERA Act says that if a promoter fails to pay interest, penalty or compensation imposed by the adjudicating officer, the Authority or the Appellate body, it is recoverable in the prescribed manner as an arrears of land revenue. Other directions are enforced in the prescribed manner under Section 40(2).
What penalty does a builder face for ignoring a RERA order?
Section 63 makes a promoter who fails to comply with the Authority's orders or directions liable to a penalty for every day of default, which may cumulatively extend up to five per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, as determined by the Authority.
Can a builder be jailed for ignoring a RERA Appellate Tribunal order?
Section 64 says a promoter who fails to comply with an order, decision or direction of the Appellate Tribunal is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a daily fine that may cumulatively reach ten per cent of the estimated project cost, or both.
Are Appellate Tribunal orders enforceable like court decrees?
Yes. Section 57(1) says every order made by the Appellate Tribunal under the Act is executable by the Tribunal as a decree of a civil court, and for this purpose the Tribunal has all the powers of a civil court.
Last updated 2026-10-25. PropNewz Team.
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