RERA Applied, Not Registered: What the 30 Day Rule and Deemed Registration Mean in Bengaluru
A guide for Bengaluru buyers who hear that a project's RERA registration has been applied for: how long the regulator has to decide, what deemed registration means, what happens to incomplete applications, and why buyers should wait for a registration number before paying.
The site office on Thanisandra Main Road has a smart sales lounge, a model flat and a printed brochure. Where the RERA registration number should be, the brochure says "RERA applied". The sales manager explains that the number will come through in a few weeks and that early buyers who pay a token now get the best floors. For a buyer, that one word, applied, is the most important thing on the page.
Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, an application for registration and a registration are different things, and the Act sets a clear timetable for turning one into the other. This guide explains that timetable, using the Housing Ministry's own FAQs on the Act, and what it means for a buyer standing in a sales lounge.
The short answer. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs FAQs on RERA, the regulator must decide on a registration application within 30 days of receiving it, and if it fails to decide in that period the project is deemed to be registered. Section 3(1) requires registration before any advertising, marketing, booking or selling. The trade-off: the 30 day rule means the wait for a genuine application is short, so a buyer loses little by waiting for the registration number, while paying early on the strength of "applied" gives up the protection the Act is built around.
What does "RERA applied" actually mean?
It means the promoter says it has filed an application, nothing more. The Housing Ministry's FAQs explain that a promoter applies in the form and with the fees prescribed under the State's rules, along with the documents, information and undertaking specified in section 4 of the Act, and any additional documents the rules require. Section 4(3), the FAQs add, requires the regulator to operate a website for submitting applications and to make the entire process online.
Until the regulator acts on that application, the project is not registered. That matters because section 3(1), as the FAQs put it, requires a promoter to register a project with the regulator before any advertising, marketing, booking, selling, offering for sale or inviting persons to purchase in the project. The FAQs state the consequence directly: the promoter can advertise the project for sale after it has been registered.
So a brochure that markets units while saying "applied" is, on the FAQs' reading, asking you to act before the stage the Act sets for marketing. We looked at the risks of paying before registration in our guide to pre-launch bookings before RERA registration.
How long does the regulator have to decide?
Thirty days. The FAQs say the regulator is required to register the project within 30 days of the application having been received, if the application complies with the Act and the rules and regulations. Section 5, the FAQs explain, requires the authority to decide on the application within 30 days of its receipt.
The details of the application are set locally. The FAQs explain that the forms to be filled and the fees to be paid are determined by the rules made by the appropriate government, which for a Bengaluru project means Karnataka's rules under the Act. The 30 day timetable, though, comes from the Act itself.
That is a short window by the standards of property paperwork. A buyer who is told a project's registration is "about to come" can reasonably ask when the application was filed. If it was filed recently, the wait is likely to be brief. If it was filed long ago and there is still no number, it is fair to ask why, and whether the application has been returned for being incomplete.
The table below sets out the stages the FAQs describe and what each means for a buyer. The timings are those set out in the FAQs; the buyer actions are our guidance.
| Stage | What the Housing Ministry's FAQs say | What a buyer should do |
|---|---|---|
| Application filed | Filed online with section 4 documents, in the form and fees set by State rules | Ask for the application date; do not pay on the strength of it |
| Within 30 days | Authority to decide and register if the application complies | Check the portal for a registration number |
| Application incomplete | Promoter may get an opportunity to complete it; rejection only after a hearing | Treat a long delay as a question to ask, not a formality |
| No decision in 30 days | Project deemed to be registered under section 5 | Ask how the deemed status is reflected before relying on it |
| Registration granted | Valid for the completion period the promoter declared | Note the declared completion date before booking |
What is deemed registration?
It is the Act's answer to regulatory delay. The FAQs explain that section 5 provides that if the authority fails to take a decision within 30 days, the project shall be deemed to be registered. The point of the provision is to stop a compliant promoter being held up indefinitely by an authority that does not act.
Deemed registration turns on the authority's failure to decide, which is a different situation from an application that is being corrected. The FAQs describe what happens when an application is incomplete: the authority may give the promoter an opportunity to complete it in all respects, and in case of non-compliance it has the power to reject the application, but only after giving the promoter an opportunity of being heard. An application that is being corrected is in a different position from one that the authority has simply failed to decide.
For a buyer, the practical issue is evidence. A registration number on the regulator's portal is something you can check. A claim of deemed registration is something you should ask the promoter to document, so that you can see how it is recorded before you rely on it.
What happens if an application is incomplete or rejected?
The project stays unregistered until the defects are cured, and a rejected project cannot lawfully be marketed under section 3(1). The FAQs say that if an application is not complete as required under the Act, rules or regulations, the authority may grant the promoter an opportunity to complete it, and may reject it for non-compliance only after a hearing.
From the outside, a buyer cannot always tell which of these is happening. That is the reason to insist on the one fact that settles the question: a registration number that appears against the project on the regulator's portal, with the promoter's legal name and the project details matching your documents. Our guide to verifying a Karnataka RERA registration walks through that check.
If a builder keeps a project in the "applied" state for months while taking money, treat that as a warning sign. A genuine, complete application should not take long to resolve under a 30 day rule.
How should a Bengaluru buyer handle an "applied" project?
Wait for the number, then read the registration. Once registered, the FAQs explain, the registration under section 5(3) is valid for the period the promoter declared under section 4(2)(l)(C) as the time within which it would complete the project. That declared completion date is one of the most useful facts on the regulator's portal, because it is the date the promoter has committed to in its registration.
The date can move only in limited ways. The FAQs explain that section 6 allows an extension of registration in a case of force majeure, defined as war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or any other calamity caused by nature, and also under reasonable circumstances without the fault of the promoter, for a maximum of one year. After registration, section 11 requires the promoter to keep the project's information updated on the regulator's website, including quarterly updates.
A short wait costs little, while a hurried token paid before registration can cost far more. Apply the same discipline to any project you shortlist, whether a new launch or one already listed on our pages such as Prestige Avon Thanisandra. These steps help.
- Ask the builder for the date the RERA application was filed and the application reference.
- Do not pay a token, booking amount or expression of interest fee while the project is only "applied".
- Check the Karnataka RERA portal for a registration number against the project.
- Match the promoter's legal name, project name and address on the portal with the brochure.
- If deemed registration is claimed, ask the promoter to show how it is recorded.
- Note the declared completion date in the registration before you book.
- Keep copies of the brochure and any advertising you received before registration.
The 30 day rule cuts both ways. It protects promoters from slow regulators, and it protects buyers from being asked to wait long. Either way, the number on the portal is what turns a sales pitch into a regulated project.
What do Bengaluru buyers ask about RERA applications?
How long does RERA take to register a project?
The Housing Ministry's RERA FAQs say the regulator is required to register a project within 30 days of receiving the application, if it complies with the Act, the rules and the regulations. Section 5 requires the authority to decide on the application within that period.
What is deemed registration under RERA?
According to the Housing Ministry's FAQs, section 5 provides that if the authority fails to take a decision on a registration application within 30 days of its receipt, the project shall be deemed to be registered. It is a fallback for regulatory delay, not a shortcut for incomplete applications.
Can a builder take bookings while RERA registration is pending?
The Housing Ministry's FAQs say section 3(1) requires a promoter to register a project before any advertising, marketing, booking, selling, offering for sale or inviting persons to purchase, and that a promoter can advertise a project for sale after it has been registered.
How long is a RERA registration valid?
Under section 5(3), the Housing Ministry's FAQs explain, registration is valid for the period the promoter declared in the application under section 4(2)(l)(C) as the time within which the project would be completed. That declared date is worth noting before you book.
Last updated 2026-10-19. PropNewz Team.
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