From Booking to Conveyance: A Stage-by-Stage RERA Map for Bengaluru Flat Buyers
Buying an under-construction flat runs for years, and the RERA Act sets rules at each stage. This guide maps them in order for Bengaluru buyers: registration under Section 3, booking disclosures and the ten per cent cap, payments and web page updates during construction, delay remedies, occupancy certificate and possession, conveyance and the five-year defect window.
Buying an under-construction flat in Bengaluru is less a single purchase than a three or four year process: a site visit, a booking, an agreement, years of instalments, a handover and finally a conveyance. At each stage the buyer signs something or pays something, and at each stage the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 has a rule that applies. Most buyers learn those rules one problem at a time. This guide lays them out in order.
Think of it as a route map. It does not replace legal advice or the Karnataka rules, but it shows which section of the Act to reach for at each step, what the builder must do, and what the buyer must do in return.
The short answer. Before booking, the project must be registered under Section 3(1). At booking, the promoter must make the sanctioned plans and stage-wise schedule available under Section 11(3). Before paying more than ten per cent of cost, a registered agreement for sale is needed under Section 13(1). During construction, the buyer pays as agreed under Section 19(6) and the promoter keeps a public web page under Section 11(1). At completion, the promoter obtains the occupancy certificate under Section 11(4)(b), the buyer takes possession within two months of it under Section 19(10), and conveyance follows under Section 17(1). After handover, the five-year defect window under Section 14(3) runs. The trade-off: the Act protects the buyer at every stage, but it also sets duties and deadlines for the buyer, and missing them has consequences too.
What should happen before you book?
Registration. In the text of the Act published by the Telangana regulator, 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 a real estate project in any planning area without registering it with the Authority. Section 3(2) lists exemptions, including projects where land does not exceed five hundred square metres or apartments do not exceed eight, inclusive of all phases.
Section 11(2) says advertisements and prospectuses shall prominently mention the Authority's website address and include the registration number. So the number on the ad is your first check. PropNewz project pages list it where available; the page for NVT Symphony of Orchards in Chambenahalli, for example, lists K-RERA number PRM/KA/RERA/1251/308/PR/210907/004297.
What must happen at booking?
Disclosure, and a cap on money. Section 11(3) says that at the time of booking and issue of the allotment letter, the promoter shall be responsible to make available the sanctioned plans and layout plans with specifications approved by the competent authority, and the stage-wise time schedule of completion, including provisions for civic infrastructure like water, sanitation and electricity.
Section 13(1) says a promoter shall not accept a sum more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment as an advance payment or application fee without first entering into a written agreement for sale and registering it under the law in force. Section 13(2) lists what the agreement must specify, including the particulars of development, payment dates and manner, the possession date and default interest rates both ways. For the first few weeks after booking, see our first 30 days after booking checklist.
| Stage | Promoter's duty | Buyer's duty or right |
|---|---|---|
| Before booking | Register the project, Section 3(1) | Check the registration number shown under Section 11(2) |
| At booking | Make plans and stage-wise schedule available, Section 11(3) | Pay no more than ten per cent before a registered agreement, Section 13(1) |
| During construction | Keep the project web page updated quarterly, Section 11(1) | Pay as agreed, Section 19(6); interest on delay, Section 19(7) |
| At completion | Obtain the occupancy or completion certificate, Section 11(4)(b) | Take possession within two months of the occupancy certificate, Section 19(10) |
| After handover | Conveyance and documents, Section 17; fix defects, Section 14(3) | Participate in conveyance registration, Section 19(11) |
What happens during construction?
Payments on one side, transparency on the other. Section 19(6) says every allottee who has entered into an agreement for sale under Section 13 shall make necessary payments in the manner and within the time specified in the agreement, and shall pay at the proper time and place the share of registration charges, municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, maintenance charges, ground rent and other charges. Section 19(7) says the allottee shall be liable to pay interest at the prescribed rate for any delay in payment.
The promoter, for its part, must keep the project's web page on the regulator's site current. Section 11(1) lists quarterly up-to-date information on apartments and garages booked, approvals taken and pending after the commencement certificate, and the status of the project.
Changes need consent. Section 14(2)(i) bars alterations to your own unit's plans, specifications and fixtures without your previous consent, and Section 14(2)(ii) bars other alterations to the building plans or common areas without the previous written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter.
What if the project runs late?
Section 18(1) applies. If the promoter fails to complete or is unable to give possession in accordance with the agreement for sale or by the date specified in it, it is liable on demand, if the allottee wishes to withdraw, to return the amount received with interest at the prescribed rate, including compensation. If the allottee does not intend to withdraw, the proviso says interest shall be paid for every month of delay till the handing over of possession.
Section 2(za) says interest runs from the date the promoter received each amount, and that the rate charged to the allottee for default equals the rate the promoter pays for default. Section 6 allows the Authority to extend registration for force majeure, and its first proviso allows extension in reasonable circumstances without default on the promoter's part, not exceeding one year in aggregate.
At any stage, the complaint route is the same. Section 31(1) says any aggrieved person, including an association of allottees, may file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer for any violation of the Act, rules or regulations. Section 71(1) provides for an adjudicating officer who is or has been a District Judge to decide compensation under sections 12, 14, 18 and 19, and Section 71(2) asks for disposal within sixty days of the application.
What happens at completion and handover?
Certificates, possession and paperwork, in that order. Section 11(4)(b) says the promoter shall be responsible to obtain the completion certificate or the occupancy certificate, or both, as applicable, from the competent authority as per local laws, and to make it available to the allottees individually or to the association of allottees.
Section 19(10) says every allottee shall take physical possession within a period of two months of the occupancy certificate issued for the apartment. Section 19(5) says the allottee is entitled to the necessary documents and plans, including those of common areas, after physical possession is handed over.
Section 17(1) says the promoter shall execute a registered conveyance deed in favour of the allottee along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of allottees, and hand over physical possession, within the period under local laws. Its proviso says that in the absence of any local law, conveyance shall be carried out within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate. Section 19(11) says every allottee shall participate towards registration of the conveyance deed. For the handover week in detail, see our handover week checklist.
What protection continues after you move in?
Five years of defect cover. Section 14(3) says that if any structural defect, or other defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services, or any other obligation of the promoter under the agreement for sale, is brought to the promoter's notice by the allottee within five years from the date of handing over possession, the promoter shall rectify it without further charge within thirty days. The proviso to Section 11(4)(a) says this responsibility continues even after the conveyance deeds are executed.
Section 19(9) adds a buyer duty: every allottee shall participate towards the formation of an association, society or cooperative society of the allottees, or a federation of the same.
- Before booking, match the registration number in the ad with the regulator's portal.
- At booking, ask for the sanctioned plans, specifications and stage-wise schedule under Section 11(3).
- Pay no more than ten per cent of cost until a registered agreement for sale exists.
- During construction, pay on schedule and read the project's quarterly web page updates.
- If the possession date passes, decide between withdrawal and delay interest under Section 18(1).
- After the occupancy certificate, take possession within two months and collect plans and documents.
- After handover, report defects in writing within five years and help register the conveyance and form the association.
Frequently asked questions
What does RERA require before a flat can be booked?
Section 3(1) of the RERA Act says no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase, any apartment in a real estate project in a planning area without registering it with the Authority, subject to exemptions in Section 3(2) for small projects and some other cases.
How soon must I take possession after the occupancy certificate?
Section 19(10) of the RERA Act says every allottee shall take physical possession of the apartment, plot or building within a period of two months of the occupancy certificate issued for it. Section 19(5) entitles the allottee to documents and plans after physical possession.
When must the builder register the conveyance deed?
Section 17(1) requires the promoter to execute a registered conveyance deed in favour of the allottee within the period under local laws. Its proviso says that in the absence of any local law, conveyance shall be carried out within three months from the date of issue of the occupancy certificate.
How long is the builder responsible for defects?
Section 14(3) of the RERA Act covers defects brought to the promoter's notice within five years from handing over possession, to be rectified without further charge within thirty days. The proviso to Section 11(4)(a) says this responsibility continues even after conveyance deeds are executed.
A purchase that runs for years is easier to manage when you know which rule applies at which step. Keep this map with your agreement and receipts. This is general buyer information, not legal advice.
Last updated 2026-10-27. PropNewz Team.
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