Can Your Builder Change Your Flat's Layout? RERA Section 14(2)(i) for Bengaluru Buyers

Halfway through construction, a Bengaluru buyer visits the site and finds that the wall between the kitchen and the utility area has moved. The builder calls it a minor design change. The buyer had chosen the flat partly for that layout. Was the builder allowed to change it without asking? The RERA Act answers with a clear rule and a narrow exception, and the line between them is drawn more precisely than most buyers realise.

The short answer. Section 14(2)(i) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 says that once the sanctioned plans, layout plans, specifications and the nature of fixtures, fittings and amenities of your apartment have been disclosed to you, the promoter shall not make any additions or alterations to them in respect of the apartment you agreed to take without your previous consent. A proviso allows minor changes you ask for, or minor changes needed for architectural and structural reasons verified by an authorised architect or engineer after declaration and intimation to you, but the explanation excludes structural changes such as moving or cutting into a wall from what counts as minor. The trade-off: insisting on your consent rights may slow some design decisions, but it keeps the flat you paid for from changing under you.

What does Section 14(2)(i) protect?

Your own flat, as it was disclosed to you. Section 14(2) begins by saying that, notwithstanding anything in any law, contract or agreement, after the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications and the nature of the fixtures, fittings, amenities and common areas of the apartment, as approved by the competent authority, are disclosed or furnished to the person who agrees to take it, the promoter shall not make the changes listed in the clauses that follow.

Clause (i) covers additions and alterations in the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications and the nature of fixtures, fittings and amenities described in them, in respect of the apartment, plot or building agreed to be taken, without the previous consent of that person. The consent required is yours, and it must come before the change.

The opening words, "notwithstanding anything contained in any law, contract or agreement", matter. A clause in an agreement for sale that tries to give the builder a free hand to change your flat sits awkwardly against that phrase.

What counts as a minor change the builder can make?

Two kinds, under the proviso to Section 14(2)(i). First, such minor additions or alterations as may be required by the allottee, meaning changes you ask for. Second, such minor changes or alterations as may be necessary due to architectural and structural reasons, duly recommended and verified by an authorised architect or engineer after proper declaration and intimation to the allottee.

Even the second kind comes with conditions: the change must be necessary for architectural or structural reasons, it must be recommended and verified by an authorised architect or engineer, and it must be declared and intimated to you. A change made quietly does not meet that description.

The explanation then limits what "minor" can mean. It says minor additions or alterations exclude structural change, including an addition to the area or change in height, removal of part of a building, any change to the structure such as the construction, removal or cutting into of any wall or part of a wall, partition, column, beam, joist or floor, a change to or closing of any required means of access, ingress or egress, or a change to the fixtures or equipment.

How is this different from changes to the building or common areas?

A different clause and a different threshold. Section 14(2)(ii) covers any other alterations or additions in the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications of the buildings or the common areas within the project, and requires the previous written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter, who have agreed to take apartments in that building.

The explanation to clause (ii) adds that an allottee is counted as one, however many apartments are booked by that person or in the name of their family, or by a company or firm and its associated entities. That prevents a single large holder from being counted many times.

We covered the two-thirds rule in detail in our explainer on plan changes and two-thirds consent under Section 14. This piece focuses on the individual consent that protects your own flat.

What should you do if your flat has been changed?

Start by establishing what was disclosed to you. Section 11(3)(a) requires the promoter to make the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications available at the time of booking. Section 19(1) gives you the right to obtain information on sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications. Get the plan for your unit and compare it with what is being built.

Then write to the builder. Ask whether the change is one you consented to, and if the builder says it is a minor change for structural or architectural reasons, ask for the authorised architect's or engineer's recommendation and the intimation that was meant to reach you. If the change involves a wall, partition, column or other structural element, point out that the explanation to Section 14(2)(i) excludes such changes from what counts as minor.

If the reply does not resolve it, the Act gives you routes. Section 31(1) lets any aggrieved person file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer for any violation of the Act. Section 71(1) lists Section 14 among the provisions under which the adjudicating officer adjudges compensation.

How does Section 14 connect to what you saw in the model flat?

The model flat and the brochure shape what you think you are buying. Section 12 says that where a person makes an advance or deposit on the basis of information in an advertisement or prospectus, or on the basis of a model apartment, and sustains loss by reason of an incorrect or false statement, the promoter shall compensate them. Our guide to model flats and Section 12 compensation covers that route.

Section 14 works on the plan side. Section 14(1) says the project shall be developed and completed in accordance with the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications approved by the competent authorities. Together, the two sections give you a way to measure what is delivered against both what you were shown and what was approved.

Photograph the model flat and keep the brochure when you book. If the delivered layout differs, those records, together with the sanctioned plan for your unit, are what you will rely on.

What if you are the one who wants a change?

The proviso covers that too. It lets the promoter make such minor additions or alterations as may be required by the allottee. So a request from you, such as a change to a fixture or finish that does not touch the structure, can be accommodated within the Act's terms.

Keep your request within what the explanation treats as minor. Changes such as cutting into a wall, moving a partition or altering a column fall outside "minor additions or alterations" as the explanation defines them, so do not expect them to be handled as a simple customisation. Put any request in writing, ask the builder to confirm what will be done and at what cost, and keep the confirmation with your agreement. That record protects you as much as it protects the builder, if questions about the change come up at handover.

What should Bengaluru buyers do to protect their layout?

Use this checklist from booking to handover:

1. Get the sanctioned plan and specifications for your specific unit at booking.
2. Photograph the model flat and keep the brochure and floor plan you were shown.
3. Ask the builder to confirm in writing that no change will be made to your unit without your consent.
4. Visit the site at key stages and compare walls, doors and windows with your plan.
5. Ask for the architect's or engineer's verification for any change called minor.
6. Object in writing to any wall, column or access change made without your consent.
7. Keep all correspondence for a complaint under Section 31 if needed.

A change nobody wrote down is hard to prove later. Writing things down, on both sides, is the simplest way to use the protection the Act gives you.

Bengaluru buyer FAQs on changes to your flat

Can a builder change my flat's layout without my consent?

Section 14(2)(i) of the RERA Act says that after the sanctioned plans, specifications and fixtures of your apartment are disclosed to you, the promoter shall not make additions or alterations in respect of the apartment you agreed to take without your previous consent, subject to a proviso for limited minor changes.

What minor changes can a builder make under RERA?

The proviso to Section 14(2)(i) of the RERA Act allows minor changes requested by the allottee, and minor changes needed for architectural and structural reasons that are recommended and verified by an authorised architect or engineer, after proper declaration and intimation to the allottee.

Is moving a wall a minor change under RERA?

No. The explanation to Section 14(2)(i) of the RERA Act says minor additions or alterations exclude structural change, including the construction, removal or cutting into of any wall or part of a wall, partition, column, beam, joist or floor, and changes to required means of access or to fixtures or equipment.

Who must consent to changes in the common areas?

Section 14(2)(ii) of the RERA Act requires the previous written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter, who have agreed to take apartments in the building, for other alterations or additions to the sanctioned plans and specifications of the buildings or the common areas.

Last updated 2026-10-23. PropNewz Team.