Can Your Bengaluru Builder Change the Approved Plan? RERA Section 14 and the Two-Thirds Rule

Eighteen months after booking a two bedroom flat off Sarjapur Road, a buyer receives an email from the builder. It proposes to add two floors to the tower, shift the clubhouse to another corner of the site and redraw part of the landscaped area. A consent form is attached, with a request to sign and return it within a week. The buyer's first question is simple: can the builder do this at all, and does my signature matter?

It does. Section 14 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 limits what a promoter can change in a project's sanctioned plans and specifications once they have been approved and disclosed to buyers. This guide explains the rule using the Housing Ministry's own FAQs on the Act, and shows how the two-thirds consent requirement is counted.

The short answer. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs FAQs on RERA, a promoter can make minor additions or alterations only after approval of the competent authority and disclosure to allottees, while a major modification needs the approval of two-thirds of the allottees. Apartments held by the promoter are excluded from the count, and each allottee has one vote regardless of how many flats they own. The trade-off: the rule gives buyers a real veto over major changes, but only if enough of them read the proposal carefully, because a consent signed without scrutiny counts just as much as one given knowingly.

What does RERA Section 14 say about plan changes?

It says the sanctioned plan is not the builder's to rewrite at will. The Housing Ministry's FAQs explain that, under section 14, the promoter can modify or amend the sanctioned plans or project specifications, after they have been approved by the competent authority and disclosed to the allottees, only in two ways.

For minor additions or alterations, the promoter needs the approval of the competent authority and must disclose the change to the allottees. For a major modification or alteration, the promoter must also take the approval of two-thirds of the allottees before modifying the sanctioned plans or project specifications.

Note the order the FAQs describe. Consent comes before the change, not after it. A builder that starts work on a major modification and seeks signatures later has the sequence the wrong way round, and buyers who notice construction that does not match the sanctioned plan should ask questions immediately.

The distinction between minor and major is where most disputes begin, and the FAQs do not draw a precise line. That is why the details of any proposed change matter. A change that alters your unit, the common areas you were promised or the overall density of the project deserves close reading, whatever label the builder puts on it.

The same section of the Act also carries the five year defect liability that we covered in our guide to RERA's five year defect rule. Together, the two provisions make section 14 one of the most practical parts of the Act for buyers of under-construction flats.

How is the two-thirds of allottees counted?

The count is of people, not flats, and the builder's own stock does not vote. The Housing Ministry's FAQs set out two rules for arriving at two-thirds of allottees. First, the number of apartments held by the promoter is excluded. Second, irrespective of the number of apartments held by an allottee, he or she is entitled to only one vote.

Who counts as an allottee also matters. The FAQs explain that, under section 2(d), an allottee includes a person who acquires an apartment or plot through transfer or sale, but not a person to whom it is given on rent. So a buyer who purchased an under-construction flat on resale is an allottee for this count, while a tenant in a completed tower is not.

Those two rules have practical consequences. A builder that still holds a large share of unsold flats cannot use that stock to reach the threshold. And an investor who owns several flats in the same tower carries no more weight than a family that owns one. The table below shows how the threshold works in a few illustrative projects; the figures are examples, not real projects.

In each row, the number of allottees is lower than the number of apartments sold because some buyers own more than one flat. By our arithmetic, two-thirds is rounded up to the next whole allottee. The pattern is the same throughout: what matters is how many separate allottees agree, not how many flats they hold.

What counts as a major change for buyers?

The FAQs do not list examples, so buyers have to judge each proposal on its effect. A useful test is whether the change alters what you were promised when you booked: the size, layout or position of your unit, the number of floors or towers, the common areas and amenities, or the open space around the buildings.

Two other provisions of the FAQs help frame that judgement. Section 19, the FAQs explain, entitles an allottee to obtain information regarding sanctioned plans, layout plans and the schedule for project completion. And sections 4 and 11 require detailed disclosures on the regulator's website by the promoter for public viewing. Between them, you should be able to put the original sanctioned plan next to the proposed change and see exactly what moves.

If you cannot tell from the papers whether a change is minor or major, ask the builder in writing to explain why it has been classified the way it has, and whether the competent authority has approved it. A clear written answer is useful evidence if the matter later reaches the regulator.

What should you do when a consent request arrives?

Treat it as a legal document, not a formality. The two-thirds rule only protects buyers if they use it, and a signature given in haste counts the same as one given after careful reading. Many buyers in the same tower will receive the same request, so it often helps to compare notes through the residents' group or the association of allottees, if one has been formed.

Insist on reasonable time. A one week deadline for a change that affects a tower for decades is short, and nothing in the FAQs suggests a buyer must answer within a builder's chosen window. Ask for the time you need to review the papers, and put that request in writing.

Ask for the sanctioned plan and the proposed plan side by side, and for a written summary of every change. Check whether the change affects your apartment's carpet area, the floor you were allotted, the position of lifts and staircases, parking, or the amenities listed in your agreement. If the proposal increases the number of flats, ask how it affects common areas and services such as water and power.

Above all, never sign a blank form or one that refers to changes not described in full. Keep a copy of everything you sign and everything you are sent. Buyers still choosing a home can ask these questions before booking too: for any shortlisted project, such as those listed on PropNewz like Sobha Madison Heights, ask whether any plan change is pending and check the regulator's project page yourself.

How can a Bengaluru buyer protect their position?

By keeping the original papers and reading every proposal against them. The same two-thirds logic appears elsewhere in the Act: our guide to RERA Section 15 and project transfers explains how a builder cannot hand over majority rights in a project without the written consent of two-thirds of allottees and the regulator. Work through these steps whenever a change is proposed.

1. Keep a copy of the sanctioned plan, layout plan and specifications disclosed when you booked.
2. Download the current project details from the Karnataka RERA portal and save them with the date.
3. Ask the builder for the proposed change in writing, with the revised plan attached.
4. Ask whether the competent authority has approved the change and request a copy of the approval.
5. Compare your unit, common areas, amenities and open spaces in the old and new plans.
6. Discuss the proposal with other allottees before anyone signs a consent form.
7. Sign only a consent that describes the change in full, and keep a signed copy.

If a builder proceeds with a change you believe needed allottee consent and did not get it, the next step is a complaint to the regulator, supported by the plans and correspondence you have kept.

What do Bengaluru buyers ask about plan changes under RERA?

Can a builder change the sanctioned plan of my project after I book?

According to the Housing Ministry's RERA FAQs, minor additions or alterations need the competent authority's approval and disclosure to allottees. A major modification or alteration also needs the approval of two-thirds of the allottees before the builder changes the sanctioned plans or specifications.

How is the two-thirds of allottees counted under RERA Section 14?

The Housing Ministry's FAQs say apartments held by the promoter are excluded when arriving at two-thirds of allottees, and each allottee gets only one vote, irrespective of how many apartments he or she holds. So the count is of allottees, not of flats, and unsold stock does not vote.

What should I do if I receive a plan change consent request?

Ask for the existing sanctioned plan and the proposed change in writing, compare the two, and check whether the change touches your unit, common areas or amenities. Do not sign a blank or vague consent form, and keep a copy of whatever you sign.

Where can I see the sanctioned plan of a RERA registered project?

The Housing Ministry's FAQs say sections 4 and 11 require detailed disclosures by the promoter on the regulator's website for public viewing, and that section 19 entitles allottees to information on sanctioned plans, layout plans and the completion schedule. Check the project's page on Karnataka RERA's portal.

Last updated 2026-10-19. PropNewz Team.