How RERA Compensation Is Decided: Sections 71 and 72 Explained for Bengaluru Buyers
Sections 71 and 72 of the RERA Act decide who adjudges compensation for false ads, defects, delay and title problems, how fast, and on what factors. What the officer weighs and the evidence a Bengaluru buyer should gather before filing.
A Bengaluru couple moved into their flat two years late. They paid rent on a second home for every one of those months, carried a home loan EMI alongside it, and missed the school admission window they had planned around. When they sit down to file for compensation, the question is not only whether the builder defaulted. It is how a RERA adjudicating officer will decide how much that default was worth. The answer sits in two short sections of the Act that most buyers never read: Sections 71 and 72.
The short answer. Under Section 71 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, compensation under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 is adjudged by an adjudicating officer who is or has been a District Judge, after an inquiry, and the application is to be disposed of within sixty days, with reasons recorded if it takes longer. Section 72 then lists the factors the officer must weigh: the disproportionate gain or unfair advantage made by the default, the loss it caused, whether the default is repetitive, and any other factor needed in furtherance of justice. The trade-off: this route can recognise losses beyond interest, such as rent and other costs, but it rests on evidence you put in front of the officer, so a well documented claim and a poorly documented one can end very differently.
Who decides compensation under RERA?
An adjudicating officer. Section 71(1) says that for the purpose of adjudging compensation under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19, the Authority shall appoint, in consultation with the appropriate Government, one or more judicial officers who are or have been a District Judge, to hold an inquiry in the prescribed manner after giving any person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Section 71(3) gives the officer power to summon and enforce the attendance of any person acquainted with the facts, and to require any document the officer considers useful or relevant. If, on inquiry, the officer is satisfied that a person has failed to comply with any of those sections, the officer may direct payment of such compensation or interest as the officer thinks fit in accordance with those sections.
The Act also sets a pace. Section 71(2) says the application shall be dealt with as expeditiously as possible and disposed of within sixty days from receipt, and where it cannot be, the officer shall record reasons in writing. Our earlier guide compares this route with consumer forums and civil courts in RERA adjudicating officer, consumer forum or civil court.
Which defaults can lead to compensation?
The four sections named in Section 71(1) cover the main ways a buyer can be harmed. Section 12 deals with false statements: where a person makes an advance or deposit on the basis of information in a notice, advertisement or prospectus, or on the basis of a model apartment, and sustains loss by reason of an incorrect or false statement, he shall be compensated by the promoter.
Section 14(3) deals with defects: if a structural defect or any other defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services is brought to the promoter's notice within five years of handing over possession, the promoter must rectify it without further charge within thirty days, and if it fails, the aggrieved allottees are entitled to appropriate compensation.
Section 18 covers delay and title. Section 18(1) makes the promoter liable to return the amount with interest and compensation to an allottee who withdraws because possession was not given as agreed. Section 18(2) requires compensation for loss caused by defective title of the land, and says the claim shall not be barred by limitation under any law. Section 18(3) makes the promoter liable to pay compensation for failing to discharge any other obligation under the Act, rules, regulations or the agreement for sale. Section 19(4) gives the allottee a matching right to claim a refund with interest and compensation.
What does Section 72 tell the officer to weigh?
Four factors. Section 72 says that while adjudging the quantum of compensation or interest under Section 71, the adjudicating officer shall have due regard to:
First, the amount of disproportionate gain or unfair advantage, wherever quantifiable, made as a result of the default. Second, the amount of loss caused as a result of the default. Third, the repetitive nature of the default. Fourth, such other factors as the officer considers necessary to the case in furtherance of justice.
Read together, the first two look at both sides of the ledger: what the builder gained and what you lost. The third looks at conduct over time, and the fourth leaves room for the facts of a particular case. None of them sets a fixed formula, which is why the evidence you bring matters so much.
| Section 72 factor | What it asks | Evidence a Bengaluru buyer can gather |
|---|---|---|
| Disproportionate gain or unfair advantage | What the promoter gained from the default, where quantifiable | Payment receipts, demand letters, price list changes |
| Loss caused by the default | What the default cost the allottee | Rent agreements and receipts, EMI statements, other costs |
| Repetitive nature of the default | Whether the default was repeated | Missed deadlines, repeated defect complaints, letters |
| Other factors in furtherance of justice | Anything else the officer finds necessary | A clear written timeline of events |
| Speed of decision | Disposal within sixty days, reasons if longer | Track your application date and hearing dates |
How do you show the loss you suffered?
With documents that tie each cost to the default. If the default is delay, the rent you paid for months you expected to live in your own flat is the clearest example. Keep the rent agreement, bank transfers to the landlord, and any renewal. Pair these with your home loan statements showing EMIs or pre-EMI interest paid during the delay.
If the default is a defect, show when you reported it, what the promoter did, and what you spent. Section 14(3) runs from notice to the promoter, so a dated email or letter reporting the defect is the starting point. Photographs, a contractor's estimate or invoice, and any reply from the builder complete the chain. Our guide to the five year defect liability under Section 14 covers how to report defects.
If the default is a false advertisement or a model flat that did not match what was delivered, keep the brochure, screenshots of online listings, and photographs of the model apartment if you took any. Section 12 ties compensation to loss sustained by reason of the incorrect or false statement, so link each item of loss to a specific statement.
What can the builder's own conduct add to your claim?
Section 72(a) and (c) look at the promoter's side. Disproportionate gain or unfair advantage, wherever quantifiable, might include money collected and held while the project was delayed, or a premium charged for a feature that was never delivered. The Act does not define how this is measured, so present whatever you can document and let the officer weigh it.
The repetitive nature of a default is often visible in the paper trail. A promoter that has extended a completion date more than once, sent several revised possession letters, or failed to fix the same defect after repeated complaints has a pattern that Section 72(c) asks the officer to consider. Keep every revised date and every complaint in sequence.
For other obligations, such as amenities promised in the agreement but not delivered, our explainer on compensation for other obligations under Section 18(3) sets out what that subsection covers.
What if your complaint was already before a consumer forum?
The Act anticipated that. The proviso to Section 71(1) says any person whose complaint on matters covered under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 was pending before a consumer forum or commission set up under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, on or before the commencement of the RERA Act, may, with the permission of that forum or commission, withdraw the complaint and file an application before the adjudicating officer.
That proviso speaks to complaints pending when the Act began. If you are choosing a forum today, the question is different, and depends on your facts, the relief you want and the time each forum takes. Whatever you choose, avoid parallel claims for the same loss without advice, since you will need to explain the history of your dispute in any forum you approach.
How should you prepare an application for compensation?
Treat it as a short, organised case file. Use this checklist:
- Identify which section your claim rests on: 12, 14, 18 or 19.
- Write a one page timeline with dates of booking, agreement, promised possession and each default.
- Collect the agreement for sale and every payment receipt in date order.
- Gather proof of each loss, such as rent receipts, EMI statements and repair invoices.
- Collect evidence of repetition, such as revised possession letters and repeated complaints.
- Keep the brochure, listings and model flat photographs if the claim involves false statements.
- Note your application date so you can track the sixty day period in Section 71(2).
File through the K-RERA process for adjudication, and keep copies of everything you submit. If the officer records reasons for taking longer than sixty days, that is the Act working as written; follow up politely with the hearing dates.
Bengaluru buyer FAQs on RERA compensation
Who decides how much compensation a RERA buyer gets?
Under Section 71(1) of the RERA Act, compensation under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 is adjudged by an adjudicating officer appointed by the Authority, who is or has been a District Judge, after holding an inquiry and giving any person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
What factors decide the amount of RERA compensation?
Section 72 of the RERA Act says the adjudicating officer shall have due regard to the disproportionate gain or unfair advantage made by the default where quantifiable, the loss caused by the default, the repetitive nature of the default, and any other factor necessary in furtherance of justice.
How long does the adjudicating officer have to decide?
Section 71(2) of the RERA Act says an application for compensation shall be dealt with as expeditiously as possible and disposed of within sixty days from the date of receipt. Where that is not possible, the adjudicating officer shall record the reasons in writing for not disposing of it within that period.
Is a claim for defective title barred by limitation?
Section 18(2) of the RERA Act says the promoter shall compensate allottees for loss caused by defective title of the land on which the project is developed, and that the claim for compensation under that subsection shall not be barred by limitation provided under any law for the time being in force.
Last updated 2026-10-23. PropNewz Team.
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