Builder, Seller or Landowner? Who Is the Promoter Under RERA for a Bengaluru Buyer

The name on the hoarding is not always the name on the agreement. In Bengaluru, a buyer can meet a project marketed under one brand, built by a construction company, sold through a marketing firm, on land owned by a family that has signed a joint development agreement. When a promise is broken, the first question is simple and often hard to answer: who, legally, is responsible?

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 answers it through one definition, the promoter. Many of the Act's central duties, from registration to conveyance, fall on the promoter. This guide explains who the definition covers, why it matters that the builder and the seller can both be promoters, and how a buyer can identify every promoter before booking.

The short answer. Section 2(zk) of the Act defines a promoter to include a person who constructs or causes to be constructed a building of apartments for sale, a person who develops land into plots for sale, development authorities and public bodies selling to allottees, co-operative housing societies building for members, and any person acting as builder, coloniser, contractor or developer, or claiming to act under a power of attorney from the landowner. Its Explanation says that where the person who constructs and the person who sells are different, both are deemed promoters and are jointly liable for the functions and responsibilities under the Act. The trade-off: a wide definition gives a buyer more parties to hold responsible, but it also means checking more parties before paying.

Who counts as a promoter under RERA?

More people than the name on the brochure. In the text of the Act published by the Telangana regulator, Section 2(zk) lists six categories.

Clause (i) covers a person who constructs or causes to be constructed an independent building or a building consisting of apartments, or converts an existing building or a part of it into apartments, for the purpose of selling all or some of the apartments to other persons, and includes his assignees. Clause (ii) covers a person who develops land into a project, whether or not the person also constructs structures on any of the plots, for the purpose of selling plots. Clause (iii) covers any development authority or other public body in respect of allottees of buildings or apartments it constructs on lands owned by it or placed at its disposal by the Government, or plots owned by it, for the purpose of selling them.

Clause (iv) covers an apex State level co-operative housing finance society and a primary co-operative housing society which constructs apartments or buildings for its members or in respect of the allottees of such apartments. Clause (v) covers any other person who acts himself as a builder, coloniser, contractor, developer, estate developer or by any other name, or claims to be acting as the holder of a power of attorney from the owner of the land on which the building is constructed or plot developed for sale. Clause (vi) covers such other person who constructs any building or apartment for sale to the general public.

What if the builder and the seller are different?

Both are promoters, and jointly liable. The Explanation to Section 2(zk) says that where the person who constructs or converts a building into apartments or develops a plot for sale and the persons who sells apartments or plots are different persons, both of them shall be deemed to be the promoters and shall be jointly liable as such for the functions and responsibilities specified under the Act or the rules and regulations made under it.

This is the provision a buyer needs to know when a project is sold by an entity other than the one building it, such as a marketing company or a landowner who sells the flats allotted to it. A buyer is not limited to pursuing only the party whose name appears on the receipt. Both the constructing party and the selling party carry the promoter's duties under the Act.

Our earlier report on buying a landowner's share flat in a joint development applies this to joint development agreements.

Does a public authority or society count?

Yes, in the cases the definition describes. Clause (iii) brings in development authorities and other public bodies in respect of allottees of buildings, apartments or plots they sell from lands owned by them or placed at their disposal by the Government. Clause (iv) brings in co-operative housing societies that construct apartments or buildings for their members.

That matters because a buyer of a flat from a public housing scheme, or a member of a house building society, may assume RERA is only about private builders. The definition says otherwise for the categories it lists. Our report on RERA and development authority or housing board projects explains how registration applies to them.

Why does the power of attorney clause matter?

Because it closes a gap. Clause (v) includes any person who claims to be acting as the holder of a power of attorney from the owner of the land on which the building is constructed or the plot is developed for sale. The definition does not let a person who markets a project on the strength of a power of attorney from the landowner step outside it simply because it is not the owner.

For a buyer, this means the person collecting money under a power of attorney carries promoter duties too. It is still worth reading the power of attorney itself, because it shows what the landowner actually authorised, and asking whether the landowner is also a party to the project's registration.

Is a broker or real estate agent a promoter?

The Act treats agents separately. Section 2(zm) defines a real estate agent as a person who negotiates or acts on behalf of one person in a transaction of transfer of a plot, apartment or building in a real estate project, by way of sale, with another person, and receives remuneration or fees for the service, and it includes property dealers, brokers and middlemen. Agents must register under Section 9 and follow the duties in Section 10.

Whether a particular marketing firm is acting as an agent, or as a seller that the Explanation to Section 2(zk) deems a promoter, depends on the facts, such as who sells and who receives the money. For a buyer, the practical step is to check the agents listed for the project under Section 4(2)(j) and to note which entity issued each receipt.

What does being a promoter mean for the buyer?

It decides who owes you the Act's duties. Section 3(1) says no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale any apartment or plot in a real estate project in a planning area without registering it. Section 11 sets out the promoter's functions and duties, including the web page disclosures, making documents available at booking, obtaining the completion or occupancy certificate and executing the conveyance deed. Section 13(1) bars the promoter from taking more than ten per cent of the cost as an advance without a registered agreement for sale. Section 18 makes the promoter liable to refund with interest or pay compensation in the circumstances it describes.

Section 4(2)(a) also requires the promoter's application to give a brief detail of its enterprise, including its name, registered address, type of enterprise and particulars of registration, and the names and photographs of the promoter. That is where a buyer can see who has registered as the promoter for the project.

Whether you are booking in a project such as Embassy Boulevard Phase 2 in Yelahanka, or buying a plot in a layout, use this checklist to identify every promoter.

1. Note every entity named on the brochure, booking form, receipt and agreement for sale.
2. Check the promoter details filed under Section 4(2)(a) on the regulator's project page.
3. Ask whether the land is owned by a third party, and whether there is a joint development or similar agreement.
4. If anyone acts under a power of attorney from the landowner, read the power of attorney and keep a copy.
5. If the seller is not the builder, note that the Explanation to Section 2(zk) makes both jointly liable as promoters.
6. Make sure the agreement for sale names the promoter or promoters who are taking on the obligations.
7. Keep receipts showing which entity received each payment.

Frequently asked questions

Who is a promoter under the RERA Act?

Section 2(zk) includes builders of apartment buildings and their assignees, layout developers, development authorities and public bodies selling to allottees, co-operative housing societies building for members, and anyone acting as builder, coloniser, contractor or developer, or claiming to act under a power of attorney from the landowner.

If a marketing company sold me the flat, is it responsible under RERA?

The Explanation to Section 2(zk) says that where the person who constructs and the person who sells apartments or plots are different persons, both are deemed promoters and are jointly liable for the functions and responsibilities under the Act and its rules and regulations. A selling entity can therefore carry promoter duties.

Is a development authority a promoter under RERA?

Section 2(zk)(iii) includes any development authority or other public body in respect of allottees of buildings or apartments it constructs on land it owns or that is placed at its disposal by the Government, or plots it owns, where it sells all or some of them.

Does a power of attorney holder count as a promoter?

Yes. Section 2(zk)(v) includes any person who acts as a builder, coloniser, contractor or developer by any name, or who claims to be acting as the holder of a power of attorney from the owner of the land on which the building is constructed or plot developed for sale.

Last updated 2026-10-26. PropNewz Team.