What is RERA? A plain-language guide for home buyers

If you are buying a flat in India, one four-letter word protects more of your money than any other: RERA. Yet most buyers know it only as a number on a hoarding. This guide explains what the law actually does, in plain language, and which of its protections you should actively use.

The problem RERA was built to solve#

Before 2017, Indian home buyers handed over the largest cheque of their lives with almost no enforceable protection. Builders sold flats on ambiguous "super built-up" areas, diverted money from one project to launch the next, and delayed possession by years with no consequence. Disputes went to consumer courts or civil courts, where cases dragged on.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was passed in 2016 and came fully into force on 1 May 2017. It did something simple and radical: it forced every sizeable project to register with a state regulator and put its facts on the public record, quarter after quarter, under penalty of law.

Eight years on, the scale is significant. According to figures shared at the Central Advisory Council meeting in September 2025, RERA authorities across India have registered about 1.51 lakh projects and 1.06 lakh property agents, and have disposed of over 1.47 lakh buyer complaints. Maharashtra alone crossed 50,000 registered projects, the highest in the country, with Tamil Nadu next at around 27,600 and Gujarat at around 15,300.

The five protections that matter most#

1. The 10 percent advance cap#

A builder cannot take more than 10 percent of the property cost from you before signing a registered agreement for sale. If a sales office asks for 20 percent "booking amount plus first slab" before any agreement, that demand is illegal under Section 13 of the Act.

2. The 70 percent escrow rule#

Seventy percent of every rupee collected from buyers must go into a separate bank account for that specific project, and can be withdrawn only in proportion to construction progress, certified by an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant. This is the rule that stops your money from funding the builder's next land purchase. You can see the certificates (Form 1, 2 and 3) in the project's RERA filings, and the 70 percent rule guide explains the whole mechanism.

3. Carpet area, defined by law#

RERA killed the super built-up area game for legal purposes. Builders must sell on carpet area, defined precisely in the Act as the net usable floor area within the walls. Our guide on carpet area versus built-up area covers how to use this while comparing projects.

4. Interest for every month of delay#

If possession is delayed beyond the date promised in the agreement, you are entitled to interest at the SBI marginal cost of lending rate plus 2 percent, for every month of delay, or a full refund with interest if you choose to exit. Read the details in RERA rules for delayed possession, and note that only narrowly defined events pause this clock, explained in the force majeure guide.

5. Five-year defect liability#

For five years after possession, structural and workmanship defects must be fixed by the promoter free of cost, within 30 days of being reported.

What RERA does not do#

Honest expectations matter, so here is the other side.

RERA does not guarantee a project will finish. Registrations lapse, and some projects stall even with the escrow rule. It does not regulate price. It does not cover every project: plots under 500 square metres or buildings with 8 or fewer apartments are exempt from registration. And enforcement quality varies by state. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra together account for about 73 percent of all complaints resolved nationally, which reflects both active regulators and active buyers.

The law also cannot read the filings for you. A project can be fully registered and still be a poor purchase: slow sales, repeated extensions, litigation. Registration is the floor, not the verdict. The gap between the two is what the rest of our Due Diligence guides exist to close.

How buyers actually use RERA, step by step#

1. Before shortlisting: check the project is registered and the registration is valid, not lapsed or revoked. Our guide on checking RERA registration takes about five minutes to follow.
2. Before booking: read the promised completion date on the registration, not the one in the brochure. Compare the builder's track record across past projects.
3. Before signing: verify the agreement matches the filed carpet areas and the payment schedule respects the 10 percent cap.
4. After booking: follow the project's quarterly progress reports. Bookings and construction percentages are sworn statements, updated every quarter. We explain how to read them in our QPR guide.
5. If things go wrong: the complaint process is designed for individuals, without a lawyer if you choose. See how to file a RERA complaint.

Does it work? What the numbers say#

Fair question, and the honest answer is: substantially, unevenly. On the substantial side: 1.51 lakh registered projects means the disclosure regime now covers most organised residential development in the country. Over 1.47 lakh complaints disposed means the forum is used at scale, not ornamental. States like Maharashtra now clear complaints faster than they arrive, with MahaRERA reporting a 137 percent disposal rate in 2025.

On the uneven side: enforcement depth differs across states, execution of orders against unwilling promoters still takes persistence, and exempt small projects remain outside the net entirely. Buyers in states with younger or quieter authorities carry more of the verification burden themselves.

The practical conclusion for a buyer is the same either way. The law created the evidence and the forum. The evidence protects those who read it before booking, and the forum protects those who kept their paperwork. Neither works retroactively for buyers who did neither.

The bottom line#

RERA moved Indian home buying from a trust-based market to an evidence-based one. The evidence sits in public filings that most buyers never open. The law gave you the right to know. Using that right is still up to you.