How the RERA Act is Empowering Indian Homebuyers
Published on: 29 May 2025
Ever since the Government of India gave a green signal to the RERA Act back in May 2016, the process of buying a house in India has become smoother and more transparent.
A home, after all, is the biggest purchase, whether you are an individual or a family. The process, thus, should be a happy memory, not an added string of complexities in your already hectic life.
Wondering why RERA came into existence, though?
Well, as we all know, the home buying process involves multiple stakeholders from diverse backgrounds - from real estate developers and brokers to buyers to the registrars. Hence, a dedicated Act protecting the interests of all the involved parties was the need of the hour. Fortunately, the RERA Act has turned into a reliable solution for all the stakeholders over time.
The Act that came into effect on 1st May 2016, has to date introduced many reforms. What’s interesting is that there are always newer amendments on the cards for home buyers.
Here’s How RERA Protects the Interests of Homebuyers
With RERA in place, homebuyers can buy their dream home with peace of mind. The RERA Act provides several rights to real estate buyers and investors.
At the same time, it outlines rules and standards of operations for real estate developers, making the real estate market a safe space to trade in and invest.
Broadly, RERA holds real estate developers responsible for any irregularities or delays in operations. Builders are required to maintain accurate records and keep homebuyers in the loop regarding the progress of their construction projects.
Besides, real estate developers need to give possession of the property to the homebuyers as per the promised date. If they fail to do so, for instance, you - as a buyer - can file an official complaint under the RERA Act and take the builder to court.
The builder then has to compensate you for the delay by paying 10% interest on the value of the property. The compensation here may vary with the state/UT’s guidelines.
If you are currently looking to buy a home in the state of Maharashtra, you can learn all the rules and regulations here.
The Recent RERA Laws Benefiting Homebuyers
All the union territories and states in India follow notified rules under the RERA Act, except Nagaland. Here’s a lowdown on some of the key updates in the sector in the recent past concerning homebuyers:
- Homebuyers in Uttar Pradesh can expect a speedy resolution to their queries since UP (Uttar Pradesh) RERA has recently decided to leverage the latest technologies of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Machine Learning (ML) to simplify their courtroom management.
- The goal is to streamline complaint filing, case prioritization and filtering, case tracking, and case updates to both the officials and complainants.
- The use of such cutting-edge technologies is not only going to position RERA as a smart court handling real estate issues efficiently and rapidly but also increase the buyers’ trust in the process.
- MahaRERA, or the Real Estate Authority of Maharashtra, in late December 2022 has allowed developers to file extension applications for property registration without needing permission from 51% of the buyers of the project. The builders, however, need to specify why such an extension should be granted without the majority’s consent.
- The objective behind this amendment is to ensure the completion of delayed projects as per the desired norms & initial planning.
- Apart from that, this law mandates developers to share their interests in different real estate projects. That further enables homebuyers to make a wise selection.
- As per RERA’s new regulations, homebuyers are advised to pay only 10% of the total sum to the developer if the agreement to sell is not completed.
- If the builder fails to give possession on the agreed date, homebuyers are eligible for a refund + interest. And if you don’t want to pull out of the delayed project, a request for an increase in the interest rate for every delayed month can also be made.
- Homebuyers are eligible for the possession of their property in less than two months of receiving the occupancy certificate.
- Developers must give title papers belonging to common areas within 30 days to concerning authorities once they receive a completion certificate.
In addition, homebuyers have to ensure that the builders are charging for the property based on its carpet area (the area that’s enclosed by the walls), not the super built-up area, which includes the area of balconies, lifts, lobbies, or staircases.
Since each state in India is given the freedom to create its own RERA laws conforming with the centre’s legislation, there has been a constant stream of improvements.
New projects are being launched every now and then, but there is increased attention on completing the existing projects.
Developers have become more aware and careful of their promises and offerings to comply with RERA rules and avoid lawsuits. All these, together, make it a great time for homebuyers to buy a property with utmost security.
For regular updates on the latest RERA rules, keep reading the EstateMint blogs.
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