Buying a Flat from a Builder in Hyderabad: TG RERA, Delay, Refund and Complaints

This guide is for people in Hyderabad and Telangana who are buying, or have bought, a flat or plot in a builder’s project, especially one under construction, and for buyers facing delay, changes to the plan, defects or a builder who will not refund. It explains what the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and the Telangana rules require of a builder, a buyer’s rights to a refund or to interest for delay, how to complain to the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA, earlier TS RERA), and the choice of going to a Consumer Commission instead.

Before you book · The agreement for sale and the ten per cent rule · What the builder must give you · Changes to the plan · Delay: refund or interest · Defects after possession · Complaining to TG RERA · Consumer Commission · Appeals

Before you book

• Registration: “No promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building … in any real estate project or part of it, in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority” (section 3(1)). The promoter of a project that was ongoing on the date of commencement of the Act, and for which the completion certificate had not been issued, had to apply for registration within three months from that date (section 3(1), first proviso).
• Projects that need not register: registration is not required “where the area of land proposed to be developed does not exceed five hundred square meters or the number of apartments proposed to be developed does not exceed eight inclusive of all phases”, where the promoter received a completion certificate prior to commencement of the Act, and for renovation, repair or re-development which does not involve marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment (section 3(2)). The Act allows the State Government to reduce the five hundred square meter and eight apartment thresholds (section 3(2)(a), proviso). Each phase of a project is treated as a separate project.
• Older projects in Telangana: as first notified in 2017, the Telangana rules applied only to projects whose building permissions were approved on or after 1 January 2017. G.O.Ms.No.60 of 4 March 2025 replaced that, and the rules now apply to all projects for which the completion certificate had not been issued when section 3(1) of the Act came into force. Any advice based on the 2017 cut-off is out of date.
• Checking a project: the TG RERA website (rera.telangana.gov.in) has a “Search Registered Projects and Agents” facility, searchable by district, village, project type and survey number, and has a link labelled “Revoked Projects/Agents”. Every advertisement must mention the Authority’s website address and the project’s registration number (section 11(2)), and the builder must keep a project web page with quarterly updates on bookings, approvals and progress (section 11(1)).
• Who counts as the promoter: where the person who builds and the person who sells are different, “both of them shall be deemed to be the promoters and shall be jointly liable” (section 2(zk), Explanation).
• Carpet area: the Act defines carpet area as “the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment” (section 2(k)). The Telangana rules require ongoing projects to disclose apartment size “based on carpet area even if earlier sold on any other basis such as super area, super built up area, built up area etc.” (rule 4(3)).

When applying for registration, the promoter files a declaration, supported by an affidavit, about title to the land and encumbrances on it (section 4(2)(l)); registration is granted on the application under section 5, and the Act does not make it a finding on title or on whether the land lies in a lake buffer zone. See our property document checklist and our guide on checking FTL and buffer zones.

The agreement for sale and the ten per cent rule

• Ten per cent cap: “A promoter shall not accept a sum more than ten per cent. of the cost of the apartment, plot, or building as the case may be, as an advance payment or an application fee, from a person without first entering into a written agreement for sale with such person and register the said agreement for sale, under any law for the time being in force” (section 13(1)).
• Registration in Telangana: the Registration Act as in force in Telangana makes an “agreement of sale of immovable property of the value of one hundred rupees and upwards” compulsorily registrable (section 17(1)(g), inserted with effect from 1 April 1999). See our guide on GPA and agreements of sale.
• What the agreement must state: among other things, the date on which possession is to be handed over and “the rates of interest payable by the promoter to the allottee and the allottee to the promoter in case of default” (section 13(2)). In Telangana the agreement is to be in the form in the Annexure to the rules (rule 38(1)).
• Papers signed before the agreement: an application letter, allotment letter or other document signed by the buyer before the agreement for sale is executed and registered “shall not be construed to limit the rights and interests of the allottee under the Agreement for Sale or under the Act or the rules or the regulations” (rule 38(2)).
• Cancellation: the builder may cancel an allotment “only in terms of the agreement for sale”, and the buyer may approach the Authority if a cancellation is not in accordance with the agreement, “unilateral and without any sufficient cause” (section 11(5)).
• Mortgage after agreement: after an agreement for sale, the builder may not mortgage or create a charge on that apartment, and any such mortgage “shall not affect the right and interest of the allottee” (section 11(4)(h)).

What the builder must give you

• Plans and schedule: at the time of booking and of issue of the allotment letter, the builder must make available the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications, and “the stage wise time schedule of completion of the project, including the provisions for civic infrastructure like water, sanitation and electricity” (section 11(3)).
• Responsibility until conveyance: the builder is “responsible for all obligations, responsibilities and functions under the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder or to the allottees as per the agreement for sale … till the conveyance of all the apartments, plots or buildings” (section 11(4)(a)).
• Occupancy and completion certificates: the builder must obtain the completion certificate or the occupancy certificate, or both, as applicable, from the competent authority, and make it available to the buyers or their association (section 11(4)(b)).
• False advertisement: a person who paid on the basis of an incorrect or false statement in an advertisement, prospectus or model apartment and suffers loss “shall be compensated by the promoter”; if he withdraws, he “shall be returned his entire investment along with interest at such rate as may be prescribed and the compensation” (section 12).
• Conveyance deed: the builder must execute “a registered conveyance deed in favour of the allottee along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas” and hand over physical possession; in the absence of any local law, the conveyance is to be done “within three months from date of issue of occupancy certificate” (section 17(1)). The buyer must take physical possession “within a period of two months of the occupancy certificate issued” (section 19(10)).
• Association: the builder must enable the formation of an association of buyers; where there are no local laws, the association is to be formed “within a period of three months of the majority of allottees having booked” (section 11(4)(e)).

Changes to the plan

The project must be developed and completed “in accordance with the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications as approved by the competent authorities” (section 14(1)). Once these have been disclosed to the buyer, the builder may not make additions or alterations to that buyer’s apartment “without the previous consent of that person”, except minor additions or alterations required by the buyer, or such minor changes or alterations as may be necessary due to architectural and structural reasons, duly recommended and verified by an authorised architect or engineer after proper declaration and intimation to the buyer (the Act says “minor additions or alterations” exclude “structural change including an addition to the area or change in height”). Other changes to the plans or specifications of the building or common areas need “the previous written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter, who have agreed to take apartments in such building” (section 14(2)).

Delay: refund or interest

• The two choices: if the builder “fails to complete or is unable to give possession” of the apartment in accordance with the agreement for sale or by the date specified in it, or because he discontinues his business as a developer on account of suspension or revocation of his registration or for any other reason, he is “liable on demand” to return the amount received, “with interest at such rate as may be prescribed in this behalf including compensation”, if the buyer wishes to withdraw. If the buyer does not intend to withdraw, “he shall be paid, by the promoter, interest for every month of delay, till the handing over of the possession, at such rate as may be prescribed” (section 18(1) and its proviso). Section 19(4) gives the buyer the matching right to claim the refund with interest and compensation.
• The Supreme Court: in Newtech Promoters and Developers v State of U.P. (11 November 2021), the Supreme Court said that “It appears that the legislature has consciously provided this right of refund on demand as an unconditional absolute right to the allottee, if the promoter fails to give possession of the apartment, plot or building within the time stipulated under the terms of the agreement regardless of unforeseen events or stay orders of the Court/Tribunal, which is in either way not attributable to the allottee/home buyer”.
• The date that counts: in Imperia Structures v Anil Patni (2 November 2020), the Supreme Court said that “even for the purposes of Section 18, the period has to be reckoned in terms of the agreement and not the registration”.
• The Telangana interest rate: “The rate of interest payable by the promoter to the allottee or by the allottee to the promoter, as the case may be, shall be highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate of State Bank of India plus two per cent” (rule 15). The same rate applies to a buyer who pays late (section 2(za) and section 19(7)). The rule gives no fixed percentage; it is tied to the State Bank of India’s highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate, and, if that rate is not in use, to such benchmark lending rates as the State Bank of India may fix from time to time for lending to the general public (rule 15, proviso).
• Time for refund: a refund with interest and compensation “shall be payable by the promoter to the allottee within ninety days from the date on which such refund along with applicable interest and compensation, as the case may be, becomes due” (rule 16). The rule does not say when a refund becomes due.
• Defective title: the builder “shall compensate the allottees in case of any loss caused to him due to defective title of the land”, and that claim “shall not be barred by limitation provided under any law for the time being in force” (section 18(2)).
• The buyer’s side: the buyer must make payments “in the manner and within the time as specified in the said agreement for sale” and pay the share of registration charges, municipal taxes, utility and maintenance charges (section 19(6)), and is liable to pay interest at the prescribed rate for delay (section 19(7)).

Defects after possession

If “any structural defect or any other defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services or any other obligations of the promoter as per the agreement for sale” is brought to the builder’s notice “within a period of five years by the allottee from the date of handing over possession”, the builder must “rectify such defects without further charge, within thirty days”, and if he fails, “the aggrieved allottees shall be entitled to receive appropriate compensation in the manner as provided under this Act” (section 14(3)). The five years run from the handing over of possession.

Complaining to TG RERA

• Who can complain: “Any aggrieved person may file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be, for any violation or contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder, against any promoter, allottee or real estate agent”; an association of buyers and a registered voluntary consumer association can also complain (section 31).
• Authority or adjudicating officer: in Newtech, the Supreme Court said that refund, interest on the refund and interest for delayed possession are for the Authority to determine, while for “adjudging compensation and interest thereon under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19, the adjudicating officer exclusively has the power to determine”. The adjudicating officer is a judicial officer who is or has been a District Judge (section 71(1)), and decides compensation having regard to the builder’s disproportionate gain or unfair advantage, the loss caused, whether the default is repeated, and other relevant factors (section 72).
• Forms: under the Telangana rules, a complaint to the Authority is made in Form M (rule 34) and a claim for interest and compensation before the adjudicating officer in Form N (rule 35). Rule 35 was made in 2017, before the Newtech judgment, and describes Form N as a claim for interest and compensation; under Newtech, interest for delayed possession is for the Authority, and compensation is for the adjudicating officer.
• Filing online: the TG RERA complaints portal (complaints-rera.telangana.gov.in) lists the steps as creating an account, logging in, filling in Form M or N, uploading evidence, paying the application fee and attending the hearing. Its user manual lists complaint categories including “Delay in Handing Over Possession”, “Unapproved Alteration in Project Layout”, “Non-refund of Booking Amount” and “Failure to Enter into Agreement for Sale”, and says that “Once payment is made, the application cannot be edited”.
• Time to decide: for an application for adjudging compensation, the Act directs the adjudicating officer to deal with it “as expeditiously as possible” and to dispose of it within sixty days from receipt, recording reasons in writing if that is not done (section 71(2)).
• Enforcing an order: under the Telangana rules as amended in 2025, interest, penalty or compensation is recovered as arrears of land revenue (rule 23(1)), and every order of the adjudicating officer, the Authority or the Appellate Tribunal is to be enforced by it “in the same manner as if it were a decree or order made by the Principal Civil Court”, and, if it is unable to execute the order, it may send the order to a Principal Civil Court for execution (rule 23(2)).
• Address: “Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority, DTCP Building, Ground Floor, 640, A.C.Guads, Masab Tank, Opp. PTI Building, Hyderabad – 500004” (as given on the Authority’s contact page, including the spelling “A.C.Guads”), phone 040-29394973.

Going to a Consumer Commission instead

• A choice: in Imperia Structures, the Supreme Court said that “Section 79 of the RERA Act does not in any way bar the Commission or Forum under the provisions of the CP Act to entertain any complaint”, and that “a choice or discretion is given to the allottee whether he wishes to initiate appropriate proceedings under the CP Act or file an application under the RERA Act”. The RERA Act is “in addition to, and not in derogation of” other laws (section 88).
• One-sided agreements: in Pioneer Urban Land and Infrastructure v Govindan Raghavan (2 April 2019), decided under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, the Supreme Court said that “A term of a contract will not be final and binding if it is shown that the flat purchasers had no option but to sign on the dotted line, on a contract framed by the builder”, and that one-sided clauses in such an agreement constitute an unfair trade practice.
• The 2019 Act: “service” includes “housing construction” (Consumer Protection Act, 2019, section 2(42)), and the Act defines “deficiency” (section 2(11)) and “unfair trade practice” (section 2(47)).
• Which Commission: under the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021 (notified on 30 December 2021), the District Commission hears complaints where “the value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed fifty lakh rupees”, the State Commission where it “exceeds fifty lakh but does not exceed two crore rupees”, and the National Commission where it “exceeds two crore rupees”. The test is the amount paid, not the full price of the flat. A complaint against an “unfair contract” (as defined in section 2(46) of the 2019 Act) can be filed only before the State Commission, where the value paid as consideration does not exceed ten crore rupees, or the National Commission, where it exceeds ten crore rupees (sections 47(1)(a)(ii) and 58(1)(a)(ii)); this head is separate from the general value limits above.
• Time limit: a Commission “shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen”, though a later complaint may be admitted for sufficient cause (section 69).

Civil courts cannot entertain a suit on a matter the Authority, the adjudicating officer or the Appellate Tribunal is empowered to determine (section 79). See our guide on consumer complaints in Telangana.

Appeals

• Appellate Tribunal: a person aggrieved by an order of the Authority or the adjudicating officer may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal (section 43(5)) within sixty days from receiving a copy of the order, with a later appeal allowed for sufficient cause (section 44(2)). An order of the Telangana Real Estate Appellate Tribunal published on TG RERA’s website in October 2026 gives its address as Krishna Hostel, First Floor, Dr. MCR HRD Institute Campus, Road No.25, MP and MLAs Colony, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad 500033.
• Deposit by a builder: a builder’s appeal “shall not be entertained, without the promoter first having deposited with the Appellate Tribunal atleast thirty per cent. of the penalty, or such higher percentage as may be determined by the Appellate Tribunal, or the total amount to be paid to the allottee including interest and compensation imposed on him, if any, or with both, as the case may be, before the said appeal is heard” (section 43(5), proviso). The Supreme Court upheld this in Newtech.
• High Court: an appeal from the Appellate Tribunal lies to the High Court within sixty days, on the grounds in section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure (section 58).

Related guides: legal opinion on property, property document checklist, common legal mistakes when buying property, GPA and agreements of sale and consumer complaints.

For a legal opinion or a discussion about a builder dispute with Musab Hashmi & Associates, call +91 89771 24916 or send an enquiry. Do not include identity numbers or copies of documents in the first message.

General legal information, not legal advice. Checked on 27 October 2026 against the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (India Code PDF dated February 2023, read through an Internet Archive copy of the official file; later amendments may not be reflected), the Telangana State Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017 (G.O.Ms.No.202 of 31 July 2017) and G.O.Ms.No.60 of 4 March 2025, TG RERA’s website, complaints portal and user manual, an order of the Telangana Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (letterhead only), the Registration Act, 1908 as in force in Telangana (Registration and Stamps Department text), the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction) Rules, 2021, and the Supreme Court judgments in Newtech Promoters and Developers v State of U.P. (11 November 2021), Imperia Structures v Anil Patni (2 November 2020) and Pioneer Urban Land and Infrastructure v Govindan Raghavan (2 April 2019).