To file a RERA complaint from abroad, register on the website of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority of the state where the project is located, complete the complaint form (commonly Form M for the Authority or Form N for the Adjudicating Officer), upload your agreement, payment proofs and correspondence, and pay the fee online. Authorise an advocate to appear for you. Under section 18 you may claim a refund with interest, or possession with interest for the period of delay.
Step 1: Check the project and the date
Look up the project on the state RERA portal. Note its registration number, the completion date the promoter declared at registration and any extensions granted. Compare with the possession date in your agreement for sale. Your cause of action arises when the agreed date, including any grace period, passes without a valid offer of possession backed by an occupancy certificate. An offer of possession without that certificate is not a valid offer.
If the project is not registered at all, that is itself a violation you can report, and you retain remedies in the consumer commission and civil court.
Step 2: Decide what you want
Section 18 gives the buyer the choice. Withdraw, and you are entitled to return of everything paid with interest at the prescribed rate, plus compensation. Stay, and you are entitled to interest for every month of delay until possession. The Supreme Court in Newtech Promoters v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2021) confirmed that the right to a refund on delay is unconditional and does not depend on the reasons for delay. It also clarified who decides what: the Authority decides refund and interest; the Adjudicating Officer decides compensation.
Consider the builder's finances. If insolvency is likely, a refund order may be hard to realise and filing a claim in the insolvency process, where homebuyers are financial creditors, may be necessary.
Step 3: Choose between RERA and the consumer commission
You may go to either. RERA is specialised, inexpensive and has a statutory interest formula and recovery mechanism. The consumer commission can award compensation for harassment in the same proceeding and has nationwide experience with builder cases; claims are filed by value before the District, State or National Commission, online. Consider how quickly the particular state authority is disposing of matters and where enforcement has worked against your builder. Do not file the same claim in both.
Step 4: File online
Create a complainant login on the state portal. Enter your details, the promoter's details and the project registration number. State the facts in date order, the provisions breached, and the relief sought with a calculation of principal and interest. Upload:
- Allotment letter and agreement for sale
- Receipts and bank statements for each payment
- Brochure and advertisements
- Demand letters, emails and your reminders
- Loan statement, if financed
- Identity proof and a signed authorisation for your advocate
Pay the fee, which is nominal for the Authority, and note the complaint number. Some states also require hard copies to be delivered; your advocate does this.
Step 5: Hearings
The Authority issues notice and the promoter files a reply. Usual defences are force majeure, delay by authorities and your alleged default in instalments. Hearings are held in person, online or in hybrid form depending on the state; your advocate attends and you need not. The statute contemplates disposal within sixty days, which busy authorities exceed. Many states also offer conciliation, which can produce a quicker negotiated refund.
Step 6: Enforce the order
If the promoter does not comply within the time given, apply for execution. The Authority issues a recovery certificate to the District Collector, who recovers the amount as arrears of land revenue by attaching bank accounts and property. Continued default attracts penalties under section 63. An appeal by either side lies to the Appellate Tribunal within sixty days, and the promoter must pre-deposit a substantial part of the award to appeal. The refund is paid to the account you paid from and can be repatriated accordingly.
For representation throughout, see RERA complaints for NRIs. If you are still at the buying stage, start with due diligence.
- File in the RERA of the state where the project is, online.
- Choose refund with interest or possession with delay interest; the choice is yours.
- Authority for refund and interest, Adjudicating Officer for compensation.
- An unpaid order is enforced by a recovery certificate through the Collector.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be in India to file a RERA complaint?
No. Filing is online and an authorised advocate appears at hearings, many of which are held by video conference.
How much interest can I claim for delay?
The rate is fixed by each state's rules, in most states the State Bank of India's highest marginal cost lending rate plus two per cent, calculated from the due date or the date of each payment as applicable.
Can the builder force me to take possession instead of a refund?
Not if the agreed date has passed without valid possession. The choice to withdraw belongs to the allottee under section 18.
What if my agreement was signed before RERA came into force?
The Act applies to projects that were ongoing and had not received a completion certificate when it commenced, so most pre-2017 agreements in incomplete projects are covered.
How long does a RERA case take?
From a few months to over a year depending on the state authority, plus time for execution if the builder does not pay voluntarily.
