Possession delay compensation under RERA: your rights and the complaint route

8.3.1 What are your rights if possession is delayed?

Say the builder fails to give possession by the date in your agreement for sale. Section 18(1) of the RERA Act, 2016 then gives you two choices. The first choice is to withdraw from the project. The builder must then return the amount it received for your flat, with interest and compensation. The second choice is to stay in the project. The builder must then pay you interest for every month of delay, until it hands over possession. The same section applies if the builder stops business because K-RERA suspended or revoked the registration, or for any other reason. The interest rate is set by Rule 16 of the Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017. It is SBI’s highest marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR) plus 2 percent. Rule 17 covers a refund that the builder owes under the Act. It is payable, with interest and any compensation, within sixty days from the date it becomes due.

Your choice	What the builder owes	Source
Withdraw from the project	The amount it received, with interest and compensation	Section 18(1)
Stay in the project	Interest for every month of delay, until possession	Section 18(1), proviso
Interest rate	SBI’s highest MCLR plus 2 percent	Rule 16
Refund deadline	Sixty days from the date it becomes due	Rule 17

8.3.2 Which date counts as the possession date?

The possession date that counts is the date in your agreement for sale, so find it before you claim anything. Section 18(1)(a) applies when the builder fails to complete or give possession in accordance with the agreement for sale, or by the date it specifies. Read the possession clause, and note the exact date or period. Check whether the clause adds a grace period, and how it defines possession. Then open the project’s K-RERA page. It shows the proposed completion date and any extension of the registration. Section 6 lets K-RERA extend a registration on the builder’s application, for force majeure. The Act defines force majeure as war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or any other calamity caused by nature. The proviso to Section 6 caps the extension in reasonable circumstances at one year in aggregate. An extension of the registration does not by itself change the date in your agreement. Ask a lawyer how the two interact for your case.

Date	Where to find it
Possession date you agreed	Possession clause in the agreement for sale
Grace period, if any	Same clause
Proposed completion date	Project’s K-RERA page
Extension of registration	K-RERA page, Registration or Extensions table

8.3.3 Should you take a refund or stay with interest?

Choose between a refund and staying with interest by comparing how much you need the flat with how far the project still has to go. A refund gets your money back, with interest and compensation, but you lose the flat and must buy again at today’s prices. Staying keeps the flat and pays you interest each month, but the delay can go on. Look at the latest K-RERA quarterly update. If the structure is complete and finishing is under way, staying can make sense. If the work percent is low and updates have stopped, a refund can be safer. Consider your home loan too. If you have a loan, the bank paid part of the price, so a refund can involve the bank. Ask the bank how it handles a refund under Section 18 before you decide. Keep a written record of each payment, so you can show the amount the builder received.

Situation	What it suggests
Structure done, finishing under way	Staying with monthly interest can make sense
Low work percent, updates stopped	A refund can be safer
You need the flat to live in	Staying keeps the flat
You have a home loan	Ask the bank how a refund works before you choose

8.3.4 How do you claim compensation for delay?

Write to the builder first, then file a complaint on the K-RERA portal if the builder does not settle. Your letter must state your flat, your agreement date, the possession date, the amount you paid and your choice under Section 18(1). Keep a copy and proof of delivery. If the builder does not reply or refuses, use Section 31. It lets any aggrieved person file a complaint with K-RERA or with its adjudicating officer. The forum depends on what you ask for. Under Section 71, the adjudicating officer decides compensation claims under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19. The Karnataka RERA Rules, 2017 set the forms and fees. Rule 29 says a complaint to the Authority uses Form N, and Rule 30 says a compensation claim uses Form O. Each costs ₹1,000. Check the current fee in the portal’s user manual before you file. The RERA complaint chapter shows the steps on the portal.

1. Find the possession date in your agreement for sale.
2. Write to the builder with your claim and your choice under Section 18(1).
3. Keep copies of the letter, the agreement and every receipt.
4. If the builder does not settle, file on the K-RERA portal under Section 31.
5. Track the complaint, and attend each hearing.

8.3.5 How long does a delay complaint take, and what decides the amount?

The RERA Act sets a target time and lists the factors that decide the compensation. Section 71(2) asks the adjudicating officer to dispose of a compensation application within sixty days. If it takes longer, the officer must record the reasons in writing. So sixty days is a target, not a guarantee. Section 72 lists the factors that the adjudicating officer must consider when deciding the amount. The first is any disproportionate gain or unfair advantage that the builder made from the default. The others are the loss caused to you, and whether the default is repeated. The officer can also consider other factors in the interest of justice. Keep evidence of each loss: rent you paid while you waited, extra interest on your home loan, and letters from the builder about the date. An order helps only if the builder pays it. The RERA complaint chapter explains how K-RERA recovers unpaid amounts as arrears of land revenue.

Factor in Section 72	Evidence you can keep
Disproportionate gain or unfair advantage to the builder	Payment receipts, and dates of money collected
Loss caused to you	Rent receipts, loan interest statements
Repeated default	Other complaints against the project on K-RERA
Other factors	Letters from the builder about the date

Sachi reads K-RERA completion dates, extensions and complaints for Bangalore projects. To check a project’s delay record before you book, Ask Sachi.