Step 1: Verify the project's RERA registration
Check your state's RERA portal (for example rera.delhi.gov.in or maharera.mahaonline.gov.in) by searching the project name or builder name. Note the RERA registration number — you'll need it for the complaint. If the builder never registered the project with RERA at all, that's itself a violation worth reporting to the RERA Authority.
Step 2: Calculate your compensation
Delay compensation works out to (current SBI MCLR + 2%) per annum, applied to the amount you've already paid, for each month of delay past the agreed possession date. Get the current SBI MCLR from the SBI website.
Example: You paid ₹40 lakh and MCLR is 8.5% — compensation = (8.5% + 2%) × ₹40 lakh ÷ 12, per month of delay.
Step 3: Send a RERA notice to the builder
Write to the builder citing Section 18 of the RERA Act, 2016. State the agreed possession date from your agreement, the actual delay in months, your total payment, and the compensation you've calculated. Give them 15 days to respond, and send both by email and registered post.
Step 4: File the complaint on your state's RERA portal
Go to your state RERA website → "File Complaint". Fill in your details, the project's RERA registration number, complaint details, and the relief you're seeking — interest under Section 18, or a refund with interest. Upload your documents, submit, and note your complaint number.
Documents you'll need
- Allotment letter from the builder
- Builder-Buyer Agreement (registered copy preferred)
- All payment receipts, each instalment
- Possession letter, if you received one — or proof that possession wasn't given
- RERA project registration number, from your state's RERA portal
What happens after you file
State RERA Authorities are generally expected to pass an order within 60 days of the complaint. Separately — and independent of any delay claim — if structural defects, workmanship, or quality issues show up within 5 years of possession, the builder must repair them at no extra cost, typically within 30 days of being notified. Taking possession does not waive your right to claim compensation for delay that already occurred.