Short answer: A RERA project review means reading what the promoter filed with Karnataka RERA, not just confirming the registration exists. Open the approvals and sanctioned plan, compare the completion date with the progress shown in the quarterly updates, read the track record and litigation disclosures, then score each part before you pay anything.
- Registration isn't approval of the project. Most documents on the page are the promoter's own uploads, and reading them is your job.
- Three parts: approvals (what's permitted), timeline (when it's due and whether progress fits), filings (what's been disclosed and kept current).
- Test time against progress. If 65% of the time has gone and 45% of the structure is up, ask why.
- Check carpet area. RERA lists carpet area. Work out the loading on the price you're quoted.
- Use the ATF scorecard below and take any red items to your lawyer.
Our step-by-step RERA search guide shows how to find a project on the portal. This guide picks up from there: once the project page is open, what do you actually read, and what should worry you? It names no project or builder. It's a method you can apply to any of the 333 projects RERA approved across seven Bengaluru taluks in 2026 so far, or any older one.
What does the promoter have to file with RERA?
Section 4(2) of the RERA Act lists what goes in with the application. The parts that matter most to you:
| Clause | What's filed | Why you read it |
|---|---|---|
| 4(2)(b) | Projects launched in the past five years, with status, delays and pending cases | The promoter's track record, in their own words |
| 4(2)(c) | Approvals and commencement certificate, for each phase | Whether work was permitted to start |
| 4(2)(d) | Sanctioned plan, layout plan and specifications | What can legally be built |
| 4(2)(g) | Proforma allotment letter, agreement for sale and conveyance deed | The contract terms you'll be asked to sign |
| 4(2)(h) | Number, type and carpet area of apartments, with balcony and terrace areas | The real size of what you're buying |
| 4(2)(l)(A)–(B) | Affidavit on land title and encumbrances | Whether the land is clear, or what's against it |
| 4(2)(l)(C) | Completion period the promoter commits to | The date the registration runs to |
| 4(2)(l)(D) | 70% of buyers' money into a separate account, withdrawn in proportion to completion | How your money is meant to be used |
After registration, Section 11 and Karnataka's RERA Rules (r.15) require quarterly updates within 15 days of each quarter's end: bookings, construction status with photographs, and the status of approvals (Karnataka RERA Rules 2017).
Part A: are the approvals in place?
Open each uploaded approval and check:
- Commencement certificate exists for the tower or phase you're buying. A plan sanction alone isn't permission to build.
- Sanctioned plan matches the brochure: floors, towers and unit count. More floors in the brochure than in the plan is a red flag.
- Approvals still pending. The quarterly updates must list approvals received, applied for and yet to apply for. Note which ones are still open and when they're expected.
- Title and encumbrance affidavit. If encumbrances are declared (a lender's charge, say), find out what they are.
- Joint development. If the landowner and promoter split units, find out whose share your unit is in.
One rule protects you later. Under Section 14, once the sanctioned plan and specifications are disclosed to you, the promoter can't change your unit without your consent (minor changes aside), and other changes to the building need consent from at least two-thirds of allottees.
For the title, khata and OC side, see our legal checks from title to OC.
Part B: does the timeline hold up?
Find the original and current completion dates, and any COVID, Section 6 or further extensions. Section 6 extensions are capped at one year in aggregate. Our answer on what a RERA extension means for you explains them.
Then compare time used with work done.
Worked example 1: time used vs progress shown
Illustrative figures.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Registration approved | March 2024 |
| Current completion date | February 2028 (48 months) |
| Months elapsed by October 2026 | 31 |
| Time used | 31 ÷ 48 = 64.6% |
| Latest quarterly update | 9 of 20 slabs cast on your tower |
| Structure progress | 9 ÷ 20 = 45% |
| Gap | about 20 percentage points |
Slab count isn't the whole job. Finishing, services and the OC all come after the structure, so a tower that's behind on slabs at this point is unlikely to catch up without a reason. Ask the promoter in writing how they'll make the date. Then check the last three quarterly updates to see whether the pace is speeding up or slowing down. Our guide to reading a quarterly progress report helps.
How often do dates slip? In our East Bengaluru RERA study, 23.7% of approved projects carried COVID relief and 14.0% a Section 6 or further extension.
Remember which date counts for you. Section 18 delay rights run from the possession date in your agreement for sale, not the RERA date (refund vs interest under s.18).
Part C: are the filings complete and current?
- Quarterly updates on time. A gap of a quarter or more is worth asking about. Section 61 allows a penalty of up to 5% of the estimated project cost for contraventions such as this.
- Track record. Read the five-year list under 4(2)(b). Search each past project on RERA and compare its delivered date with its promised one.
- Complaints and orders. Search the project and promoter in the portal's complaint report and orders. Read what the issues were, not just how many there are.
- Carpet area per unit type. Compare with what you're quoted.
- Agreement proforma. Compare the filed draft with the one you're given.
- Agent registration. If someone brought you to the project, check their RERA agent number (Section 9).
Worked example 2: carpet area and loading
Illustrative. You're quoted 1,250 sq ft super built-up at ₹9,000 per sq ft. RERA lists the unit type at 870 sq ft carpet.
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 1,250 × ₹9,000 | ₹1.125 crore |
| Loading | 1,250 ÷ 870 − 1 | 43.7% |
| Price per carpet sq ft | ₹1.125 crore ÷ 870 | ₹12,931 |
Compare projects on price per carpet sq ft. A cheaper-looking super built-up rate can cost more for each square foot you actually live in.
Worked example 3: what you can pay before the agreement
Section 13 bars the promoter from taking more than 10% of the cost as an advance or application fee before a registered agreement for sale. On ₹1.125 crore, that's ₹11.25 lakh. A demand for more on a booking form alone is a red flag. Our token amount checklist covers the rest.
The ATF scorecard (our framework)
Score each line 2 (green), 1 (amber) or 0 (red).
| Part | Check | Green (2) | Amber (1) | Red (0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approvals | Commencement certificate for your phase | Uploaded | Applied for | Missing |
| Approvals | Plan matches brochure | Matches | Minor differences | More floors or units in brochure |
| Approvals | Title and encumbrances | Clear | Declared and explained | Unclear or undisclosed |
| Timeline | Time used vs progress | Gap under 10 points | 10–20 points | Over 20 points |
| Timeline | Extensions | None | COVID only | Section 6 or further |
| Timeline | Agreement date vs RERA date | Same or earlier | Up to 6 months later | More than 6 months later |
| Filings | Quarterly updates | All on time | One gap | Several gaps or stale |
| Filings | Track record | Past dates mostly met | Some delays | Long delays or stalled projects |
| Filings | Complaints and orders | Few, resolved | Several, being resolved | Unresolved or non-compliance |
Total out of 18. Our rule of thumb: any red, or a total under 12, means slow down and get a lawyer to read the file before you pay. It's a way to organise what you find, not a rating of any promoter.
RERA project review checklist
- [ ] Registration certificate and promoter name match your booking form
- [ ] Commencement certificate for your tower or phase
- [ ] Sanctioned plan matches the brochure
- [ ] Pending approvals listed, with expected dates
- [ ] Title and encumbrance affidavit read
- [ ] Original vs current date, and any extensions, explained
- [ ] Time used vs progress worked out from the last three quarterly updates
- [ ] Track record projects checked on RERA
- [ ] Complaints and orders searched by project and promoter
- [ ] Carpet area and price per carpet sq ft worked out
- [ ] Agreement proforma compared with the draft you're given
- [ ] Everything saved as dated PDFs
This is a general guide, not legal advice. Have a property lawyer review the title, approvals and agreement for your specific unit.
Frequently asked questions
Three things: approvals (commencement certificate, sanctioned plan, title and encumbrance declarations), timeline (original and current completion dates, extensions and progress in the quarterly updates) and filings (track record, complaints, orders and whether updates are current). Registration alone doesn't tell you any of this.
No. Registration shows the promoter applied with the required documents and declarations and the Authority granted it. Most documents on the page are the promoter's uploads. You, or your lawyer, still need to read them and compare them with the site and your agreement.
On the project's details page, among the uploaded documents. Section 4(2)(c) and (d) require the approvals, commencement certificate and sanctioned plan to be filed, and the quarterly updates list approvals received, applied for and still to come.
Compare time used with progress shown. Divide months elapsed by the total months to the completion date, then compare with the share of structure finished in the latest quarterly update. A gap of more than about 20 points is worth questioning in writing.
The promoter must upload them within 15 days of each quarter's end under Karnataka's RERA Rules. A missing quarter could be an admin lapse or a sign of trouble. Either way, ask, and check the site yourself before paying more.
Read the list of projects from the past five years that the promoter filed under Section 4(2)(b). Then search each one on RERA and compare its original completion date with the current or actual one, and check its complaints and orders.
RERA requires carpet area to be disclosed for each unit type. Prices are often quoted on super built-up area. Dividing the total price by the carpet area gives you a price per usable square foot, which is the fair way to compare projects.
Not for your unit without your consent, apart from minor changes, under Section 14 of the RERA Act. Other changes to the sanctioned building plan need consent from at least two-thirds of allottees. Check this with your lawyer if a change is proposed.
Sources
Checked 19 Oct 2026.
- Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, ss.4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 18, 61 (Karnataka RERA copy): https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/resources/staticpage/Real_Estate_Act.pdf
- Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017, r.15: https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/resources/staticpage/FinalRERA_Rules-2017.pdf
- Karnataka RERA, project search and orders: https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/viewAllProjects?language=en
- acre&key analysis of the K-RERA register (extension shares), 15–16 Oct 2026
