Legal · 8 min read
RERA in Punjab, Explained for Buyers
RERA is the single most useful consumer protection in Indian real estate — and the least read. Here is what it actually guarantees, and what it does not.
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What Registration Actually Does
A registered project must publish its sanctioned plans, its land title status and a declared completion date, and must hold seventy percent of buyer collections in a separate escrow account released only against construction progress certified by an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant. That escrow rule is the mechanism that stopped funds from one project financing land purchases for the next.
Registration also fixes carpet area as the legal unit of measurement, gives you a defined interest entitlement if handover is delayed, and creates an adjudicating forum that is faster and cheaper than civil court.
What It Does Not Do
RERA does not vouch for build quality beyond a five-year structural defect liability, does not guarantee the price is fair, and does not prevent delay — it only prices delay. It is a floor, not a warranty.
How To Verify A Project Yourself
Open the Punjab RERA portal, search by the promoter name or the registration number, and read the project page rather than the marketing site. Check three fields in particular: the declared completion date, the approved plans, and the complaints tab. A promoter with several delayed registrations is telling you something a brochure never will.
- Confirm the registration number is live and not lapsed
- Match the declared completion date against what the sales team told you
- Read the complaints tab before paying anything
- Check that the tower or block you are buying is inside the registered phase
When Registration Is Under Process
At a genuine pre-launch, an application under process is normal — a promoter cannot register before plan sanction. What matters is how the promoter behaves in the interim: whether the pending status is disclosed openly, whether the booking amount is refundable in writing until registration issues, and whether the agreement for sale is withheld until the number exists. Homeland Ranjit Avenue's registration status is published on its RERA page and markedUpdate Soon.
