Everyday tasks

Buying a flat from a builder

You check the project on TG RERA before paying, register a proper agreement for sale, and take possession and the sale deed after the occupancy certificate.

For whom: People in Telangana buying a flat from a builder (promoter) in an apartment project.

Published on 30-10-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.

Answer a few questions to see which steps apply to you. The whole guide is below.

Documents you need

•

The allotment letter from the builder

original

If you don't have it:

The builder gives it when you book. A model format is under "Forms Download" on the TG RERA website.

•

The agreement for sale

original

It must follow the model in the Annexure to the Telangana RERA rules.

If you don't have it:

The builder prepares it; you and the builder sign it and have it registered.

•

The occupancy certificate (OC)

copy

If you don't have it:

The builder gets it from the authority that approved the building (the competent authority) and must make it available to you.

→ Permission to build a house

Steps

For everyone

On the TG RERA website, search by the project's name, the builder's (promoter's) name or the RERA registration number, and check that the project is registered. The project's advertisements and brochure must show its RERA registration number and TG RERA's website address.

💻 TG RERA: search registered projects

Open the official page ↗

rerait.telangana.gov.in · opens in a new tab

Open the project's page and read: the approvals and the commencement certificate; the sanctioned building and layout plans and specifications; the number, type and carpet area of the flats; the completion date the builder declared; the land's title deeds and encumbrance details; and the builder's formats of the allotment letter and agreement for sale.

💻 TG RERA: search registered projects

Open the official page ↗

rerait.telangana.gov.in · opens in a new tab

If a project on more than 500 square metres of land, or with more than 8 flats (all phases together), is being sold without RERA registration, tell TG RERA: call 040-29394973, send a WhatsApp message to 9000006301, or email rera-maud@telangana.gov.in. Small projects (up to 500 sq m and up to 8 flats) need not be registered.

📞 TG RERA

Only if

Which of these are you? Indian citizen living abroad (NRI) / OCI cardholder

Pay the builder only with money sent to India from abroad through a bank, or from your NRE, FCNR(B) or NRO account. Traveller's cheques and foreign currency notes are not allowed.

🏦 Your bank

For everyone

Take an allotment letter when you book. Until the agreement for sale is written and registered, the builder may not take more than 10% of the flat's cost, booking amount included. Papers you sign before the agreement, such as the application or the allotment letter, do not cut down your rights under the agreement or the Act.

✋ You do this yourself

📎 The allotment letter from the builder

Before you sign, compare the builder's agreement with the model in the Telangana RERA rules. It must state the specifications, the payment dates, the date of possession, and the interest each side pays on default. That interest rate is State Bank of India's highest MCLR plus 2%.

✋ You do this yourself

📎 The agreement for sale

You and the builder sign the agreement and have it registered at the Sub-Registrar office. The property registration guide shows how registration works.

🏛️ Sub-Registrar office

📎 The agreement for sale

💰 Fee: Agreement without possession: stamp duty 0.5% and registration fee 0.5% (minimum ₹1,000, maximum ₹50,000). Agreement with possession: stamp duty 5.5% (marked "adjustable") and the same registration fee. Both on the market value or the price, whichever is higher.

Not confirmed: The Ready Reckoner does not say which of the two kinds your agreement falls under, or how the "adjustable" duty is set off later against the sale deed; ask the Sub-Registrar office.

Pay the instalments on the dates in the agreement, and your share of the registration charges, municipal taxes, water, electricity and maintenance charges. If you pay late, you too pay interest at the same rate (SBI highest MCLR + 2%).

✋ You do this yourself

Follow the work on the project's TG RERA page: the builder must update the flats booked, the approvals taken and the project's status every three months.

💻 TG RERA: search registered projects

Open the official page ↗

rerait.telangana.gov.in · opens in a new tab

10.

Before you take possession, ask for the occupancy certificate. The builder must get it from the competent authority and make it available to you; an authenticated copy is also to be on the project's TG RERA page. It is issued for a building with civic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

✋ You do this yourself

📎 The occupancy certificate (OC)

11.

After the occupancy certificate, the builder offers you possession in writing. Take possession of the flat within two months of the certificate; if you do not, you pay the maintenance and other charges from the date of the notice.

✋ You do this yourself

12.

Have the sale (conveyance) deed registered in your name. The builder must execute it; where no local law sets a time, within three months of the occupancy certificate. The property registration guide shows how to register it.

🏛️ Sub-Registrar office

13.

Take part in forming the flat owners' association. The builder must enable it; TG RERA says within three months of 51% of the flats being booked.

✋ You do this yourself

14.

If you find a structural defect, or a defect in workmanship or quality, within five years of taking possession, tell the builder in writing. The builder must put it right free of charge within 30 days.

✋ You do this yourself

You cannot get this

The rules for foreign nationals are different. A foreign national living outside India may take property in India on a lease of up to five years, or inherit it from a person resident in India; any other purchase needs the Reserve Bank's (RBI) prior permission. One property may be bought jointly with an NRI or OCI spouse (if the marriage is registered and has lasted at least two years). A foreign national resident in India under FEMA (more than 182 days here in the previous financial year, with a visa that shows an intention to stay for an uncertain period) may buy. Citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, Macau, Hong Kong and North Korea (unless OCI cardholders) need the RBI's prior permission for anything other than a lease of up to five years.

Instead, see:

Before you pay anything, ask your bank (an authorised dealer in foreign exchange) and the Sub-Registrar office whether you may buy.

Not confirmed: TG RERA's pages give no separate steps for foreign nationals, so we do not show the steps here. If you are resident in India under FEMA, ask your bank before you start.

Fees and time limits

Step 7

💰 Agreement without possession: stamp duty 0.5% and registration fee 0.5% (minimum ₹1,000, maximum ₹50,000). Agreement with possession: stamp duty 5.5% (marked "adjustable") and the same registration fee. Both on the market value or the price, whichever is higher.

If something goes wrong

If it is late

If the builder does not hand over the flat by the date in the agreement, you can either withdraw from the project and ask for all you paid back, with interest and compensation, or stay in the project and get interest for every month of delay until possession. The rate is SBI's highest MCLR + 2%; a refund is to be paid within 90 days of falling due. If the builder does not pay, complain to TG RERA.

TG RERA complaints portal

Open the official page ↗