Builder delay, possession and refund
What a purchaser may claim where a promoter fails to give possession on time, and which forum the claim goes to.
Last reviewed 17 August 2026 · Reviewed by Aditya Kumar Jain, Advocate
Where a promoter fails to give possession of an apartment, plot or building by the date the agreement for sale specifies, section 18 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 gives the purchaser a choice. He may withdraw from the project and require the whole amount paid to be returned with interest, or he may continue and require interest for every month of delay until possession is given. In West Bengal a complaint is made online to the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority, with an appeal to the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. The remedy applies where the project is one required to be registered under the Act.
The position in West Bengal specifically
West Bengal did not initially notify rules under the central Act. It enacted its own legislation instead, the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017, generally called HIRA. In 2021 the Supreme Court held that enactment to be unconstitutional as being repugnant to the central Act. West Bengal thereafter notified the West Bengal Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2021 and constituted the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority, whose portal was launched in January 2023.
The practical consequence is a gap in the record. Projects registered under HIRA, and complaints filed under it, sit across that transition, and where a purchaser’s dealings began in that period the first question is what the project’s registration position actually is. It is answered from the Authority’s own portal, not from what the promoter says.
What the Act requires of a promoter
Registration of the project with the Authority before it is marketed or sold is compulsory under section 3, and a registered agent is likewise required to be registered. The promoter must disclose the project’s plan, approvals, land title position and completion schedule on the Authority’s website, and must keep them current. Seventy per cent of the amounts realised from allottees must be deposited in a separate account and used only for that project. The agreement for sale must follow the prescribed form.
A promoter is liable under section 14(3) to rectify, without charge, structural defects and defects in workmanship, quality or provision of services brought to his notice within five years from the date of possession.
The two remedies under section 18
The choice between them is the decision the purchaser has to make, and it is not always the obvious one.
Withdrawing. The purchaser ceases to want the flat and requires the return of everything he has paid, with interest at the prescribed rate from the date of each payment. This suits a purchaser who has lost confidence in the project or who needs the money. It ends his interest in the property, and if the project is eventually completed and prices have risen, that gain is gone.
Continuing. The purchaser keeps his claim to the flat and requires interest for every month of delay until possession is actually delivered. This suits a purchaser who wants the property, particularly where construction is genuinely advancing.
The election is made in the complaint, and it should be made with the promoter’s actual financial position in view. An order for refund against a promoter with no realisable assets is a piece of paper; an order for delayed-possession interest against the same promoter, where the building will in fact be completed, may be worth more.
Making a complaint
Complaints to the Authority are filed online through rera.wb.gov.in, with a prescribed fee, and the Authority has discontinued acceptance of offline applications. The complaint sets out the parties, the project and its registration particulars, the agreement and the dates it fixes, the payments made, the default, and the relief claimed under section 18.
The papers that matter are the agreement for sale, the allotment letter, every receipt and bank statement evidencing payment, the correspondence in which possession was demanded and excuses given, and the project’s registration and disclosure position taken from the Authority’s portal. A complaint supported by a complete payment record and a clear agreed date of possession is a very different proceeding from one that is not.
An appeal from an order of the Authority lies to the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal.
Where the Act does not apply
Not every grievance falls within the Act. A project completed before the Act came into force, a project below the threshold requiring registration, and a purchase from an individual rather than from a promoter are outside it. In those cases the remedies are a complaint before the consumer commission, where the purchaser is a consumer, or a civil suit — for specific performance of the agreement, for damages, or for recovery of what was paid.
The remedies are not to be pursued in parallel for the same relief. Which forum is appropriate depends on the registration position of the project, the relief actually wanted, and the value, and it is worth settling before anything is filed rather than after a proceeding has been met with an objection.
Development agreements and owner’s allocation
A pattern particular to Kolkata deserves separate mention. Much construction here proceeds on a development agreement between a landowner and a promoter, under which the built area is divided into the promoter’s allocation and the owner’s allocation. Disputes between the owner and the promoter about that division are contractual disputes between them, not complaints by an allottee, and lie in the civil court or in arbitration if the agreement so provides. A purchaser should establish, before he buys — see the guide to checking property documents before buying — which allocation the unit he is buying falls within, and whether the party selling it to him is entitled to sell it.
Frequently asked questions
The promoter has missed the possession date in my agreement. What can I claim?
Under section 18 you may either withdraw and claim the return of everything paid with interest, or continue and claim interest for each month of delay until possession is given.
Is a complaint to WBRERA better than a consumer complaint?
They are different remedies with different requirements, and the answer depends on whether the project is registered under the Act, what relief you want and the value involved. The same relief should not be pursued in two forums at once.
My project was registered under HIRA. Where do I stand?
The West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017 was held unconstitutional in 2021, and the State thereafter notified rules under the central Act and constituted WBRERA. The registration position of a particular project should be checked on the Authority’s portal.
The flat has developed cracks two years after possession. Is that too late?
A promoter is liable under section 14(3) to rectify structural defects and defects in workmanship or quality brought to his notice within five years from the date of possession.
Can I complain if the project was never registered?
Failure to register is itself a contravention of the Act, but where the project falls outside the Act altogether the remedies lie before the consumer commission or in a civil suit.
Fees, forms and the Authority’s procedure are revised from time to time and should be checked on rera.wb.gov.in. Which remedy is appropriate depends on the agreement, the registration position and the relief sought, and nothing here is advice on any particular purchase.