Buying a home
How to read a project's RERA page in 15 minutes: registration, updates, encumbrances and the 70% account
What the RERA Act makes a builder put on the project's page, and what each field shows: whether the registration is current, whether the land is mortgaged, how far construction has got, and whether buyers' money in the 70% account is being drawn down in step with the work.
GST on an under-construction flat: 1% or 5%, the one-third land deduction, and why ready flats have none
The notification rates are 1.5% and 7.5%, charged on two-thirds of the price. Here is how that becomes 1% and 5%, which flats qualify as affordable city by city, and when a completed flat falls outside GST altogether, with the arithmetic for an ₹80 lakh and a ₹42 lakh flat.
Buying at a bank auction under SARFAESI: the discount is real, so are the risks
How a SARFAESI auction runs, from reserve price and the 25% deposit to the 15-day balance and the sale certificate; what "as is where is" leaves you holding; why symbolic possession matters; and a worked example of what a ₹62 lakh winning bid really costs.
Carpet, built-up or super built-up area: how to measure your flat and what RERA lets you claim if it's short
Only carpet area has a legal definition under RERA. Find out what it includes, how to measure it yourself, how to work out a refund at your agreed per-sq-ft rate if the flat is short, and where state rules on area variation differ.
IOD, commencement certificate, OC: what each Mumbai redevelopment approval proves, and the dates to check
When your PMC shows the society its approvals file, here is what an IOD, a plinth CC, a further CC and an occupation certificate each prove in law, the one-year lapse rule in section 48 of the MRTP Act, and a worked example of what a late OC costs in transit rent.
Buying a resale flat in Chennai: the title checks, from encumbrance certificate and patta to association dues
What to collect from the seller, where Tamil Nadu keeps each record online (TNREGINET, the revenue e-services portal, GCC), what to compare in the EC and patta, why a dues statement protects you under the 2022 apartment law, and how the 2% registration fee works out on an ₹85 lakh flat.
OC vs CC vs possession letter: what each proves, and what you can't do without an OC
Only two of the three handover documents come from a government authority. Here is what the completion and occupancy certificates prove under RERA, why 'CC' means something else in Maharashtra, how the OC decides GST and delay interest in rupees, and what the Supreme Court said in 2022 and 2026.
Builder-buyer agreement: 12 clauses to read before you pay, and the Supreme Court's model-agreement case
What RERA says about payment schedules, delay interest, carpet area, defect liability, forfeiture and dispute forums. Also what a 2025 Supreme Court ruling means for a cancellation on a ₹90 lakh flat, and where the case for a nationwide model agreement stands.
Stamp duty by state, 2026: the rates we could verify, and how women's concessions really apply
Which states' stamp duty, registration and transfer-duty rates are confirmed on official portals, which are not, how the Delhi and Maharashtra concessions for women work and where they stop, and what a ₹1.2 crore flat costs a couple and a woman buying alone in Delhi and Telangana.
Five RERA protections every Maharashtra home buyer should know, with the section for each
The 10% cap before a registered agreement, the 70% project account, consent for plan changes, refund with interest for delay, and how to complain. What the law says, where it says it, and a September 2026 tribunal order that shows it being enforced.