Possession delayed: a step-by-step playbook from the first notice to RERA, the appeal tribunal and insolvency

Rules and rates as of 12 October 2026.

Say the agreement promised possession on a fixed date, and that date has come and gone. This guide takes you through the steps in order. At each step it shows what the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) lets you claim and where you claim it. Later steps go to an appeal tribunal, the High Court, a consumer commission and the insolvency tribunal. It is not legal advice. Before you file, have a lawyer read your agreement and your state's RERA rules.

Step 1: Decide what you want, because the Act gives you two choices

Section 18(1) applies when a promoter fails to complete the project or hand over the flat by the date in the agreement for sale. It gives you two options:

• Leave the project. The promoter must return the money it received, with interest at the rate your state's rules prescribe, plus compensation under the Act. The section says this is "without prejudice to any other remedy available".
• Stay in the project. Under the second proviso, the promoter must pay you interest "for every month of delay" until it hands over possession, at the prescribed rate.

Section 19(4) also gives you a right to a refund with interest and compensation when possession is not delivered as agreed. In Newtech Promoters v State of UP (2021), the Supreme Court called this an "indefeasible right" to get the money back on demand. It held that the right holds "regardless of unforeseen events", where the delay is not your fault.

The Act defines interest in section 2(za). Its Explanation adds a symmetry rule: the rate a promoter can charge you if you pay late equals the rate it must pay you if it defaults. If your agreement charges you a steep penalty rate for late instalments, that clause is worth reading closely.

Step 2: Put it in writing

Write to the promoter. Name the possession date in your agreement, list what you have paid with receipts, and say which option you are choosing. The Act does not require this letter, but it gives you a dated record of what you asked for.

Step 3: File a complaint with the RERA authority

Under section 31, "any aggrieved person" can file a complaint with the Authority or the adjudicating officer. An association of allottees can also file. The form and fee depend on your state's regulations.

In Newtech, the Supreme Court split the work between the two:

• The regulatory Authority decides claims for a refund and interest.
• The adjudicating officer appointed under section 71 decides compensation under sections 12, 14, 18 and 19. That officer is a serving or former District Judge.

Section 71(2) asks the adjudicating officer to try to decide an application within 60 days, and to record reasons if it takes longer.

Worked example: interest for a 22-month delay

Suppose you have paid ₹60,00,000 and stayed in the project, and possession is 22 months late. The Act leaves the rate to state rules. Haryana's regulator, for example, has applied SBI's highest marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR) plus 2%, under rule 15 of the Haryana rules. In one order upheld on this point by the Haryana appellate tribunal in June 2025, that came to 8.35% + 2% = 10.35%.

For this example we assume 10.5% a year, simple interest. This is an illustrative figure only. Your rate depends on your state's rule and the MCLR on the relevant date. We also assume the whole ₹60 lakh was paid before the due date. In practice, interest is often worked out separately on each instalment.

• Interest per month = 60,00,000 x 10.5% / 12 = ₹52,500
• For 22 months = 52,500 x 22 = ₹11,55,000

Now suppose the promoter appeals. The proviso to section 43(5) says the tribunal will not hear a promoter's appeal until the promoter deposits at least 30% of any penalty (or a higher share the tribunal sets), "or the total amount to be paid to the allottee including interest and compensation imposed on him". On a 30% reading, the deposit would be 11,55,000 x 30% = ₹3,46,500. The wording, however, ties the allottee's money to the total amount. Read that way, the full ₹11,55,000 has to be deposited. How much a tribunal actually demands in a given case is a question for your lawyer. Haryana's appellate tribunal, in a 2019 order, called the pre-deposit "a condition precedent for entertainment of the appeal" and dismissed an appeal where the promoter had not paid it.

Step 4: The appeal ladder and collecting the money

Either side can appeal an order of the Authority or the adjudicating officer to the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. Under section 44(2), the appeal must be filed within 60 days of receiving the order. The tribunal can allow a late appeal if there was sufficient cause. Section 44(5) asks the tribunal to try to decide appeals within 60 days.

From the tribunal, section 58 allows an appeal to the High Court of the state where the project is located. That appeal is due within 60 days of the decision being communicated, and only on the grounds listed in section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure. No appeal lies against an order made with the parties' consent.

If the promoter still does not pay, section 40(1) lets interest, penalty or compensation be recovered "as an arrears of land revenue".

The other routes: consumer commission and insolvency

Consumer commission. Section 79 of RERA bars civil courts from matters the RERA bodies decide. Section 88 says the Act is "in addition to, and not in derogation of" other laws. In Ireo Grace Realtech v Abhishek Khanna (2021), the Supreme Court relied on its earlier ruling in Imperia Structures that "a choice or discretion is given to the allottee". In Mansi Brar Fernandes v Shubha Sharma (12 September 2025), the Court called RERA "the primary forum" for homebuyers' grievances and said consumer forums should stick to individual service deficiencies. A consumer complaint must be filed within two years of the cause of action under section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, unless the commission accepts sufficient cause for a delay.

Insolvency. Since 6 June 2018, the Explanation to section 5(8)(f) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code treats money raised from an allottee as having "the commercial effect of a borrowing". That makes homebuyers financial creditors. Since 28 December 2019, a proviso to section 7(1) requires an application to be filed jointly by at least 100 allottees of the same project, or 10% of them, whichever is less. As Mansi Brar records, the Supreme Court upheld that threshold in Manish Kumar v Union of India (2021).

Mansi Brar also calls the IBC "a forum of last resort". It says possession is the "sine qua non" of a genuine homebuyer. It lists warning signs of a speculative investor, such as buyback or assured-return clauses, multiple units and promised high returns, and it directs insolvency tribunals to record a prima facie finding on this when admitting a case.

Routes at a glance

Route	Forum	What you can get	Time limit / threshold
Complaint (s.31)	RERA Authority	Refund with interest, or interest for each month of delay (s.18, s.19(4))	No fixed limit in the Act; state regulations set form and fee
Compensation (s.71)	Adjudicating officer	Compensation under ss.12, 14, 18, 19	Officer to try to decide within 60 days
First appeal (s.44)	Real Estate Appellate Tribunal	Order confirmed, changed or set aside	60 days from receiving the order; promoter must pre-deposit (s.43(5))
Second appeal (s.58)	High Court	Only on s.100 CPC grounds	60 days from communication of the order
Recovery (s.40)	State revenue machinery	Award recovered as arrears of land revenue	After the award
Consumer complaint	Consumer commission	Relief for deficiency in service	2 years (s.69, CPA 2019)
Insolvency (IBC s.7)	NCLT	Resolution of the company; you are a financial creditor	100 allottees or 10% of the project, whichever is less

An amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code got assent on 6 April 2026. It changes section 7 procedure and takes effect on dates the government notifies. We did not find any change to the allottee threshold in it. Check with your lawyer which parts are in force on the day you file.