Redevelopment creates a common legal mistake: people use the word RERA as if it is the entire redevelopment law. It is not. A housing society can comply with RERA and still have a defective society resolution, an incomplete title, a weak Development Agreement, missing municipal approvals or unresolved member entitlements. The reverse is also possible: a society can have a valid redevelopment decision but still need RERA registration before sale inventory is marketed.
The correct approach is to treat RERA as one regulatory layer within a wider redevelopment stack. For the broader structure, read Redevelopment Rules in India: Why the Legal Process Changes by State.
When does RERA apply to redevelopment?
Section 3 is the starting point. It prohibits a promoter from advertising, marketing, booking, selling, offering for sale or inviting purchases in a real estate project without registration, unless an exemption applies.
For redevelopment, the most important exemption is Section 3(2)(c): registration is not required for renovation, repair or redevelopment that does not involve marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment of an apartment, plot or building.
| Redevelopment model | RERA position to test | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pure repair / reconstruction for existing owners only | May fall within Section 3(2)(c) exemption | No marketing, sale or new allotment |
| Society redevelopment with sale flats | Usually requires registration analysis | Sale inventory is marketed or sold to new allottees |
| Self-redevelopment with surplus flats for sale | Usually requires registration analysis | The society may itself become a promoter for sale inventory |
| Redevelopment with only rehab units but new allotments | Needs project-specific analysis | The statutory exemption is lost if new allotment is involved |
| Small project | May qualify for Section 3(2)(a) exemption | Central Act threshold is land not exceeding 500 sq m or not more than 8 apartments, inclusive of all phases, subject to state reduction |
The 500 sq m / 8 apartment threshold: a detail societies often miss
Section 3(2)(a) of the central Act exempts a real estate project where the land area proposed to be developed does not exceed 500 square metres or the number of apartments proposed does not exceed eight, inclusive of all phases.
The word “or” matters. But the same section allows the appropriate State Government to reduce the exemption threshold below 500 square metres or eight apartments. A society should therefore check both the central Act and the state RERA rules/notifications before concluding that a project is outside registration.
If the project is developed in phases, Section 3 treats each phase as a standalone real estate project requiring separate registration where applicable.
RERA registration is not a building approval
RERA registration does not replace planning permission. Section 4 requires the promoter to disclose approvals and the commencement certificate obtained from the competent authority as part of the registration application.
That means the approval chain remains separate:
- society/member authority under the applicable state cooperative or apartment law;
- title and development rights;
- planning / municipal approval;
- environment, fire, aviation, heritage, land-authority or other NOCs where applicable;
- RERA registration where applicable;
- agreements with existing members and sale allottees;
- construction, completion and occupancy approvals.
In Mumbai, for example, IOD/CC/OC terminology belongs to the municipal approval process, not to RERA itself. See What Is IOD in Redevelopment?
Who is the “promoter” in a redevelopment project?
The answer can be wider than “the builder.” Section 2(zk) defines promoter broadly and expressly includes a primary cooperative housing society that constructs apartments or buildings for its members or allottees.
The same definition contains an important joint-liability rule: where the person who constructs or converts the building and the person who sells the apartments or plots are different, both are deemed promoters and can be jointly liable for RERA functions and responsibilities.
In a builder-led redevelopment this creates a project-structure question: is the society merely granting development rights, or is it also treated by the relevant authority as a landowner/co-promoter? The answer should be checked from the registered RERA project record, Development Agreement and state authority guidance—not guessed from labels.
Existing society members and new sale allottees are not always the same legal category
A redevelopment project can contain two very different groups:
- existing members / occupants receiving permanent alternate accommodation or rehabilitation benefits; and
- new purchasers buying sale inventory from the promoter.
New purchasers fall squarely within the RERA allottee framework when they are allotted or sold an apartment in the registered project. Existing members, however, also derive important rights from the society's governing statute, membership, Development Agreement, PAAA or rehabilitation arrangement.
RERA can add remedies in a registered project, but it does not erase those other sources of rights. Whether a particular rehab member is treated as an allottee for a specific RERA remedy can depend on the documents, project structure and the relevant authority/court interpretation.
This is why a society should maintain both the collective project record and the flat/member-level entitlement record. For the legal-entity distinction, see Society vs RWA vs Apartment Association.
What a RERA registration forces the promoter to disclose
Section 4 requires a promoter seeking registration to provide material project information. Among other things, the application includes promoter/entity details, past projects, approvals, commencement certificate, sanctioned plans, project layout, development works, pro-forma allotment/agreement documents, apartment inventory, garages, agents, contractors, architect and structural engineer.
The promoter must also make a declaration covering title, encumbrances, the time period for completion and the statutory separate-account commitment.
For societies, this makes the RERA project page an important due-diligence source. It should be compared against:
- the Development Agreement;
- PAAA/member agreements;
- sanctioned plans and approval revisions;
- the society's tender/developer offer;
- promised completion date;
- mortgage/charge disclosures;
- litigation disclosures;
- registered sale inventory.
The 70% separate-account rule in redevelopment
Section 4(2)(l)(D) requires seventy per cent of amounts realised from allottees for the real estate project to be deposited in a separate scheduled-bank account to cover land and construction cost.
Withdrawals are linked to the percentage of project completion and require certification by an engineer, architect and chartered accountant. The promoter must also have the accounts audited within the statutory framework.
This is especially important in redevelopment projects where sale flats are expected to finance:
- construction of rehab and sale buildings;
- transit rent;
- premiums and TDR;
- professional fees;
- interest and project finance;
- society obligations.
A headline sale collection is therefore not automatically unrestricted project cash. The society should understand the RERA account, lender escrow, withdrawal certification and actual cash waterfall. This issue is covered in detail in Self-Redevelopment Finance: Feasibility, Funding and Cash-Flow Risks.
Key RERA duties that matter during redevelopment
| RERA area | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Project registration | No marketing/booking/sale before registration where the project must register |
| Project disclosures | Approvals, plans, timeline, inventory and material project information must be disclosed |
| Agreement before large advance | Section 13 restricts taking more than 10% of apartment cost as advance/application fee without first entering into and registering an agreement for sale |
| Sanctioned-plan compliance | Promoter must develop according to sanctioned plans and disclosed specifications |
| Major plan changes | Other alterations/additions to sanctioned plans/common areas require written consent of at least two-thirds of allottees, excluding the promoter |
| Defect liability | Specified structural/workmanship/service defects notified within five years of possession must be rectified without charge within 30 days, failing which compensation rights arise |
| Transfer of project | Transfer/assignment of majority promoter rights requires two-thirds allottee consent plus Authority approval under Section 15 |
| Delay | Section 18 creates refund/interest/compensation remedies where possession is not delivered as agreed |
Can the developer change the redevelopment plans after registration?
Not freely. Section 14 distinguishes between limited/minor changes and material alterations.
For an individual apartment, additions and alterations to the sanctioned plans, layout plans or specifications generally require the previous consent of that allottee, subject to the statutory allowance for minor or technically necessary changes.
For other alterations or additions in the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications of the buildings or common areas, Section 14 requires the previous written consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter.
This is a RERA allottee-consent rule. It should not be confused with the separate consent/resolution thresholds that may govern the society's redevelopment decision under cooperative law, apartment law, MHADA/SRA rules or local development regulations.
What if the redevelopment developer is replaced?
Developer replacement is common in stalled redevelopment projects, but it creates multiple legal layers.
Under Section 15, a promoter cannot transfer or assign majority rights and liabilities in a registered real estate project to a third party without:
- prior written consent from two-thirds of the allottees, excluding the promoter; and
- prior written approval of the Regulatory Authority.
The incoming promoter must then comply with the pending RERA obligations and does not automatically receive extra time merely because the developer changed.
Separately, the society must also comply with its own Development Agreement termination/replacement rights, General Body process and any court/authority directions. RERA is not a substitute for those contractual and society-law steps.
What does RERA give an allottee when redevelopment is delayed?
Section 18 is one of RERA's most important consumer remedies.
If the promoter fails to complete or is unable to give possession in accordance with the agreement or promised date:
- an allottee who chooses to withdraw can seek return of the amount received, with prescribed interest and compensation; and
- an allottee who stays in the project can claim prescribed interest for each month of delay until possession.
Whether and how that remedy applies to an existing rehab member can depend on that member's legal status, the project registration, and the agreements involved. Sale allottees should read the registered agreement-for-sale terms together with the RERA project completion date.
RERA delay rights also do not automatically replace contractual claims for transit rent, corpus, temporary accommodation, liquidated damages or other benefits promised to existing society members.
What information can allottees demand?
Section 19 gives allottees statutory rights that are directly relevant to redevelopment. These include the right to obtain information about sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications, and to know the stage-wise schedule of completion including agreed services and amenities.
The association of allottees also has rights relating to common areas and project documents within the statutory framework.
For a society, this reinforces a broader governance principle: redevelopment information should not sit only in one committee member's email account. Approvals, versions of plans, RERA filings, milestone reports and key agreements should be maintained in a controlled project record.
A practical RERA checklist before a society vacates or sale marketing begins
- Decide whether the project must register.
Test the redevelopment exemption, small-project threshold, phases and state rules. - Identify every promoter/co-promoter.
Match the RERA record to the Development Agreement, landowner and selling entity. - Check the registered completion date.
Compare it with the DA/PAAA construction and possession timeline. - Verify approvals uploaded to RERA.
Do not treat registration as proof that every municipal approval is already in place. - Check sanctioned-plan consistency.
Compare rehab area, sale inventory, parking and common areas with society commitments. - Understand the project bank-account structure.
Separate RERA statutory controls from lender escrow and society accounts. - Review mortgages and encumbrances.
Understand what is charged and how rehab/sale units are released. - Track quarterly/project updates.
Do not rely on verbal construction progress. - Preserve member-level agreements.
PAAA and entitlement records remain critical even when RERA applies. - Record every material revision.
Plan changes, extensions, promoter changes and revised completion dates should be documented and communicated.
What RERA does not decide for the society
RERA is powerful, but it does not answer every redevelopment question. It does not by itself determine:
- whether the General Body redevelopment resolution was valid;
- which consent threshold applies under the society/apartment/statutory redevelopment framework;
- whether title/conveyance is complete;
- whether the developer-selection process complied with applicable state rules;
- whether a PAAA protects the member adequately;
- whether transit rent/corpus terms are commercially sufficient;
- whether the municipal authority has granted every construction permission;
- whether the developer is financially capable of finishing the project.
Those questions sit alongside RERA and must be reviewed together. For an end-to-end process view, see Housing Society Redevelopment in India: Complete Guide to Process, Documents and Risk.
Why the state still matters even though RERA is a central Act
The central Act creates the core framework, but implementation is decentralised. States and Union Territories notify rules, establish Regulatory Authorities and Appellate Tribunals, prescribe forms and fees, and issue regulations, circulars and project-registration procedures.
That means a society should always identify the correct state RERA authority and review its current rules, circulars and project record. The core statutory protections are national, but the administrative process is not identical everywhere.
The RERA documents a redevelopment portal should track
| Record | Why members need it |
|---|---|
| RERA registration certificate | Project number, promoter, validity and core registration status |
| Registered promoter/co-promoter details | Shows who carries statutory responsibility |
| Sanctioned plans / revised plans | Compare what was approved with member entitlements and sale representations |
| Commencement / planning approvals | Separate regulatory milestones from RERA registration |
| Project updates | Track actual progress against the declared timeline |
| RERA extensions / promoter-change orders | Understand why completion date or project control changed |
| DA / PAAA / agreement for sale | Connect statutory disclosures with contractual rights |
| Transit rent / member entitlement schedule | RERA does not replace these society-member obligations |
| OC / completion / handover documents | Close the project with evidence, not verbal confirmation |
See how the Rudh Redevelopment Portal works
Rudh Systems organises RERA records, approvals, agreements, member entitlements, notices, milestones and project communication in one controlled redevelopment portal—with role-based access and AI-assisted document retrieval.
Frequently asked questions
Does RERA apply automatically to every redevelopment?
No. Section 3 contains a specific redevelopment exemption where there is no marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment. The project must also be tested against the small-project exemption and the applicable state framework.
If a redevelopment has sale flats, is RERA normally relevant?
Yes. Once sale inventory is marketed or sold, the Section 3(2)(c) no-sale redevelopment exemption generally cannot be relied upon. Registration still depends on the remaining statutory and state rules.
Can a cooperative housing society itself be a promoter?
Yes. The statutory promoter definition expressly includes a primary cooperative housing society that constructs apartments or buildings for its members or allottees. In builder-led structures, landowner/co-promoter treatment depends on the project arrangement and authority practice.
Does RERA registration mean the project has full municipal approval?
No. RERA and planning/building approvals are separate. The promoter discloses approvals and commencement certificates as part of registration, but societies must independently track the actual municipal approval status.
Can a developer change the project after registration?
Only within the statutory framework. Material changes to sanctioned plans, layouts and common areas can trigger the two-thirds allottee-consent requirement under Section 14.
What happens if the registered project is delayed?
Section 18 gives eligible allottees refund/interest/compensation rights depending on whether they withdraw or remain in the project. Existing rehab members may also have separate contractual remedies such as transit rent and PAAA rights.
Does RERA replace the Development Agreement or PAAA?
No. RERA adds statutory regulation and remedies. The DA, PAAA, society resolutions, state cooperative/apartment law and municipal approvals remain separately important.
Authoritative sources and further reading
- India Code — Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs — FAQs on RERA.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs — RERA implementation dashboard.
- MahaRERA — Additional FAQs, including redevelopment guidance for existing members and co-promoters.
- Rudh Systems — Redevelopment Rules in India.
- Rudh Systems — Housing Society Redevelopment in India.