Overview
The agreement date is a promise the law enforces. If your builder hasn't delivered possession by the date in the agreement (or the RERA-registered timeline), Section 18 gives you a choice: stay in the project and receive interest for every month of delay — typically SBI MCLR + 2%, paid monthly until possession — or exit with a full refund. Delay interest is not a negotiation or a goodwill gesture; RERA authorities award it on the agreement and the calendar alone, and builder excuses (approvals, 'force majeure' stretched past its meaning) rarely survive scrutiny.
Key Provisions — Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016
- Section 18 — on delay, the allottee who continues gets interest for every month of delay at the prescribed rate till possession.
- The prescribed rate in most states is SBI's highest MCLR + 2% — on the entire amount paid.
- One-sided agreement clauses (token ₹5/sq.ft delay penalty vs 18% interest on buyer default) are unenforceable per the Supreme Court.
- Possession means possession with the occupancy certificate — 'fit-out' offers without OC don't stop the interest clock.
What You Can Get
How We Handle It
Delay Computation
Agreement date, payments, and the interest calculation at the prescribed rate.
RERA Complaint
Filed before the state authority — no court fees at civil-suit scale, no long trial.
Hearing & Order
Builder replies answered; the authority orders interest and timelines.
Execution
Recovery certificates and execution if the builder doesn't pay — including as land-revenue arrears.
Frequently Asked Questions
The builder is offering possession without the occupancy certificate — should I take keys?
Taking possession without OC risks your delay-interest claim and leaves you in an unauthorised building. Document the offer, decline in writing, and claim interest till lawful possession.
I signed a settlement accepting a small credit note for the delay — am I bound?
One-sided settlements extracted as a condition for possession are challengeable. Depending on what you signed and when, the statutory interest claim may survive — get it reviewed.
Legal Connect connects you with independent advocates; we are not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Homebuyer groups filing together get the strongest outcomes — call +91 22 6555 3444.