Yet, nearly three years after the order, Kumar has not received a single rupee.

"After the order was passed in 2023, we initiated execution proceedings. The Authority issued a recovery certificate (RC), but no payment was made. We then approached the High Court seeking contempt proceedings and the High Court also passed an order," said Advocate Manoj Kumar, who represented Kumar before both the RERA and the High Court.

"Despite having an order in his favour, he is still waiting for the money that is legally due to him," the advocate added.

Kumar's ordeal is not an isolated case. Thousands of homebuyers across Delhi-NCR and other parts of the country face a similar predicament: despite securing favourable orders from RERA, the real estate regulatory authority, they continue to struggle to recover their money from defaulting builders.

Harikrishna, a Bengaluru-based tech professional, has a similar story. In 2015, he booked a three-bedroom apartment in a residential project on Old Madras Road. He took a home loan of around Rs 90 lakh from a nationalised bank to fund the Rs 1.25 crore purchase.

The developer, however, failed to complete the project within the promised timeline. In 2018, Harikrishna and a few other homebuyers approached the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority, seeking a refund of their investments.

RERA ruled in their favour and directed the developer to refund the money, along with interest and penalty, within 60 days.

"The builder did not honour the verdict and instead filed a case against me," said Harikrishna.

Nearly four years later, the developer approached the High Court, alleging that Harikrishna had refused to register the apartment, causing financial losses to the company. The court rejected the developer's claim and directed it to pay Harikrishna Rs 1.80 crore.

Even after the court order, Harikrishna is still waiting for a substantial part of his dues. "As of now, I have received only 50% of what I am supposed to receive," he said.

"On paper, the intent of RERA is good, but the execution of its orders is failing. A majority of middle-income families are left high and dry by a system that seems more favourable to builders than buyers," Harikrishna remarked.

In another case, construction of an 1,845-unit apartment project in Hafeezpet, in western Hyderabad, has been stalled for the past three years. The Telangana RERA has ordered the developer to pay homebuyers 10.7% annual interest from March 1, 2024, until possession is handed over.

"But the builder is refusing to pay," said Pavan Kumar Jalla, one of the homebuyers. Flat buyers now routinely protest at the construction site, with many struggling to pay bank EMIs and house rent simultaneously.

The Supreme Court recently came down heavily on RERA saying it is facilitating only default builders. Hearing a matter related to relocation of Himachal Pradesh RERA office in February this year, a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the authority was not serving any valuable purpose for homebuyers. "Except facilitating the builders in default, this institution is doing nothing. Better abolish this institution, we don't mind that," the Chief Justice of India said.

In July, the Supreme Court issued stern warnings of imprisonment and ordered the freezing of bank accounts of Parsvnath Developers for failing to comply with orders of the Haryana RERA in connection with delays in its Gurugram projects. One of the petitioners, Rita Tikku, a cancer survivor, has been struggling for nearly 20 years to secure possession of her property.

"RERA is like a toothless tiger," said M L Lahoty, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, pointing to what he described as glaring gaps in the enforcement mechanism under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

Despite the regulator passing orders in favour of aggrieved homebuyers, the lack of effective enforcement, he said, often leaves them struggling to recover the money awarded to them.

According to Lahoty, while RERA can pass immediate orders, in months or sometimes even in weeks, the lack of an effective enforcement mechanism pushes affected parties into long legal battles.

"RERA passes the order, thereafter you go to the appellate tribunal, then you go to the High Court and finally land in the Supreme Court. It takes so much effort and funds from an affected homebuyer, you just can't visualise," Lahoty added.

Advocate Amar Nath, partner at New Delhi-based legal firm AB Law Attorney, said the disposal of cases under RERA is faster than in other legal forums, but the real challenge begins once an order is passed. Its implementation, he said, largely depends on the district administration and the effectiveness of the recovery machinery.

RERA gives its adjudicating authorities significant powers: They can direct developers to refund to homebuyers, award interest and compensation, impose penalties and take action against those who fail to comply with their orders. In certain circumstances, non-compliance can also invite coercive measures, including attachment of properties and even arrest.

"Once the order is passed, the district administration can seal the property. The authority even has the power to arrest the builder," Amar Nath said, highlighting the enforcement powers available under the RERA framework.

Sometimes, developers may use insolvency proceedings as a tool to avoid paying refunds to homebuyers. When a builder enters insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), existing RERA orders and active execution proceedings are paused. Once the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admits an insolvency petition against a developer, it declares a statutory moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC. This is because the IBC holds statutory supremacy over the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) under Section 238 of the IBC.

"RERA's enforcement mechanism works seamlessly when dealing with a solvent developer. The builder has both the means to pay and a reputation to protect. However, when dealing with financially unstable developers, the supremacy of IBC allows builders to stall enforcement, turning a victory into a protracted battle," said Amar Nath, who is also an insolvency professional.

Legal provisions

RERA mandates the registration of real estate projects with the Regulatory Authority before any advertisement, marketing, booking or sale. In case of a contravention, the promoter is liable to a penalty of up to 10% of the estimated cost of the project, as determined by the regulatory authority.

The Act, which came into force on May 1, 2017, requires promoters to disclose all necessary project details and approvals and deposit 70% of the amounts realised from homebuyers in a separate bank account, which must be utilised only towards the land cost and project construction.

RERA also provides for a fast-track dispute resolution mechanism, with a provision for disposing of matters within 60 days. Section 40 of RERA provides for the recovery of unpaid interest, penalty or compensation from a promoter as arrears of land revenue and empowers the Adjudicating Officer, Regulatory Authority or Appellate Tribunal to issue necessary orders or directions.

Under Section 31 of RERA, a buyer can file a complaint with the regulatory authority or the appointed adjudicating officer in case of a delay or other issues. Sector 79 of the Act states that civil courts cannot handle disputes related to RERA matters. Only the adjudicating officer or appellate tribunal can address these, although consumer forums can still handle complaints.

Aggrieved parties can challenge an order of the RERA authority before the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal's order can be challenged in the jurisdictional High Court. Further appeal from the High Court goes to the Supreme Court. Whereas in the case of consumer forums, an appeal against an order passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission lies directly before the Supreme Court.

"The national consumer forum is much more effective than RERA," said Lahoty, adding that the appeal hierarchy in RERA is more complex than that of other forums and tribunals.

Homebuyers' vulnerability

"RERA has strengthened the homebuyer's position considerably, but it cannot eliminate execution risk from large, long-gestation projects. Delays can still arise from financing constraints, approval bottlenecks, litigation, contractor performance, supply-chain disruption and project-specific execution challenges," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, a global provider of real estate services.

Magazine said that buyer's standing in the real estate ecosystem has improved significantly due to RERA. "For most of the history of Indian residential real estate, the homebuyer was the most exposed party in the transaction - paying the most, knowing the least, with almost no recourse when things went wrong," he said.

"Mandatory registration, defined carpet area, time-bound delivery and enforceable disclosures have changed that so thoroughly that we now forget they did not always exist. Delays today are disclosed earlier and sit within an accountability framework, and in several leading states, disposal rates have improved materially," Magazine added.

Financial accountability

A majority of the delays and failures of the real estate projects have been due to diversion of homebuyer's money to other projects or businesses. RERA law seeks to ring-fence a substantial portion of buyer collections.

"Developer capital is no longer viewed portfolio-wide, but project by project. Collections from one project can no longer quietly fund another," said Magazine.

Mallanna Sasalu, CEO-South, Puravankara Limited, a real estate development company, said RERA has brought greater transparency, accountability and financial discipline into the industry.

"It has forced clarity on disclosures, timelines and how project funds are used. For developers who were already running disciplined operations, that's a net positive," said Sasalu.

"With clearer information on project registration, approvals, specifications and timelines, buyers today are better informed and have greater visibility into what they are investing in," said Karthik M V, chief sales & marketing officer, Concorde, a real estate developer.

Capital inflows in the real estate sector have jumped in recent years. As per CBRE analysis, equity inflows into the Indian real estate sector rose to $30.7 billion between 2024 and the first quarter of 2026, marking an 88% jump from $16.3 billion in the previous two-year period. Over 75% of this money went into land or development of sites and office assets.

"That does not happen in a market that has not earned institutional trust," said Magazine. However, he added that goods and services tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the Reserve Bank of India's project finance directions have also played an important role in boosting capital in the real estate sector.

RERA has also improved the information lenders work with. "There is far more project-level visibility now: approvals, sales, construction progress and customer commitments, making due diligence more structured," said Sasalu.

"However, RERA registration doesn't get you funds on its own; banks are still underwriting on developers' track record, project viability, cash flows and execution capabilities. What RERA has done is strengthen the broader framework lenders rely on to make those decisions," he added.

Regulatory approvals

Issues in obtaining regulatory approvals like environmental clearance, municipal sanctions and utility NOCs are also responsible for delays in several projects.

"RERA itself does not necessarily make the approval process faster, as approvals continue to involve multiple statutory and regulatory authorities," said Arhanth Dinesh, Managing Director, Krishvi Group.

For developers, according to Dinesh, RERA has encouraged a more structured approach to project planning and compliance. "The requirement for greater disclosure and accountability has also made it important to align development, approvals and project timelines more carefully."

"The opportunity now is to take this further by improving coordination and digitisation across various approval authorities. A more integrated approval ecosystem would significantly improve execution timelines while maintaining the transparency that RERA has established," Dinesh added.

Anil Pharande, Founder and chairman of Pune-based real estate firm Pharande Spaces, said RERA has added to more layers of approvals and documentation.

"A regulator should not become a parallel planning authority, a proxy for municipal bodies, or an additional procedural layer on top of an already crowded approval framework," Pharande said.

"We, Maharashtra's developers, do not ask for less accountability. Rather, what we seek is clarity, proportionality and predictability in regulation. Buyers, too, benefit when viable projects are registered early, financed properly, constructed on time and delivered with fewer disputes," Pharande added.

Special officer to oversee recovery of dues

Karnataka RERA is disposing of grievances in a timely manner. In many cases, RERA has ordered developers to pay homebuyers for inconveniences like delay in completing projects and not providing basic amenities. However, many of these had not translated into actual payments. Recently, after the K-RERA wrote to the Revenue Department, a special officer has been deputed at the Bengaluru Urban DC office to exclusively oversee the recovery of these dues and ensure they are passed on to the homebuyers.

"We are trying to help homebuyers in Karnataka by providing all support possible. Over the last year, we have tried to bring all the stakeholders together to help homebuyers. In many cases, we have been successful in getting back the developers or promoters to restart the projects that were shelved owing to various reasons," said Rakesh Singh,
Chairperson of Karnataka-RERA.

RERA has been touted as among the biggest reforms in the Indian real estate sector in the recent decades. Homebuyers now look for RERA registration numbers as a basic prerequisite before writing a cheque. It promises time-bound disposal of cases. However, the growing gap between obtaining a RERA order and actually enforcing it has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory mechanism designed to protect homebuyers. The growing disconnect between adjudication and enforcement is raising uncomfortable questions about whether RERA has the teeth to deliver the protection it promises to homebuyers.

(With inputs from Mahesh Kulkarni in Bengaluru, Mrityunjay Bose in Mumbai, Pavan Kumar H in Hubballi, SNV Sudhir in Hyderabad and Zulfikar Majid in Srinagar)