Buying an Under-Construction Flat in Bengaluru: Site-Visit and K-RERA Checklist

Most expensive mistakes on a new flat are made before the booking cheque is written: a registration number that was never checked, a possession date taken from a brochure, an amenity that exists only in a rendering. A structured hour on the Karnataka RERA portal and a disciplined site visit catch most of them.

This checklist follows the order we would use ourselves. It draws on the K-RERA portal's published information, a Landeed guide to verifying builder claims and the RERA Act's core provisions, and it makes no claim about any specific builder.

Step 1: confirm the project is registered on K-RERA

• Go to the Karnataka RERA website (rera.karnataka.gov.in) and open Registered Projects under Services.
• Search by project name, promoter name, registration number or location (district and taluk), as outlined in published guides such as Housiey's.
• Open the project page and note the registration number. Landeed gives the format as PRM/KA/RERA/XXXX/XXX/XXXXXX.
• Registration is mandatory where the land area exceeds 500 square metres or the project has more than 8 apartments (Landeed). If a builder says registration is not needed on a large project, treat that as a red flag.
• Make sure the number in the agreement and the advertisement matches the portal.

Step 2: read what is on the project page

• Estimated completion date: the registered date is the one that binds the promoter. Compare it to the date you were told (Landeed).
• Approved plans and sanctions: check that the sanctioned building plan and layout approval align with the authority concerned, such as the GBA, BDA or BMRDA, per Landeed.
• Land ownership and approvals: ownership documents, any joint development agreement, khata, commencement certificate and environmental, fire and water approvals.
• Amenities: compare the officially declared amenities with the marketing list.
• Financial compliance: the project's dedicated bank account details. RERA requires 70 percent of the money collected from allottees to be kept in a separate account for construction and land costs, a core buyer protection in Section 4 of the Act.
• Quarterly progress reports: review construction milestones, photographs and certifications, which let you test actual progress against the schedule (Landeed).
• Amendments and litigation: look for revisions to floors, layout or dates, and complaint history.

Step 3: check the promoter's track record

• Search the promoter on the portal and look at earlier projects, their completion status and any complaints.
• Compare the dates promised in past registrations with the dates delivered.
• Ask to visit a delivered project and speak to its residents' association.

Step 4: the site visit

• Visit on a working day and at the hour you would commute. Drive the route to your office, school and the nearest hospital.
• Compare the construction stage with the latest quarterly progress report. A large gap is a signal.
• Look at the sample flat critically: it may be larger or better finished than the units sold. Ask for the carpet area of your unit and check the floor plan.
• Check what the unit's windows face and what could be built next to the tower.
• Check water source, sewage treatment plans and road width at the gate.
• Look at the surroundings: flood-prone low ground, a nearby quarry or industrial unit, and the state of the access road.

Step 5: documents to ask for before you pay

• Draft agreement for sale, with the RERA-compliant carpet area, payment schedule, possession date and the clauses on delay. RERA's Section 13 restricts a promoter from taking more than 10 percent of the cost as an advance without a registered agreement for sale.
• Title documents and the encumbrance certificate for at least 15 years, reviewed by your own lawyer rather than the builder's.
• Commencement certificate, sanctioned plan and the approvals listed on the K-RERA page.
• Itemised price sheet: base price, floor rise, preferred location charges, parking, club, corpus fund, maintenance deposit and GST.
• For the khata, ask how and when the A-khata will be issued and which fees you will bear. See our khata and occupancy certificate articles.
• A bank's pre-approval: banks do their own legal check, which is a free second opinion on the project.

Red flags that should pause the purchase

• The project is not on K-RERA, or the number does not match.
• The builder asks for a large payment before a registered agreement.
• The possession date promised verbally is earlier than the registered one.
• Quarterly updates are missing or stale.
• The area on the agreement is super built-up only, with no carpet area stated.
• The builder refuses to provide the title documents or the approvals.
• A pressure tactic: a deadline for a discount that does not allow you to verify.

If things go wrong

Complaints against a promoter can be filed on the K-RERA portal through its Complaint Registration section, with project details, a description of the grievance and supporting documents, as outlined in OneCityProperty's and Bricknbolt's guides. Our separate articles cover delayed possession remedies in more detail.

Our view

A rigorous check takes a few hours and costs nothing but time. If a project is registered, its documents match, its progress tracks the schedule and a lawyer is comfortable with the title, you have removed most of the avoidable risk. What remains, such as market and construction risk, is the ordinary risk of buying new.