Builder Buyer Agreement
The single document that decides whether your under-construction home is protected or exposed. We vet, negotiate, and register your Builder-Buyer Agreement to be fully RERA-compliant — locking the possession date, carpet-area pricing, construction-linked payments, and your right to a refund with interest if the developer defaults.
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What is a Builder-Buyer Agreement?
A Builder-Buyer Agreement (BBA) — executed as the Agreement for Sale under Section 13 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 — is the legally binding contract between a real estate developer (the promoter) and a homebuyer for a flat, plot, or unit in an under-construction project. It is the master blueprint of the entire transaction: the committed possession date and grace period, the construction-linked payment schedule, the exact carpet area and specifications of your future home, and the penalties that apply if either side defaults. Since RERA, this agreement can no longer be a one-sided, builder-drafted document — it must follow the standardised format prescribed by the state RERA authority, and no promoter may collect more than 10% of the price before it is signed and registered.
Yet a RERA-compliant label on a draft guarantees nothing — many builders still slip in vague force-majeure definitions, super built-up area pricing, asymmetric penalty clauses, and one-sided termination rights that quietly strip away the very protections RERA intended. Once you sign and pay, those clauses bind you for the life of the project. Having a property lawyer vet, negotiate, and register the BBA before a rupee changes hands is the difference between a document that merely looks safe and one that actually holds when possession slips or specifications change.
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Key Benefits of a RERA-Compliant Builder-Buyer Agreement
Strict Construction Timeline
The BBA commits the developer to an exact possession date, including any grace period. If that date is missed, the agreement is your legal basis to claim delay compensation — or walk away with a full refund plus interest — instead of waiting indefinitely with no recourse.
Symmetric Legal Binding under RERA
Post-RERA, developers can no longer impose one-sided contracts. The standardised format enforces a balanced deal: if the builder charges you interest for a delayed instalment, they are legally obliged to pay you the exact same rate for delayed possession.
Locked Specifications & Pricing
The agreement fixes the carpet area, super area, and layout, the exact quality of materials and fittings promised, and the full cost breakdown — GST, parking, club membership and more — leaving no room for arbitrary changes or hidden charges springing up later.
Construction-Linked Payments
Instead of arbitrary lump-sum demands, the BBA ties every payment to a verified construction milestone — foundation, a specific floor slab, and so on. You pay only as the project physically progresses, protecting your money and keeping the builder accountable.
What We Need to Vet & Register Your BBA
How We Vet & Register Your Builder-Buyer Agreement
We never treat the builder's draft as final. Each BBA is checked against RERA, the project title, and the sanctioned plans, then negotiated in your favour before it is executed and registered — so the document protecting your largest purchase actually does its job.
1Step 1: RERA & Title Verification
We confirm the project's RERA registration on the state portal, review the promoter's track record and completion timeline, and verify that the land title, sanctioned plan, and statutory approvals (IOD / commencement certificate) are clear and in place.
2Step 2: Clause Vetting & Negotiation
We read the draft line by line, flagging non-compliant clauses — super built-up pricing, vague force majeure, asymmetric penalties, one-sided termination — and negotiate amendments so the carpet-area price, possession date, and delay-interest terms are locked squarely in your favour.
3Step 3: Finalisation of Terms
Once the developer accepts the revised terms, we finalise the payment schedule, specification annexures, and possession clause, and prepare the execution-ready agreement with every commercial and legal detail reconciled against your booking.
4Step 4: Stamp Duty & Registration
We compute the applicable stamp duty, arrange payment, and register the executed BBA at the Sub-Registrar's office. The registered agreement is your primary, court-admissible document for any future RERA complaint.
Clause vetting and negotiation typically take 3–7 working days depending on the developer's responsiveness; execution and registration are completed within a further 5–10 working days once both parties finalise terms. Under Section 13 of RERA, the builder cannot collect more than 10% of the price before this agreement is registered.
Documents Required
Buyer Identity & KYC
- PAN and Aadhaar of every buyer and co-buyer
- Passport-size photographs of all buyers
- Passport and OCI / PIO card for NRI buyers
Project & Approval Documents
- RERA registration certificate and QR-verified project details
- Allotment letter and sanctioned floor plan showing carpet area
- IOD, commencement certificate, and approved specification list
Payment & Financial Records
- Booking-amount receipt and bank transfer statement (max 10%)
- Construction-linked payment plan and stamp-duty challan
- Home-loan sanction letter, where applicable
The RERA Legal Framework Behind Your BBA
Standardised BBA & 70% Escrow (RERA 2016)
RERA mandates a standardised Agreement for Sale, bars the promoter from taking more than 10% of the price without a registered BBA, and requires 70% of buyer receipts to be held in a project-specific escrow account used only for that project's construction and land cost — with symmetric interest payable to the buyer for any delay.
Carpet-Area Pricing u/s 2(k)
Under Section 2(k), price must be based on carpet area — the net usable floor area within walls, excluding external walls, balconies, and common areas. A compliant BBA locks the per-square-foot rate on carpet area, blocking any later attempt to bill on super built-up or saleable area.
5-Year Structural Defect Liability u/s 14(3)
Section 14(3) makes the promoter liable to rectify — free of cost — any structural, workmanship, or quality defect reported by the buyer within five years of possession, ordinarily within 30 days of notice. Report and document every defect in writing inside this window.
Registration & Stamp Duty of the Agreement
The BBA itself is a registrable instrument: it must be stamped at the state-prescribed rate and registered at the Sub-Registrar's office to be fully enforceable. Only the registered agreement serves as your primary evidence before the RERA Authority.
Common Questions
What homebuyers ask before signing a Builder-Buyer Agreement
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