What is RERA?
RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) — RERA (the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016) is India’s central law that regulates residential and commercial real estate. It requires every project above 500 sq m or 8 apartments to be registered with the state’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority before marketing, mandates carpet-area-based pricing and 70% escrow of buyer money, and fixes a maximum 1-year delay penalty framework. In West Bengal the regulator is WBRERA, and every project marketed in Kolkata must carry a WBRERA registration number.
What RERA Requires From Developers
The Act changed what a developer must do before and during a project:
- Register the project with the state RERA (WBRERA in West Bengal) before advertising or selling — the registration number must appear in every advertisement
- Disclose carpet area and sell on carpet-area pricing, not super built-up
- Deposit 70% of all buyer receipts into a separate escrow account used only for that project’s construction and land cost
- Publish quarterly progress updates on the RERA portal (Q1–Q4 with site photographs)
- Pay interest for every quarter of delayed possession, and honour the same rate from buyers who default
- Fix structural defects free for 5 years after possession
What RERA Gives Homebuyers
The buyer-side rights that did not exist before 2016:
- Right to full refunds with interest if the developer fails to deliver or the project is never registered
- Right to withdraw if plans/materials change without written consent
- Right to accurate carpet area — a mismatch above 3% entitles you to a refund of the difference (or exit with interest)
- Right to see sanctioned plans, approvals and quarterly construction updates on the public portal
- Access to the state RERA’s fast-track dispute forum
How to Verify a WBRERA Number (Kolkata)
WBRERA numbers follow the format WBRERA/P/{KOL|NOR}/{YYYY}/{NNNNNN} — for example WBRERA/P/KOL/2025/002427. To verify one: open wbrcera.in, use the “Registered Projects” / project-search page, and search by the number or the project name. The listing shows the promoter, sanctioned plans, proposed completion date and quarterly progress.
On RealtyIQ, every project page carries its WBRERA number as a badge when the listing is RERA-verified; 12 of the 14 active listings on this platform carry verified WBRERA registrations, and the remaining two are explicitly marked “verification in progress” rather than assumed.
RERA and Channel Partners
Real-estate agents and channel partners also register under Section 9 of the Act. Vision Realtors (the company behind RealtyIQ) is a WBRERA-registered channel partner (WBRERA/RA/NOR/2026/000189) — meaning the platform markets registered projects under formal channel-partner agreements, and is itself answerable to the Authority for misrepresentation.
Frequently asked questions
What does RERA stand for?
RERA stands for the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 — the Indian law that regulates the real-estate sector. The acronym is also used for the Real Estate Regulatory Authority each state must set up under the Act (WBRERA in West Bengal).
Is RERA registration mandatory in Kolkata?
Yes. Every residential or commercial project above 500 sq m of built-up area or with more than 8 apartments must be registered with WBRERA before it can be advertised, booked or sold in Kolkata or anywhere in West Bengal. Buying into an unregistered project is itself a ground for refund with interest under RERA.
What is the penalty for delayed possession under RERA?
If possession is delayed beyond the date in the agreement, the developer must pay the buyer interest at the rate prescribed by the state (the SBI MCLR + 2% benchmark, roughly 9–10% currently) for every month of delay until possession is offered — or the buyer may withdraw and take a full refund with the same interest.
How long is a RERA registration valid?
A project registration is valid for the period declared for completion in the application. If the project is not finished, the developer must apply for extension before expiry — and with registered buyers’ consent, or showing delay not attributable to the developer, WBRERA may extend it in 1-year blocks.
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