RERA and clear title: how to verify a listing before you pay
A good listing survives due diligence. Here is how to check a RERA registration, confirm clear title, and read the approvals before any money leaves your account.
Updated
Why verification is the buyer's job
A brochure is designed to persuade. A registration record and a title chain are designed to be checked. The gap between the two is where buyers lose money, so treat verification as your work, not the seller's favour. The good news is that most of it is now public and can be done before you pay a rupee.
Check the RERA registration
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act requires most new projects above a threshold size to register with the state RERA authority before they can be marketed or sold. Each state runs its own public portal where you can search a project by its registration number or name.
- Confirm the RERA number on the listing actually resolves to this project on the state portal.
- Check the registered completion date and whether it has been revised, which hints at delay history.
- Read the quarterly progress and any complaints filed against the promoter.
- Match the promoter name on RERA to the party you are actually contracting with.
Confirm clear title
Clear title means the seller genuinely owns what they are selling and can transfer it free of undisclosed claims. This is where a property lawyer earns their fee. At a minimum, ask to see and independently verify the following.
- The title chain: an unbroken sequence of past ownership documents leading to the current seller.
- An encumbrance certificate from the sub-registrar, showing loans or charges registered against the property.
- That any existing home loan on the property will be closed and the lien released at or before sale.
- Property tax receipts and utility dues paid up to date, so nothing follows you as the new owner.
Read the approvals
Approvals tell you the building is legal, not just registered. For an under-construction home, check the sanctioned building plan and the commencement certificate. For a ready home, the occupancy or completion certificate is the document that says it is fit to occupy. A flat sold without one can be hard to resell or finance later.
A short pre-payment checklist
- RERA number verified on the state portal and matched to the promoter.
- Title chain reviewed by your own lawyer, not the seller's.
- Encumbrance certificate obtained and read.
- Approvals sighted: sanctioned plan and commencement, or occupancy certificate.
- Dues cleared: property tax, utilities, and any existing loan lien.