How to Check RERA Registration in Telangana

Before you pay a booking amount for a new flat in Hyderabad, check that the project is registered with the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The authority now calls itself TG RERA, though many buyers and brochures still say TS-RERA. This guide covers the search itself, what to read on a project record, how to tell whether a registration has run out, and where to complain.

What RERA is and why it matters

RERA is the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, a national law. Each state sets up its own authority and rules. Telangana's are the Telangana Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017.

Under section 3 of the Act, a promoter (the builder or developer) may not advertise, market, book or sell flats in a project until it is registered. Small projects are exempt: land of up to 500 square metres, or no more than eight apartments, counting all phases together. Each phase of a phased project needs its own registration.

Registration brings duties that protect buyers:

Advertisements must carry the registration number and the authority's website address.
A promoter cannot take more than 10% of the cost as an advance before a written agreement for sale is signed and registered.
70% of the money collected from buyers must go into a separate account in a scheduled bank and be spent only on that project's land and construction.
The promoter must keep the project's public record up to date.

How to look up a project

Open rera.telangana.gov.in. Language options for Telugu, Hindi, Urdu and English sit at the top.
Click "Search Registered Projects and Agents". It opens the search page on the authority's second portal, rerait.telangana.gov.in. You can also reach it from that portal's login page through the "Search Project Details" link.
Under "Select User Type", choose "Registered Projects".
Fill in at least one box: project name, promoter name, or the registration number. Names need at least four characters, and special characters are not accepted, so type a plain fragment of the name.
Click "Advanced Search" if you need more filters: district, taluka, village, project type, survey number and a range for the proposed date of completion. Projects sold as "Hyderabad" are often in Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri or Sangareddy district rather than Hyderabad district, so try those if a district search comes up empty.
Type the characters shown in the captcha image and click "Search". The search will not run without it.
From the results, open the project's details. The registration certificate and any extension certificate open in a document viewer on the same page.

A "View all projects on Map" button on the search page shows registered projects on a map, which helps when you know the location but not the exact name.

The promoter on the record is the legal entity that registered the project. It may be a project company or partnership rather than the brand on the hoarding, so match the name to the seller in your agreement.

What the registration number looks like

Telangana project numbers start with the letter P followed by eleven digits, for example P02400008565. Agent numbers start with A, for example A02500000947. Both examples appear on the authority's own defaulters list.

Check that the number in the advertisement, the brochure and your draft agreement is exactly the same and leads to the same project and promoter on the portal.

What to check on the project record

Telangana's rules list what the authority must publish for each registered project. That is your checklist.

What to check	What to look for
Promoter details	Legal name, type of entity, registered address, directors or partners. The rules also call for the promoter's track record over the last five years, including delays, and litigation over the same period.
Approvals and plan	The building permission and commencement certificate, the sanctioned plan and layout plan, floor plans, and other approvals such as fire clearance.
Flats on offer	Number, type and carpet area of apartments, balcony and terrace areas, and parking.
Proposed completion date	The date the promoter committed to at registration, and any extension certificate.
Quarterly updates	The rules require an update within 15 days after each quarter ends: flats booked, construction progress for each building and floor with photographs, and the status of approvals, including any changes to sanctioned plans.
Agents and consultants	Real estate agents attached to the project, plus the architect, structural engineer and contractors.
Money	The Act requires the 70% separate account. If the record does not show the account, ask the promoter for its details in writing and pay only into it.
Complaints and orders	Check the authority's orders, its revoked list and its defaulters list, all linked from the home page.

Expired or extended registrations

A registration runs until the completion date the promoter declared. Under section 6 of the Act it can be extended for force majeure, meaning war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or another natural calamity, or in other reasonable circumstances where the promoter is not at fault. The total extension under that second route cannot exceed one year.

In Telangana the promoter applies in Form E in the three months before the registration expires, and an extension is issued in Form F. An extension cannot run past the period that local building rules allow for completing the project.

To spot a problem, compare the proposed date of completion on the record with today's date. If the date has passed, look for an extension certificate in the search results. If there is none and the building is clearly unfinished, ask the promoter for the extension order before you pay anything.

The home page also links to two lists worth a minute of your time: "Revoked Projects/Agents" and "Defaulters", which names projects and agents with authority orders against them.

Checking an agent

Brokers who sell flats in registered projects must register too, and an agent must not help sell an unregistered project. To check one, use the same search page, choose "Registered Agents" under "Select User Type", and search by agent name or registration number, then complete the captcha.

A Telangana agent registration is valid for five years and can be renewed. Make sure the registration is current and the name matches the person or firm you are dealing with.

Red flags

The project cannot be found by number, promoter or name, and the seller cannot give a registration number.
The number in the advertisement leads to a different project or promoter.
Only one phase or tower is registered, but you are being sold another.
The proposed completion date has passed with no extension certificate.
You are asked to pay more than 10% before a registered agreement for sale.
Quarterly updates are missing, or the photographs do not match the site.
The project or its promoter appears on the revoked or defaulters list.

How to complain

Complaints go through the authority's complaints portal at complaints-rera.telangana.gov.in. You create an account, log in with an OTP, fill in the complaint, upload evidence and pay the fee online.

There are two forms:

Form M goes to the authority, for any breach of the Act, rules or regulations.
Form N goes to the adjudicating officer, for interest and compensation claims under sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 of the Act.

The Telangana rules set a fee of Rs 1,000 for each. The portal's payment screen adds a convenience charge and GST. The authority's manual also asks complainants to deliver photocopies of the complaint papers to its office at Masab Tank, Hyderabad, within seven days of filing online: three sets plus one for each respondent.

What registration does and does not guarantee

Registration gives you legal footing. If the promoter fails to hand over on the agreed date, you can ask for a refund with interest or, if you stay, interest for each month of delay. Telangana's rules set that interest at the State Bank of India's highest marginal cost of lending rate plus two percentage points. Defects in structure or workmanship reported within five years of possession must be fixed within 30 days.

Registration does not mean the project is well built, fairly priced or financially sound. Most of the record is uploaded by the promoter, so compare it with what you see on site. It also does not replace a lawyer's check of the land title and the building permission.

Key points

Find the project on the Telangana RERA search page and match the P number and promoter to your papers before you pay a token amount.
Read the proposed completion date, extension certificates and quarterly updates, not just the word "registered".
Check the revoked and defaulters lists, and check your broker's agent registration.
Pay no more than 10% before a registered agreement for sale, and pay into the project's designated account.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with a lawyer, chartered accountant or your bank before you decide.

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