Remedies / RERA Act section 31
What it costs to complain about a developer
If a developer does not deliver what was promised, a complaint to the state real estate regulator costs one thousand rupees. A claim for compensation costs the same, and so does an appeal. This page explains which door to use.
The distinction that matters is that the Authority can order a developer to comply, while only the Adjudicating Officer can award you money. Filing at the wrong door costs time rather than another fee. This page also carries the fee scale a genuine developer will have paid to register the project, which is a quick way to check a project is real before paying anything.
Complaint Rs. 1,000Compensation claim Rs. 1,000Appeal Rs. 1,000Last verified: 4 August 2026
01What a thousand rupees buys
If a developer takes your money and does not deliver, the remedy is a complaint to the state real estate regulator. It costs one thousand rupees, filed in Form A, and that is the entire fee.
There are three separate doors and the fee is the same at each. The Authority hears complaints about a breach of the Act, the rules or the regulations. The Adjudicating Officer is the one who can award you money, meaning compensation or interest, which the Authority itself does not do. The Appellate Tribunal hears appeals from either of them.
All three remedies cost the same thousand rupees. What differs is who hears you and what they can order.
| Step | Record | Published fee | Under which law |
|---|---|---|---|
| File a complaint with the Gujarat Real Estate Regulatory Authority (GujRERA) | RERA-01 | Rs. 1,000 (rupees one thousand). Rule 11(1) prescribes it 'in the form of demand draft'; the GujRERA website user manual for online complaint... | Section 31, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 |
| File a complaint for compensation or interest before the RERA Adjudicating Officer | RERA-02 | Rs. 1,000 (rupees one thousand) in the form of demand draft | Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 |
| Appeal to the Gujarat Real Estate Appellate Tribunal | RERA-03 | Rs. 1,000 (rupees one thousand) by demand draft | Rule 3, Gujarat Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (Matters Relating to the Gujarat Real Estate Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 2016 |
02Checking the project before you pay anything
A buyer can also check what the developer paid to register the project, which is a useful way of confirming that a project is registered at all before any money changes hands.
| Kind of project | Registration fee | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Group housing, project land under 1,000 sq m | Rs. 5 per sq m | Rs. 5,00,000 |
| Group housing, project land over 1,000 sq m | Rs. 10 per sq m | Rs. 5,00,000 |
| Mixed project, under 1,000 sq m | Rs. 10 per sq m | Rs. 7,00,000 |
| Mixed project, over 1,000 sq m | Rs. 15 per sq m | Rs. 7,00,000 |
| Commercial, under 1,000 sq m | Rs. 20 per sq m | Rs. 10,00,000 |
| Commercial, over 1,000 sq m | Rs. 25 per sq m | Rs. 10,00,000 |
Registration is compulsory for a real estate project where the land area is more than five hundred square metres. A project of any size in this region that is being advertised to buyers and is not registered is a fact worth establishing before signing rather than after.
The promoter must also deposit seventy per cent of the amounts collected from buyers into a separate bank account within three months of applying for registration, which is the provision that exists to stop money from one project funding another.
03How the complaint proceeds
The procedure is summary, meaning short. Notice with the particulars and documents goes to the respondent. On appearance they explain the alleged contravention. If they admit it, an order follows. If not, the Authority calls for further documents and evidence, and it may proceed without a party who has been properly informed and stays away.
The complaint is filed online and the portal issues a complaint number, while the rule itself prescribes payment by demand draft. Both routes are documented in the source, and the difference between them is the rule and the portal disagreeing rather than an error here.
Record RERA-01. Source: https://gujrera.gujarat.gov.in/resources/staticpage/FAQs%20ADJ_26.05.2021.pdf page 40, item 5.7: 'Rule 11 (1) of the Rules, 2016 provides that any aggrieved person may file a Complaint in Form A (except for compensation) with the Authority, along with a fee of rupees one thousand in the form of demand draft, for violation any provisions of the Act, Rules and Regulations.' Fee also confirmed at https://gujrera.gujarat.gov.in/resources/staticpage/Complaint.pdf page 3 (Gujarat RERA Website User Manual Version 4.0, Complaint Registration).. Statutory basis: Section 31, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016; Rule 11(1), Gujarat Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (Matters Relating to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority) Rules, 2016 (in force from 29 October 2016). Data class OFFICIAL. Last verified: 4 August 2026.
The words on this page, in plain English
- RERA
- The Real Estate Regulatory Authority, the body a buyer complains to when a registered project is not delivered as promised.
- Allotment
- A plot sold or leased directly by the government development company rather than bought from a private owner.
- Special Investment Region, SIR
- An area notified under the Gujarat Special Investment Region Act 2009 and governed by a development authority rather than by the ordinary local body.
- Market value
- Not the price on the street. In this context it is the value the government calculates from the jantri, and it is what the tax is charged on.