My Builder Is Not Paying After the RERA Order - What Now?

You filed a complaint, attended the hearings, and won. The RERA order says the builder must refund your money with interest, or pay you delay interest, within a set time. That time has passed, and nothing has arrived. The builder isn't answering calls, or keeps promising "next month".

This is one of the most frustrating moments in a home buyer's journey, and one of the most common. Thousands of NCR buyers hold RERA orders that haven't been paid. The good news is that the law gives you real tools. The less good news is that you usually have to push them yourself. This guide sets out what to do, step by step.

Step 1: Read the order carefully

Before doing anything, check exactly what the order says:

• The amount: the principal, and how interest is to be calculated.
• The interest period: from when, and until when. Many orders say interest runs "till realisation", meaning until you're actually paid.
• The compliance period: how long the builder had to pay, often around 45 days, sometimes more.
• Who must pay: the company named, and whether more than one party is liable, for example both a landowner and a developer.
• Any directions about your home loan, such as paying the bank first.
• Any other directions, such as handing over possession or executing a deed.

Work out the amount due as of today using the order's formula. You'll need this figure for every step that follows. If there's an obvious arithmetical or clerical error in the order, Section 39 lets the authority correct mistakes apparent from the record within two years; it's worth fixing before enforcement.

Step 2: Send a formal demand

Write to the builder, at its registered office and the address on the RERA portal, by speed post and email:

• enclose a copy of the order;
• state the amount due as of the date of your letter, with the calculation;
• give your bank details (and the bank's, if part goes to your lender);
• ask for payment within a short, reasonable time; and
• say that you'll seek recovery and penalties if it isn't paid.

Keep proof of sending and delivery. This letter removes any excuse that the builder didn't know where to pay, and it's useful evidence in later steps. Some builders pay at this point, especially if they realise the next steps are serious.

Step 3: Check whether the builder has appealed

The builder had 60 days from receiving the order to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal. If it has appealed, it must first deposit with the tribunal the full amount payable to you, or at least 30% of any penalty, under Section 43(5) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The Supreme Court upheld this in Newtech Promoters and Developers v. State of UP (2021).

So if there's an appeal:

• check that the deposit has actually been made, and that it's the full amount, including interest;
• if it hasn't, ask the tribunal not to hear the appeal until it is;
• remember that an appeal doesn't automatically stop you enforcing the order unless the tribunal grants a stay; and
• once the deposit is made, your money is secure. If the appeal fails, it's released to you.

See the pre-deposit rule.

Step 4: Apply for recovery

Section 40(1) of the Act says that if a promoter fails to pay interest, penalty or compensation imposed on it, the amount is recoverable as arrears of land revenue. That plugs your order into the district administration's revenue recovery machinery, which has strong powers to attach bank accounts and property. Authorities have applied this to refund orders too.

How you trigger it depends on the state:

• Uttar Pradesh (Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Yamuna Expressway, Lucknow): apply to UP RERA for a recovery certificate. UP RERA calculates the amount and sends the certificate to the District Magistrate of the district concerned, who passes it to the tehsil for recovery under the UP Revenue Code, 2006.
• Haryana (Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and others): file an execution petition before HRERA Gurugram or Panchkula. The authority can direct the builder to disclose assets, attach accounts and unsold units, refer recovery to the Collector, and impose penalties.
• Delhi and other states: similar mechanisms apply under each state's rules, with recovery through the revenue authorities.

Apply as soon as the compliance period is over. Don't wait months hoping the builder will pay; interest may keep running, but assets can disappear. See recovery certificates.

Step 5: Help find the builder's assets

Revenue officers have many demands on their time. The single most effective thing you can do is tell them exactly what to attach. Useful sources:

• The project's RERA page, which shows unsold inventory, the project bank account, and sometimes other projects.
• The builder's other registered projects, searchable by promoter name on the portal, which may have unsold units.
• Company filings with the Registrar of Companies, which show directors, financial statements, and charges registered by banks, which often reveal where the company banks and what assets it has mortgaged.
• Land records showing land owned by the company.
• Other buyers, who may know about bank accounts, unsold flats, or new projects the builder is launching under a group company.
• Advertisements for new launches, which show the group still has resources.

Write to the Collector's office and the tehsil with the recovery certificate number and a specific list of assets. Keep copies.

Step 6: Follow up, in writing

Recovery certificates can sit in a district office for months unless someone follows up. Every few weeks:

• write to the tehsil and the Collector's office asking for the status of your certificate;
• visit, or have someone visit, if you can, with copies of your letters;
• keep a log of every letter, visit and response; and
• if nothing happens, apply to the authority asking it to review progress and call for a report from the district.

Authorities hold review meetings with district officials and have, at various times, run special drives on unpaid recovery certificates. A specific, documented application about your certificate is more likely to be acted on than a general complaint.

Step 7: Ask for penalties

Recovery gets your money. Penalties make the builder's delay expensive.

• Section 63: if a promoter fails to comply with the authority's orders, it is liable to a penalty for every day of default, cumulatively up to 5% of the estimated cost of the whole project. Apply to the authority to start these proceedings. The penalty goes to the government, not to you, but the threat of a large daily penalty often brings builders to the table.
• Section 64: if the builder fails to comply with an order of the Appellate Tribunal (for example, after losing an appeal), it can be punished with imprisonment of up to three years, or a daily fine up to 10% of the project cost, or both. Prosecution requires a complaint by the authority under Section 80, and Section 69 makes the people in charge of the company liable too. Ask the authority to file the complaint.

See our page on builders ignoring orders.

Step 8: Act with other buyers

If your builder hasn't paid you, it probably hasn't paid others either. A group of buyers holding orders against the same builder is far more effective than individuals:

• a joint letter to the District Magistrate listing all the recovery certificates and the builder's known assets gets attention;
• pooled information about assets is more complete;
• the cost of lawyers and follow-up is shared;
• a joint application to the authority for review and penalties carries weight; and
• a group is in a better position to negotiate a payment plan or to consider insolvency, if it comes to that.

Associations of allottees have had real success with collective recovery. See group complaints.

Step 9: Consider the High Court, if the machinery has stalled

Where a recovery certificate has been with the district administration for a long time with no action, despite written follow-up and applications to the authority, buyers have filed writ petitions asking the High Court to direct the District Magistrate to execute it within a fixed time. In UP, this goes to the Allahabad High Court; in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court doesn't decide your claim again; it makes the system work. This is a step for persistent non-action, not a first resort. See Allahabad High Court.

Step 10: Consider whether the builder simply can't pay

Sometimes the problem isn't that the builder won't pay, but that it can't. Signs include: many unpaid orders, stalled projects, no new launches, lenders enforcing against its assets, and directors who've disappeared from view. In that situation, aggressive recovery may get some buyers paid but not others, and may stop construction for everyone.

Options then include:

• A negotiated payment plan funded from sales of unsold inventory, recorded before the authority, with recovery resuming automatically on default.
• A project-level solution, such as a takeover by another developer or completion under a state policy for stalled projects, in which unpaid orders are dealt with as part of the arrangement. See project takeovers.
• Insolvency, as a last resort. Homebuyers are financial creditors and can start insolvency against a developer, but since 2020 must file jointly: at least 100 allottees or 10% of the project's allottees, whichever is less. The Supreme Court upheld this in Manish Kumar v. Union of India (2021). Insolvency freezes everything, and a RERA order doesn't give you priority over other homebuyers, following Vishal Chelani v. Debashis Nanda (2023). It can rescue a viable project, but it's slow and uncertain. See our guide on builder insolvency.

If the builder goes into insolvency anyway

If someone else, a bank or a group of buyers, takes the builder into insolvency, the moratorium under Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 generally stops recovery of your order. Don't panic, but act:

• watch for the public announcement and the deadline for claims;
• file your claim in Form CA with the resolution professional, attaching the RERA order and your payment proof;
• check that your claim is admitted for the right amount; and
• stay in touch with the homebuyers' authorised representative, who votes for your class.

Claims not filed may be lost once a resolution plan is approved. See Form CA claims.

What not to do

• Don't sit on the order. Delay in seeking recovery helps nobody but the builder.
• Don't accept a part payment as full settlement without checking the calculation. If the order says interest runs till realisation, it runs until you're paid in full.
• Don't sign a vague settlement that withdraws your recovery without security or a clear default clause.
• Don't start fresh proceedings in another forum for the same money. You already have an order; enforce it.
• Don't assume an appeal means you've lost. Check the deposit; your money may be safer than before.

When the order isn't about money

Some orders direct the builder to do something rather than pay: hand over possession, execute a conveyance deed, fix defects, provide an amenity, or withdraw an improper demand. If the builder ignores such an order:

• write to the builder with the order, asking for compliance by a specific date;
• apply to the authority for enforcement under Section 40(2), which allows orders to be enforced in the manner the state's rules provide, and for daily penalties under Section 63;
• for tribunal orders, apply to the tribunal to execute its order as a civil court decree under Section 57, and ask the authority to consider prosecution under Section 64; and
• for possession orders where the flat isn't ready, ask the authority to direct a completion schedule with reporting, and consider whether to seek a refund instead if delay continues.

For possession withheld over disputed charges, pay the undisputed amount, record your objection in writing, and ask the authority for a direction to hand over on payment of the undisputed dues. See extra charges.

Orders against more than one party

In many NCR projects, a landowning company and a separate developer company are both involved, and both may be promoters under the explanation to Section 2(zk). If your order names both, recovery can be pursued against either. If it names only the developer and the developer has nothing, ask your lawyer whether the landowner co-promoter can be brought in, for example by an application to the authority. The answer depends on the registration documents, the agreements and how the order was framed.

If the builder pays the bank but not you

Where you have a home loan, the order may direct the builder to pay your bank first. Builders sometimes pay the bank and stop there, leaving the balance due to you unpaid. Get a statement from your bank showing what it received and when, recalculate the balance due to you under the order, and pursue recovery for that balance in the same way.

Recalculating at the time of payment

Recovery certificates and execution petitions state the amount due up to a particular date. If payment comes months later and the order awards interest till realisation, ask for the figure to be updated to the date of payment. Keep your own running calculation so you can check any figure the builder or the district offers. See our guide on RERA interest.

If your order came from a consumer commission

If you went to a consumer commission instead of RERA, enforcement works differently. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the commission's order is executed as a civil court decree, and Section 72 makes failure to comply punishable with imprisonment of one month to three years, a fine of Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh, or both. Apply to the same commission for execution. Commissions have issued warrants against developers' directors, which often produces payment. See consumer commissions.

Keep a recovery file

Recovery can take months. A simple file keeps you in control:

• the order and the date you received it;
• your demand letter and proof of delivery;
• your recovery or execution application, with its number and date;
• the recovery certificate number and date sent to the district;
• every letter to and from the Collector's office and tehsil;
• the list of the builder's assets you've identified, with sources;
• your running calculation of the amount due; and
• a record of any payments received.

If you ever need to go back to the authority, approach the High Court, or file a claim in insolvency, this file will make each step much easier.

For developers who can't pay on time

We also act for developers, and our advice to a developer that can't pay an order on time is simple: don't go silent. Write to the buyer before the deadline, make a part payment if you can, propose a realistic, secured schedule, and if the buyer won't agree, ask the authority for time with reasons and evidence. Ignoring the order invites recovery, attachment, daily penalties and, for tribunal orders, prosecution. Engaging early usually costs far less. See builder defence.

A short summary

When a builder doesn't pay a RERA order: read the order, send a demand, check for an appeal and its deposit, apply for recovery as soon as the compliance period ends, find and list the builder's assets, follow up in writing, ask for daily penalties, join forces with other buyers, and, if the machinery stalls, consider the High Court. If the builder genuinely can't pay, look at a secured payment plan or a project-level solution before thinking about insolvency. Most buyers who follow these steps, and keep at them, do eventually get paid.

A realistic example

Here's a made-up example. Sunita won a UP RERA order in 2023 for a refund of Rs 42 lakh with interest, against a developer with a stalled project in Greater Noida West. Forty-five days passed with no payment and no appeal.

• Week 1: She sends a demand letter with the order, her calculation and bank details. No reply.
• Week 3: She applies to UP RERA for a recovery certificate.
• Month 3: The certificate is issued for about Rs 63 lakh and sent to the District Magistrate, Gautam Buddh Nagar.
• Months 4 to 6: Nothing visible happens. She writes to the tehsil twice. She joins a WhatsApp group of 35 buyers with certificates against the same developer.
• Month 7: The group compiles a list of the developer's unsold flats in another project and its bank account, found through a charge filed by a bank with the Registrar of Companies. They write jointly to the District Magistrate and apply to UP RERA for review and Section 63 penalties.
• Month 9: The tehsil attaches the bank account and issues notices for attachment of several unsold flats.
• Month 10: The developer proposes paying all 35 certificates in six monthly instalments from sales, if attachments are lifted progressively. The buyers agree, on condition that the full balance becomes due and attachments resume on any default, and the arrangement is recorded before UP RERA.
• Month 16: Sunita receives her final instalment.

It took persistence and collective action, but it worked. Not every case does; but most that succeed look something like this.

Frequently asked questions

How long does the builder have to pay after a RERA order?

The period stated in the order, often around 45 days. After that, you can seek recovery.

What is a recovery certificate?

In UP, a certificate issued by the authority to the District Magistrate to recover the order amount as arrears of land revenue.

Does the builder's appeal stop me from recovering?

Not automatically. The tribunal must grant a stay. The builder must also deposit the full amount to appeal, which secures your money.

Can the builder's directors be made to pay?

Not ordinarily from their personal assets for a company's debt, but they can face prosecution for not complying with tribunal orders, and courts sometimes attach payment conditions to bail.

Can I get extra money because the builder delayed paying?

If the order awards interest till realisation, interest keeps running until you're paid. Penalties for non-compliance go to the government.

Should I take the builder to insolvency?

Only as a last resort, with enough other buyers to meet the threshold, and after considering the effect on everyone in the project.

What if the builder offers to pay in instalments?

Consider it if the plan is realistic, secured where possible, and recorded before the authority with recovery resuming on default.

A general guide to enforcing orders under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Recovery procedures depend on each state's rules and on district practice, which differ and change. This article isn't legal advice for your specific situation.