Kerala RERA Check: How to Verify a Kochi Flat Project Before You Pay

Before you pay a Kochi builder more than a token amount, look the project up on the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority portal at rera.kerala.gov.in. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, a promoter cannot take more than 10 percent of a flat's cost as an advance until a written agreement for sale has been registered, and the Act only exempts small projects, on 500 square metres of land or less or with eight apartments or fewer across all phases. If a project covers more than 500 square metres or has more than eight apartments and is not on the portal, treat that as a red flag.

• How do I check if a project is RERA registered in Kerala?
• What should I check in the RERA listing?
• What protection does RERA give flat buyers?
• How do I file a RERA complaint in Kerala?
• Is a RERA number enough?

How do I check if a project is RERA registered in Kerala?

The search is free and takes a couple of minutes. Do it yourself, on the official site, rather than trusting a number printed on a brochure.

• Open rera.kerala.gov.in and go to the Registered Projects section.
• Search by project name, promoter (builder) name, registration number, locality, district, village or taluk.
• If the project does not appear at all, the portal has no record of it, which usually means it is not registered.
• Open the listing and match the RERA number against the one in the advertisement and in your draft agreement.

When we tried to load the portal on 14 October 2026 it returned a server error. If that happens to you, try again later. A slow government website is not a reason to take the sales team's word for it.

What should I check in the RERA listing?

A listing is only useful if you compare it with what you have been told. These are the fields worth reading line by line.

Check	Why it matters
Registration status	It should be active, not expired.
The phase you are buying in	The Act treats each phase as a separate project, so phase one being registered says nothing about phase two.
Promoter name	It should match the company named on your agreement and receipts.
Uploaded documents	Look for the title deed, approved building plans, clearances, and details of the architects, engineers and contractors.
Proposed completion date	Compare it with the handover date the salesperson gave you, and make sure the date written into your agreement for sale is no later than the registered one. The agreement date is what the Act lets you enforce.

What protection does RERA give flat buyers?

The Act puts several rules on the builder's side of the deal. The ones that matter most to an ordinary buyer:

• Advance cap: no more than 10 percent of the cost before a registered agreement for sale (Section 13).
• Separate account: 70 percent of the money collected from buyers has to go into a separate account and can only be used for that project's construction and land cost.
• Five years of defect cover: structural defects, or defects in workmanship, quality or services, reported within five years of possession have to be fixed by the promoter free of charge within 30 days (Section 14(3)). If they are not, you can claim compensation.
• Delays: under Section 18, if the promoter misses the completion date in your agreement, you can withdraw and get your money back with interest and compensation, or stay in and be paid interest for every month of delay until handover.

How do I file a RERA complaint in Kerala?

Buyer complaints go to K-RERA on the prescribed form, Form M, and several guides put the fee for an individual buyer at Rs 1,000. Guides disagree on how much of the process can be done online, so read the complaint section of the portal before you send a demand draft or travel to the authority's office in Thiruvananthapuram. Appeals against K-RERA orders go to the Kerala Real Estate Appellate Tribunal.

Is a RERA number enough?

No. A RERA registration tells you the builder filed its paperwork with a regulator. It does not tell you the building will be finished on time, and it does not replace the basic checks on the land itself. Kochi has seen what happens when permits go wrong: in 2019 the Supreme Court ordered apartment complexes in Maradu demolished for breaking coastal regulation rules, and four built complexes came down. The story is covered in our Maradu neighbourhood guide. That was a permit problem, not a RERA problem, which is exactly the point: you need both checks.

So treat the RERA search as step one. Then read up on what the registration and stamp duty will actually cost you, and if you are still deciding what kind of home to buy, our apartment versus independent house guide lays out the trade-offs. More practical explainers sit in our Guides section.