Builder must hand over the society: RERA s.11(4)(e), s.17 timelines and conveyance

Rules and rates as of 14 October 2026.

Getting the keys is not the end of the builder's job. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the promoter also has to help the buyers form their own society or association, hand it the building's documents, and transfer legal title. Until that happens, the land and common areas can stay in the builder's name for years. This explainer sets out what the Act requires, by when, and how Maharashtra's rules fill in the detail.

Three duties, three sections

• Form the association: section 11(4)(e). The promoter must "enable the formation of an association or society or co-operative society" of the allottees, or a federation of them, under the laws that apply in the state. A proviso sets a fallback: where there is no local law on the point, the association "shall be formed within a period of three months of the majority of allottees having booked" in the project. The clock starts from bookings, not from completion.
• Convey title: sections 11(4)(f) and 17(1). The promoter must execute a registered conveyance deed of your flat in your favour, "along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of allottees", and hand over physical possession. Section 17(1) ties the deadline to the "specified period as per sanctioned plans as provided under the local laws". Where there is no local law, conveyance must be done "within three months from date of issue of occupancy certificate".
• Hand over documents: section 17(2). After the occupancy certificate (OC) and possession, the promoter must hand over the necessary documents and plans, including those of the common areas, to the association or the competent authority. With no local law, that is due "within thirty days after obtaining the occupancy certificate".

Two more duties run until the handover. Section 11(4)(d) makes the promoter responsible for providing and maintaining essential services, on reasonable charges, until the association takes over maintenance. Section 11(4)(g) makes it pay the outgoings it has collected from buyers, such as municipal taxes, utility charges and maintenance, until it transfers physical possession; a proviso keeps it liable for any of these left unpaid, even after the transfer.

Buyers have duties too

Section 19 puts obligations on allottees. Under section 19(9), every allottee "shall participate towards the formation" of the association or society. Section 19(11) says every allottee shall participate towards registration of the conveyance deed. And section 19(10) requires you to take physical possession within two months of the OC. A society cannot be registered if buyers do not sign up, so this part is in your hands.

How Maharashtra fills in the detail

"Local laws" matter because the central Act defers to them. Maharashtra's RERA rules of 2017 (Housing Department notification REA 2016/CR No.79/DVP-2, 20 April 2017) set specific deadlines in rule 9. They apply where the agreement for sale does not fix a different period.

• Society or company: the promoter must apply for registration within three months from the date on which 51% of the total number of allottees in the building or wing have booked (rule 9(1)(i)). For a layout with several buildings, the federation or apex body application is due within three months of the OC of the last building (rule 9(1)(ii)).
• Single building: conveyance within three months of the earlier of two events: the OC being issued, or 51% of allottees paying full consideration (rule 9(2)(ii)).
• Building in a layout: the structure, excluding basements and podiums, within one month of the society's registration or three months of the OC, whichever is earlier (rule 9(2)(iii)(a)). The land under all the buildings goes to the apex body within three months of its registration or of the last building's OC, whichever is earlier (rule 9(2)(iii)(b)).
• If the promoter does not act: MahaRERA "shall by an order direct" the promoter to apply for the society (rule 9(1)(iii)) or to convey title (rule 9(3)). Rule 9(4) also keeps open the older route of a unilateral deemed conveyance under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963.

Other states have their own rules and, in many cases, their own apartment ownership or cooperative laws. Haryana's 2017 RERA rules, for instance, require the promoter to offer to execute and register a conveyance deed in favour of the allottee or the association, but the text we read sets no separate deadline of its own. If you buy outside Maharashtra, check your state's rules and the agreement for sale.

Steps and timelines at a glance

Step	RERA Act (where no local law applies)	Maharashtra rule 9 (if the agreement sets no period)
Form the society or association	Within 3 months of a majority of allottees booking, s.11(4)(e)	Apply within 3 months of 51% of allottees booking
Federation or apex body	Allowed by s.11(4)(e); no separate deadline	Apply within 3 months of the last building's OC
Allottee takes possession	Within 2 months of OC, s.19(10)	Same (central Act)
Documents and plans to association	Within 30 days of OC, s.17(2)	Along with conveyance of title, rule 9(5)
Conveyance of flat and common areas	Within 3 months of OC, s.17(1)	Single building: 3 months from OC or 51% full payment, whichever is earlier. Layout building: 1 month from society registration or 3 months from OC, whichever is earlier
Essential services and outgoings	Promoter until handover, s.11(4)(d), (g)	Same (central Act)

Worked example: one building, 120 flats

All figures here are illustrative. Take a single 120-flat building in a state with no local law on these points, so the central Act's fallbacks apply.

• When the society is due. A majority of 120 is 61 bookings. If the 61st flat is booked on 15 March 2025, the association should be formed by 15 June 2025. In Maharashtra the trigger would be 51%: 0.51 × 120 = 61.2, so the 62nd booking.
• Documents and conveyance. If the OC is issued on 10 January 2026, documents and plans are due 30 days later, by 9 February 2026, and the conveyance deed by 10 April 2026. You must take possession by 10 March 2026.
• Your share of the common areas. Say your flat has 750 sq ft of carpet area and the project's flats add up to 90,000 sq ft. If your agreement apportions common areas by carpet area, your undivided share is 750 ÷ 90,000 × 100 = 0.83%. The Act says "proportionate" but does not itself fix the basis, so check what your agreement uses.
• Outgoings you have paid. If you paid the builder ₹3,500 a month in maintenance for 14 months before handover, that is ₹3,500 × 14 = ₹49,000. Under section 11(4)(g), money collected for outgoings has to go to those outgoings; ask for the accounts at handover.
• The penalty ceiling. If MahaRERA or another authority orders the promoter to form the society or convey and it does not comply, section 63 allows a penalty for every day of default, up to 5% of the project's estimated cost. On an estimated cost of ₹180 crore, the ceiling is 5% × ₹180,00,00,000 = ₹9,00,00,000, or ₹9 crore.

If the builder is stalling

Start in writing. Ask the promoter for the date it applied to register the society, the OC date, and a draft conveyance deed. Coordinate with other buyers, because the society needs members to register. If the deadlines pass, any aggrieved person can file a complaint with the state RERA authority or its adjudicating officer under section 31(1). In Maharashtra, rule 9 lets MahaRERA direct the promoter to act, and a deemed conveyance remains a separate route. A lawyer can tell you which route suits your building.

This explains the law; it is not legal advice.