Authorities & RERA
RERA Exemption
Not every project needs a RERA number. Knowing which ones genuinely do not is the useful part.
The short answer
A project is exempt from RERA registration if its land does not exceed 500 square metres, or its units do not exceed eight across all phases. Projects already holding a completion certificate before the Act commenced are also exempt.
The size threshold
Section 3 of the Act sets the registration trigger: land area over 500 square metres, or more than eight apartments across all phases of the project, whichever applies. A project that stays under both figures is legitimately outside RERA's registration requirement. This is why a small independent building with, say, six units on a modest plot can be sold entirely legally without a RERA number, while a larger project of the same kind cannot.
Already-completed projects
A project that received its completion certificate before the Act commenced on 1 May 2017 does not need retrospective registration. RERA governs projects under development, not the resale of units that were already finished and certified before the law existed. If part of a larger development remained unsold or incomplete after that date, that remaining portion may still require registration as an ongoing project, even if earlier phases do not.
Renovation and repair
Work that does not involve a fresh sale, allotment, or marketing of units, such as repair, renovation, or redevelopment of an existing structure for its current owners, sits outside RERA's registration requirement. The moment such a project starts marketing new units for sale, it stops qualifying for this exemption and needs to register like any other project of its size.
Why exemption is not a free pass
An exempt project is not automatically a risky one, and a lot of perfectly legitimate small developments fall here. But exemption does mean none of RERA's specific protections apply: no mandatory escrow account, no statutory disclosure format, no RERA complaint route if something goes wrong.
If you are buying into an exempt project, do not assume the absence of a RERA number means anything is wrong. Instead, get the equivalent protections written directly into your sale agreement: a specific carpet area figure, a firm possession date, and a clearly stated penalty for delay.
Frequently asked questions
Is a project exempt if it meets either condition, or both?
Either. The Act's threshold is land area over 500 square metres, or more than eight units, so a project needs to exceed only one of the two to require registration. Staying under both means it is exempt.
Can a promoter deliberately split a project to stay exempt?
Splitting a project across phases specifically to dodge the threshold defeats the purpose of the unit count being measured across all phases combined, which is exactly why the Act counts units across all phases rather than per building.
Are resale flats in an old building RERA-exempt?
Resale of a completed, already-owned flat is not a RERA registration matter at all. RERA governs a promoter's sale of new units in a project under development, not private resale between individual owners.
Does an exempt project have to disclose carpet area?
Not under RERA's Section 2(k) definition, since that requirement only binds registered projects. Ask for a physical carpet area measurement regardless, since no law is forcing accuracy here.
Should I avoid buying into an exempt project?
Not necessarily. Many small, legitimate developments are genuinely exempt by size. The real task is confirming the exemption is genuine, and then getting the same protections written into your own agreement instead of assuming RERA covers you.