In a renewed compliance drive, the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-Rera) has intensified scrutiny of unregistered residential projects across the state, highlighting structural loopholes that allow some developments to bypass mandatory registration norms.
According to official data, 765 complaints have been received since 2021 relating to alleged unregistered projects. Orders have been passed in 440 cases, while 325 remain under various stages of hearing and verification. Officials say the enforcement exercise is aimed at distinguishing genuine violations from mistaken or duplicate filings. Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, any residential project exceeding eight units or covering more than 500 square metres of land must be registered with the state regulator before marketing or sale. Registration ensures public disclosure of approvals, timelines, layout plans and financial details, offering a formal grievance redressal mechanism for buyers. However, enforcement officials acknowledged systemic gaps. Planning authorities can grant building sanctions and occupancy certificates independently of RERA in certain scenarios. Moreover, property registration processes with urban development or stamps departments do not always require a RERA registration number as a mandatory precondition. This regulatory disconnect has enabled some promoters to proceed without registering projects. Authorities said that in many complaint cases, notices were issued up to three times to promoters to establish project status. A significant share of complaints reportedly involved projects that were already registered or developments that did not exist in the form alleged, necessitating a “verification-first” approach before punitive action.
Where projects are confirmed to fall under RERA criteria but remain unregistered, matters are referred for hearings and further orders against promoters. Officials emphasised that the current drive is both corrective and preventive, designed to plug compliance gaps while filtering inaccurate claims. Homebuyer groups, however, argue that enforcement must be more proactive. Representatives from the Karnataka Home Buyers Forum pointed out instances where promoters of cancelled projects allegedly resurfaced under new company names. They have called for deeper data scrutiny and stronger inter-departmental coordination to prevent repeat violations. Urban governance observers note that the challenge extends beyond enforcement capacity to public awareness. Many buyers reportedly fail to verify RERA registration details before booking units, relying instead on marketing materials or verbal assurances from developers. Unregistered projects carry heightened risks, including delayed delivery, financial opacity and limited legal recourse. Experts suggest that integrating RERA registration requirements directly into planning approvals and property registration workflows could significantly tighten compliance. Without such alignment, regulatory oversight remains partially reactive. The latest crackdown signals K-Rera’s intent to strengthen consumer protection in Karnataka’s real estate sector.
Yet the broader test will lie in closing institutional loopholes and ensuring that compliance becomes systemic rather than complaint-driven. As Karnataka’s housing markets expand, regulatory credibility will increasingly depend not just on penalties, but on seamless coordination between planning bodies, registration authorities and the RERA framework itself.
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K-Rera cracks down on unregistered projects
