How to file a RERA complaint online: the procedure, forms and fee, state by state

Most home buyers with a genuine grievance against a builder never file a RERA complaint — not because the case is weak, but because they assume the process needs a lawyer, a court, and money they do not have. It needs none of those to start. Section 31 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, lets any aggrieved person file a complaint directly with the state Real Estate Regulatory Authority, in most states entirely online, for a fixed fee that runs from about one thousand to five thousand rupees. A buyer can draft and file it themselves. This guide sets out who can file, on which form and for what fee, what to attach, the step-by-step online procedure, and what happens after the complaint is registered.

This piece completes a sequence. PropWatch's guide to verifying a project's RERA registration, linked below, is what a buyer does before signing. The guide to choosing between RERA, the consumer forum and NCLT is how a buyer decides where to go once something has gone wrong. This one is the mechanical next step once RERA is the chosen forum — how the complaint actually gets filed.

Who can file, and against whom — Section 31

Section 31 permits 'any aggrieved person' to file a complaint with the Authority, or with the adjudicating officer, for a violation or contravention of the Act, the rules or the regulations. The respondent can be a promoter (the builder or developer), a registered real estate agent, or an allottee. There is no requirement that the project be complete, that possession have been offered, or that a legal notice have been sent first. The complaint must relate to a project that falls under RERA — generally one registered with, or required to be registered with, the state Authority.

A practical distinction matters when framing the complaint. A complaint to the Authority seeks directions — registration of the project, refund with interest, possession, or a penalty on the promoter. An application to the adjudicating officer seeks compensation for a proved loss under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19. Several states use separate forms for the two tracks; a buyer who wants both directions and compensation may need to invoke both.

The form and the fee vary by state

RERA is administered state by state, so both the prescribed complaint form and the filing fee are set by each state's RERA rules — there is no single national form or fee. Do not rely on a figure quoted in an old article; confirm the current form and fee on the portal for the state where the project is located. The examples below are verified from the state authorities' own pages at the time of writing.

• Maharashtra (MahaRERA) — complaint filed online under Section 31 on the MahaRERA portal; the prescribed fee is ₹5,000 per complaint. The Authority-directions format is Form A; the adjudicating-officer compensation format is Form B.
• Haryana (HARERA, covering Gurugram) — complaint in Form CRA; the fee is ₹1,000 per complaint plus ₹10 per annexure.
• Uttar Pradesh (UP-RERA, covering Noida and Greater Noida) — Form M for a complaint to the Authority and Form N for a compensation application to the adjudicating officer; the fee is ₹1,000, payable online.
• Karnataka (K-RERA) — complaint in Form N; the fee is ₹1,000.

Telangana (TS-RERA), Tamil Nadu (TNRERA) and Delhi-RERA operate their own portals and fee schedules on the same statutory footing under Section 31. Whichever state applies, the operative rule is the same: the project's physical location, not the builder's head office, decides which Authority hears the complaint.

Documents to attach

A complaint stands or falls on its documents. The Authority decides on what the buyer proves, so assemble the paper trail before filing rather than after a notice asks for it. Scanned copies are uploaded during online filing; keep the originals.

• The booking form or allotment letter, and the agreement for sale, showing the agreed price and the committed possession date
• Every payment receipt and the statement of account — this establishes the exact amount paid to the promoter, which any refund or interest is calculated on
• The project's RERA registration extract from the state portal, quoting the registration number
• All material correspondence with the builder — emails, letters, WhatsApp records of assurances or the possession-date changes complained of
• Proof of identity and current address of the complainant
• Proof of the fee payment (online challan or transaction reference)

How to file online, step by step

The exact screens differ by state, but the sequence is broadly common across the online portals. Most authorities require the complainant to create an account first and then fill a structured form rather than upload a free-text letter.

1. Open the correct state RERA portal and create a complainant account or log in. The project's location decides the portal — Mumbai or Pune projects go to MahaRERA, Gurugram to HARERA, Noida to UP-RERA, and so on.
2. Confirm the project's registration number on the same portal, so the complaint references the right registered project and promoter.
3. Open the complaint-filing section and choose whether you are complaining against the project or the promoter, and whether you seek Authority directions or compensation from the adjudicating officer.
4. Fill the form: your particulars and the respondent's, a concise statement of facts, the specific reliefs sought (refund with interest, possession, penalty, or compensation), and the list of enclosures.
5. Upload the supporting documents listed above, within the file-size and format limits the portal specifies.
6. Pay the prescribed fee online and save the challan or transaction reference. Note the complaint number the system generates — this is how the matter is tracked.
7. Track the portal dashboard and your registered email for the notice to the respondent, the reply, and the hearing dates.

What happens after you file

Once the complaint is registered, the Authority issues a notice to the respondent, who is given time to file a written reply. The matter is then listed for hearing — several authorities now hold hearings by video conference, so a buyer in another city or abroad can appear without travelling. After hearing both sides, the Authority passes a reasoned order, which may direct a refund with interest, direct possession, impose a penalty, or dismiss the complaint. The Act sets a target for speedy disposal, but in practice timelines vary widely by state and case load, so treat any single figure with caution.

An order in the buyer's favour is not the end. If the promoter does not comply, the amount can be recovered as arrears of land revenue through the District Collector, and some states have published structured recovery procedures for exactly this stage. PropWatch's guides on possession-delay interest and on recovering money after a MahaRERA order, linked below, cover how the number is computed and how an unpaid order is enforced. Either side can also appeal to the state Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within the period the Act allows.

SourceRERA Act, 2016 — full text, including Section 31 (filing of complaints) and Section 71 (adjudicating officer)

SourceMahaRERA — complaint filing under a registered project (fee and online procedure)

SourceHARERA — steps to register a complaint (Form CRA, fee and procedure)

SourceK-RERA (Karnataka) — complaint registration user manual

SourcePropWatch — How to verify a builder's RERA registration before you sign

SourcePropWatch — RERA, consumer forum or NCLT: where to file when a builder defaults

SourcePropWatch — RERA possession-delay interest: how it is calculated

SourcePropWatch — How to verify a Mumbai project on MahaRERA before you buy

SourcePropWatch — How to verify a Gurugram project on HARERA before you buy