How to check a developer's delivery record in Punjab

A brochure tells you what a developer plans to build. Its past projects tell you how it has handled delivery before. Much of that record is public, if you know where to look.

What the developer has to disclose

When a promoter applies to register a project, the RERA Act requires the application to include brief details of the projects it has launched in the past five years, whether completed or still being developed: their current status, any delay in completion, pending cases, the type of land and payments pending. Ask the developer for this information in writing, then check it against the public record.

Checks on the Punjab RERA portal

1. Search the registered projects by promoter name, not just project name, to list the developer's other projects in Punjab. Note each project's registration date and 'valid up to' date.
2. Use the portal's advance search to see which projects have had their registration extended, which have a completion certificate recorded, and whether any registration has been revoked.
3. Open the details page of past projects and compare the quarterly progress updates with the timeline originally declared.
4. Check the Authority's published list of projects whose registration has lapsed.
5. Search the published orders and judgments of the Authority and its Adjudicating Officer for the promoter's name, and use the case-status search to see whether complaints are pending.
6. Look through the notices under section 59 of the Act, which concern projects the Authority has flagged for not being registered.

Reading extensions

A registration is valid for the completion period the promoter itself declared. The Act lets the Authority extend it on the promoter's application, for force majeure (which the Act defines as war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or any other natural calamity affecting development) or in other reasonable circumstances where the promoter is not at fault. One extension is not proof of wrongdoing. Repeated extensions across several projects are worth asking about.

Checks beyond the portal

• Visit a completed project by the same developer. Look at construction quality, upkeep and whether the promised amenities were actually built.
• If residents or the residents' association are willing to talk, ask about handover, defects and maintenance.
• Ask whether completion or occupancy certificates were obtained for past projects, whether conveyance deeds were executed and whether common areas were handed over to the association. The Act places all of these obligations on the promoter.
• Check that the company named as promoter on the RERA registration is the one you will sign the agreement with. A group brand may use different companies for different projects, so the promoter name on each registration matters.

Keeping it in proportion

One delayed project does not make a developer unreliable, and a clean record does not guarantee the next project will be on time. Look for patterns, read the actual orders rather than headlines, and weigh how the developer responded when things went wrong. If you are considering a project through us, ask us to walk you through these checks for it.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For a detailed review of a developer's record or a specific dispute, consult an independent lawyer.