The RERA checks every NRI should run before booking a flat

Find the registration number, then verify it yourself

Every advertisement for a registered project is required to carry its RERA registration number. Take that number to the RERA portal for the state the property is in - each state runs its own - and search for it directly. Do not rely on a screenshot or a PDF the salesperson sends you.

If a project that clearly ought to be registered has no number, that is not an administrative oversight to be explained away. Walk.

What the project record tells you

The litigation history is the part most buyers never look at, and it is frequently the most revealing. A promoter with a pattern of complaints against earlier projects is telling you how this one will go.

• The promoter's declared completion date - compare it to what you were told verbally
• The approvals obtained so far, and the ones still outstanding
• Project layout, unit inventory and the sanctioned plan
• Quarterly progress updates filed by the promoter
• Any complaints or orders involving the promoter or the project

Carpet area, and why the number you were quoted may not match

RERA requires that homes are sold on carpet area - broadly, the usable floor area within the walls of the apartment. Before the Act, it was normal to price on 'super built-up' area, which loaded in a share of lobbies, staircases and amenities and could be twenty to thirty percent larger.

When you compare two projects, make sure both quotes are on the same basis. A price per square foot that looks cheaper is often just measured more generously.

The escrow rule

Promoters must keep a large majority of the money collected from buyers in a separate project-specific account, to be drawn down against construction progress. The point is to stop funds raised for one project being spent finishing another - historically one of the main reasons projects stalled indefinitely.

It is not a guarantee, but combined with mandatory progress filings it makes a stalled project visible much earlier than it used to be.

Filing a complaint from abroad

If a promoter misses the committed timeline or deviates from the sanctioned plan, you can file a complaint with the state RERA authority. The process is designed to be accessible - you do not necessarily need a lawyer, and filing fees are modest.

Being in Dubai does not exclude you. Hearings can often be attended by a representative under a Power of Attorney, and several authorities now conduct them online.

Keep every document, receipt and written communication from the day you book. A complaint is only as strong as the paper trail behind it.

The checks RERA does not cover

RERA registration confirms a project is declared and tracked. It does not verify the title chain, and it does not replace an independent lawyer reading your agreement for sale before you sign it.

Run both. The RERA check takes fifteen minutes and costs nothing; the legal review costs a small fraction of what you are about to commit.