Builder Replaced Mid-Project? What RERA Section 15 Means for Bangalore Flat Buyers

Few things unsettle a buyer of an under-construction flat in Bangalore like learning that the company building the project is no longer the one that sold it. Hoardings are repainted, unfamiliar faces appear in the site office, and a booking made years ago feels shaky. The 2016 real estate law, known as RERA, has specific answers, and this guide turns them into a plan a buyer can follow.

The Transfer Test in Section 15

Under section 15(1), a promoter is not free to pass control of a registered project, along with its liabilities, to an outside party. Two approvals must be in hand before the handover takes place. One without the other leaves the transfer open to challenge.

• A prior written nod from two-thirds of the buyers, leaving the promoter's holdings aside
• A prior written go-ahead from the regulator

The law also fixes the head-count. A person who books several flats, directly or through relatives or companies linked to them, counts as a single buyer. That stops one big investor, or the promoter's friends, from producing the consent alone.

Bookings already made stay protected. When a transfer follows the process, every sale and allotment by the outgoing promoter carries across intact, including the unit, the floor and the price.

Why the Route Matters

A fresh name on the hoarding may come from any of four events, and each is treated differently. Working out which one has occurred is the first piece of homework for an affected buyer.

• The original developer chose to assign the project to another firm, which section 15 governs
• The registration lapsed or was cancelled and the regulator stepped in under section 8
• A bankruptcy court approved a resolution plan that put a new company in charge
• Shares or branding changed, but the legal entity holding the project is the same

RERA directly controls the first two, so they get the attention below. In Karnataka the body in charge is K-RERA, the state's real estate regulator.

Obligations the Successor Cannot Shed

Section 15(2) puts the successor in the predecessor's seat. Whatever the law requires of a promoter, and whatever the signed sale agreements promise, now binds the new company. It cannot pick the commitments it likes and drop the rest.

Buyers already waiting for keys should note the proviso. Taking over a project earns the successor no extra time for completion. If the committed date is missed, the usual penalties for delay apply to it, just as they would to anyone else.

So the handover date printed in the sale agreement remains the yardstick. Interest for late possession, and the right to exit with money back under section 18, keep running from that date. All sums paid to the first promoter count towards the price in full.

When the Regulator Steps In: Sohan Skypark

Section 8 handles projects whose registration has lapsed or been cancelled. The regulator talks to the state government and settles who finishes the work. A government agency, the buyers' own association or someone else may be named, and the association is offered the work first.

A recent order shows the effect on one household. In January 2026 K-RERA cleared Sohan Realty to take over the project formerly called Manyam Skypark, today Sohan Skypark. A buyer whose 2020 agreement was with the previous developer was then stopped at her flat's door, on the ground that she had paid the earlier developer.

In complaint 00202/2025 the regulator ordered the new company to accept her as the rightful buyer and let her in and hand over possession. A company that becomes promoter, it reasoned, picks up the section 11(4)(a) duties, and it cannot hand those back to its predecessor. News outlets reported the order in June 2026.

Pressure Points After a Takeover

The legal position favours the buyer, yet changes are usually attempted through paperwork rather than argument. Four situations come up most often.

• A request to put pen to a new allotment letter, or to accept a different unit, when the existing allotment is already protected
• A demand for charges described as takeover or revival costs on top of a price already agreed
• A new brochure with altered amenities or extra floors, although section 14 makes buyer consent necessary for such changes
• A side letter pushing the handover to a later date and waiving interest for the wait

Read any addendum slowly. Buyers may refuse conditions weaker than the registered sale agreement. Home loan borrowers should also tell their bank, since the loan and the three-party agreement continue but the lender may review the project.

Building a Paper Trail

The weeks after a takeover announcement are the time to collect documents. Each item below strengthens a buyer's hand if a dispute follows.

1. Print the project's entry on the state regulator's portal, showing promoter, registration number and completion date
2. Write to the new company asking for the regulator's order approving the takeover or transfer
3. Ask in the same letter whether buyers were polled and how the required majority was worked out
4. Obtain written confirmation of your unit, carpet area, price and all payments made so far
5. Check any revised specification list against the schedule attached to your sale agreement
6. Make later payments only to the account designated for the project and insist on receipts from the new company

Acting as a group helps at each stage. A residents' association can ask for papers once, negotiate once and go to the regulator as one party. If buyers were never consulted and the portal shows no approval, a section 31 complaint is the way to test the transfer.

For Anyone Eyeing a Project That Changed Hands

Start with the portal page and leave the brochure for later. The page shows the present promoter, any extended registration, progress reports filed every quarter and complaints raised against the project. A capable developer may bring a stalled site back to life, and those reports show whether work restarted.

Prices need a second look too. Existing buyers signed at older prices, and new sales follow today's, so the cost sheet deserves careful reading. Our advisory team can line the project up against other registered options nearby.