The Builder-Buyer Agreement (BBA) is the most consequential document an apartment buyer signs in India — and it's also the one most buyers read once, sign quickly, and never re-read. That's a mistake. Most disputes that end up in RERA tribunals trace back to clauses buyers didn't notice, didn't understand, or were told were "standard."
Under Section 13 of the RERA Act, a builder cannot accept more than 10% of the apartment cost as advance without first executing a registered Agreement for Sale. Yet in 2025-26, our review of 220 sample BBAs across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurgaon (Brickplot dataset) found that 64% contained at least one clause that contradicts RERA — and most buyers signed anyway because they didn't know what to look for.
Here are the 12 red flags every buyer must verify before signing.
1. One-sided delay penalty
Watch for clauses where the builder pays compensation at 6-8% per annum for delay, but the buyer pays 18-24% for late payments. Under RERA Section 18, both rates must be equal. If they aren't, push back — this is the single most common violation.
2. "Force majeure" stretched beyond reason
Standard force majeure covers acts of god, war, earthquake. Red flag: clauses that include "labour shortage," "raw material price increase," "policy changes," or "any other circumstance beyond builder's control." Strike these. They're escape hatches written to convert almost any delay into an excused delay.
3. Possession date hidden in annexures
The possession date should be on the face of the agreement, not buried in Schedule II or "as per RERA registration." If you can't quote your possession date in one sentence after reading the BBA, the clause is engineered to be vague — and vague possession dates collapse Section 18 compensation claims later.
4. Right to alter layout, area, or specifications
Clauses giving the builder unilateral right to change unit area, layout, or amenities violate RERA Section 14, which requires written consent of two-thirds of allottees for any major alteration. Demand removal — this clause is unenforceable but slows down redress.
5. "Carpet area as per builder's measurement"
RERA mandates carpet area as defined under the Act — net usable floor area within walls, excluding balcony and shafts. If the BBA defines it differently or says "as measured by builder," you'll lose 8-12% of usable area at handover with no recourse.
6. Maintenance corpus and IFMS without an exit clause
Builders typically collect 18-24 months of advance maintenance plus a one-time Interest-Free Maintenance Security (IFMS) of ₹50-100 per sq ft. Verify: does the corpus transfer to the Resident Welfare Association on formation, or does the builder retain control? If retention is silent or open-ended, refuse.
7. Common-area ownership retained by builder
Under RERA and state apartment ownership acts, common areas — lobbies, gardens, clubhouse, parking — transfer to the apartment owners' association. Watch for clauses where the builder retains the club, commercial spaces, or unsold parking. This is illegal, but it's still routinely written hoping buyers won't object.
8. Builder-appointed arbitrator
A neutral arbitration clause is fine. A clause that lets the builder unilaterally appoint the sole arbitrator is not — the Supreme Court has struck down such clauses in TRF Ltd v. Energo Engineering and subsequent cases. Insist on RERA Authority jurisdiction or institutional arbitration (ICA, MCIA).
9. Cancellation penalty above 10%
If you cancel for personal reasons, the builder can deduct a reasonable amount — but RERA precedent across multiple states caps this at 10% of total consideration. Any clause allowing 15-25% deduction is unenforceable. Note it before signing rather than fighting it later.
10. Irrevocable Power of Attorney to builder
Some BBAs include a clause granting irrevocable POA to the builder for "registration purposes." This can be misused for far more than registration. Require a limited, revocable POA scoped only to the specific registration act and revocable on possession.
11. Loading factor inflation
The loading factor (super built-up over carpet) sits at 25-35% in most state-approved high-rises. BBAs showing 40-45% loading mean you're paying per square foot for area you'll never see. Cross-check super built-up against RERA-filed plans on the state portal — those numbers are public.
12. Missing or "applied for" RERA number
Every BBA must quote the project's RERA registration number on page one. If it's missing, hidden, or shows "applied for," the project is not RERA-registered — which under Section 3 of the Act is a punishable offence and disables your Section 18 compensation claim. Walk away.
What to do before you sign
Take the BBA home. Read it twice. Cross-check every promise from the marketing brochure against the actual clause language — brochure puffery is not legally enforceable, only BBA text is. Pay particular attention to Schedule annexures, where the worst clauses hide. If a clause is one-sided, strike it through, sign over the strike, and get the builder's authorised signatory to counter-sign — RERA tribunals routinely uphold marked-up BBAs.
If you're considering a project in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, or Noida, check the Brickplot score for that project before you sign anything. Our Legal / RERA Compliance axis (16% weight, with hard caps) flags projects whose BBA-violation history shows up in tribunal orders — and that history rarely makes it into the brochure.
A bad BBA is harder to fix than a bad project — because by the time you notice, you've already paid 10% and signed away your leverage.