Can you buy a Bengaluru flat that is not on RERA if it has an occupancy certificate?
Direct answer: Yes. A building can be legally exempt from RERA registration while still strictly requiring a municipal Occupancy Certificate. Section 3(2) exempts projects with 8 or fewer flats or land under 500 square metres. However, BBMP or BDA building bye-laws mandate an Occupancy Certificate before lawful physical possession or permanent utility connections.
Verify with your lawyer: This is general guidance from public rules, not a legal opinion on your flat or site. Have your own property lawyer read the papers before you pay.
What are the key takeaways?
- Not on RERA is lawful for a genuine exemption. It is a breach for a project that needed registration.
- Eight apartments or five hundred square metres is the section 3(2)(a) line. A four-flat building can fall under it.
- The occupancy certificate is a local-law document. The exemption does not cancel it.
- Two flats sold by an owner of a finished building are a resale. Two flats sold by a promoter who skipped registration are not.
When is a project allowed to stay off the register?
Section 3(1) requires registration before a promoter advertises or sells. Section 3(2) then lists what need not be registered. The land does not exceed five hundred square metres, or the apartments, counting all phases, do not exceed eight. The promoter received a completion certificate before the Act commenced on 1 May 2017. Or the work is renovation that does not allot a new unit. The Ministry FAQ hosted by Karnataka RERA says the same thing in plainer words.
Karnataka's Rule 4 then excludes some projects from what counted as ongoing: among them, projects where an occupancy or completion application had already been filed, and portions already covered by a partial occupancy certificate. Karnataka RERA has applied that filing-date test in complaints reported by LiveLaw and Hindustan Times. The date of the application, not only the date the certificate was printed, decided whether the Authority would hear the case. Those orders are about specific projects. They are not a general permission to skip registration in 2026.
What does a building of four flats still need?
A building of four flats can fall under the eight-apartment exemption, so the promoter may never have had to register it. That exemption does not speak to the sanctioned plan or the occupancy certificate. Those come from the planning authority under local building rules. The Act's own definition in section 2(zf) describes the occupancy certificate as the permission to occupy, with water, sanitation and electricity in view. What OC and CC mean is the longer note. A seller who says the certificate is only for large societies is mixing up the RERA exemption with the building rules. Banks and the khata office have not mixed them up. A four-flat building without a plan approval is a B-register problem waiting, whether or not RERA ever applied.
Partial certificates need the same care. Rule 4's partial-occupancy exclusion is only for the portion the certificate covers. A wing that was never in that portion is not exempt because the next wing has a certificate.
| Compliance Dimension | RERA Registration Exemption (s.3(2)) | Municipal Occupancy Certificate (BBMP / BDA) |
|---|---|---|
| Governing Mandate | Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (Central Act). | BBMP Building Bye-Laws 2003 / Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act. |
| Statutory Threshold | Exempt if project has 8 or fewer apartments, or land does not exceed 500 sq m. | Zero size exemption; mandatory for every residential building regardless of size. |
| Possession Legality | Governs marketing, booking advances, and promoter escrow accountability. | Governs legal physical habitation and confirms structural compliance with sanctioned plan. |
| Utility Connections | Does not govern municipal water supply or electricity meters. | Mandatory statutory prerequisite for permanent BWSSB water and BESCOM power connections. |
| Risk of Absence | Completely lawful if development meets section 3(2) statutory limits. | Unlawful occupation risk, penal compounding, property tax surcharges, and disconnection notices. |
What if the project started before RERA and the owner is selling two flats?
Ask who the owner is. If the building received its completion certificate before 1 May 2017, section 3(2)(b) says registration was not required. If an occupancy application was already in before the rules, Rule 4 may keep it off the register. In both cases you are looking at a finished building. The purchase is closer to a resale: title, EC, khata, and the certificate for your wing. New launch or resale is the comparison. There is still risk. The certificate might not match the floors that were built. The khata might be in the B register. A completion certificate for a different block might be doing the work of the one you need.
If the person selling is still the promoter, the project needed registration, and no exemption applies, section 3 was breached no matter how old the excavation is. Two unsold flats do not create an exemption. Do not pay against a sentence that RERA came later. Match the certificate numbers and dates, then decide with your lawyer. A project that is only now applying is a different page: registration still in process.
Frequently asked questions
Is an occupancy certificate compulsory for a building of four flats?
The RERA exemption and the certificate are different. Four flats can be outside section 3. The local authority's occupancy certificate is still the permission to occupy.
Does an OC from before 2017 mean I can ignore RERA?
If the completion certificate was in hand before 1 May 2017, section 3(2)(b) says the project did not need registration. You still verify that the certificate is for your building.
The owner says the project is too old for RERA. Is that enough?
No. Old plus a completion certificate, or old plus a Rule 4 exclusion, can be enough. Old by itself is not. Read the dates.
Can I buy if the certificate exists and the RERA page has nothing?
Yes, when an exemption applies and the certificate matches the wing. No, when a promoter is selling a project that section 3 still covers. Your lawyer sorts which of those two you are in.
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References
Checked 28 Oct 2026.
- Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, sections 2(zf), 3(1) and 3(2): https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/resources/staticpage/Real_Estate_Act.pdf
- Ministry RERA FAQs, questions 22 to 27 (hosted by Karnataka RERA): https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/resources/staticpage/FAQ.pdf
- Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017, Rule 4: https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/
- LiveLaw, Karnataka RERA on the occupancy-application date (May 2026 report of the Authority): https://www.livelawbiz.com/rera/oc-application-date-not-issuance-decides-rera-applicability-karnataka-rera-dismisses-plea-against-pre-rera-project-528972
- Hindustan Times, Karnataka RERA on projects that applied for an OC before the Act: https://www.hindustantimes.com/real-estate/karnataka-rera-projects-that-applied-for-oc-before-rera-came-into-effect-need-not-be-registered-101744048063044.html
This page explains public rules and processes. It isn't legal or tax advice. acre&key gives buyers advice for free.