East Bengaluru buyer answers

Builder still running maintenance after possession: what can owners do?

By Gaurav Mongia, acre&key · Published 18 Oct 2026 · Updated 18 Oct 2026

Direct answer: Under RERA section 11(4)(d), the builder must provide and maintain essential services on reasonable charges until the association of allottees takes over maintenance. Section 17 makes it hand over the common areas and documents to the association. If that hasn't happened, owners should form or activate the association, ask for handover in writing, and complain under section 31.

Disclosure: acre&key’s advice is free to buyers; we are an authorised sales partner for some projects and may be paid by the developer.

Verify with your lawyer: This page explains the RERA Act and the K-RERA model agreement as published, not legal advice. Have your own property lawyer read your agreement for sale before you withhold any payment or file anything.

Verify with your CA: Where maintenance charges carry GST, have your own chartered accountant check the tax on your bills.

You've had the keys for a while. The maintenance bill still comes from the builder or an agency it picked, the owners' group exists mostly as a chat thread, and nobody has seen a full set of accounts. Owners in this position usually ask two things. Is the builder allowed to keep doing this, and how do we take over? Here is what the RERA Act and the Karnataka RERA model agreement say, and what they leave open.

Is the builder allowed to run maintenance after possession?

Yes, for a period. Section 11(4)(d) says the promoter shall "be responsible for providing and maintaining the essential services, on reasonable charges, till the taking over of the maintenance of the project by the association of the allottees" (RERA Act, s.11).

So the builder's role doesn't end on a fixed date. It ends when the association takes over maintenance. The Act doesn't set a number of months for that takeover.

The Proforma Agreement of Sale that Karnataka RERA publishes on its Downloads page puts it the same way in clause 11: the promoter shall provide and maintain essential services "till the taking over of the maintenance of the project by the association of the allottees upon the issuance of the completion certificate of the project". The model ties the takeover to the completion certificate. Your signed agreement may word this differently, so read your own copy.

What can the builder charge for maintenance before handover?

The Act says "reasonable charges" and stops there. It doesn't define reasonable, and it doesn't give a rate.

The model agreement has three clauses worth reading side by side:

• Clause 11 says the cost of the promoter's maintenance until takeover "has been included in the Total Price".
• Clause 7.2 says the allottee, after taking possession, agrees "to pay the maintenance charges as determined by the Promoter/association of allottees, as the case may be after the issuance of the completion certificate for the project".
• Clause 1.10 says the promoter must pay all outgoings it has collected from allottees, including maintenance charges, before transferring possession. If it doesn't, it stays liable to pay them even after the transfer.

Those clauses cover different periods and different money, so the answer for your flat depends on what your own agreement says. Look for the maintenance clause, the period it covers, any advance maintenance and any deposit. Our page on corpus fund vs maintenance deposit explains how those two amounts differ, and GST on apartment maintenance covers the tax side.

When should the association be formed?

Section 11(4)(e) says the promoter shall "enable the formation of an association or society or co-operative society, as the case may be, of the allottees, or a federation of the same, under the laws applicable". Its proviso adds a fallback: "in the absence of local laws", the association shall be formed "within a period of three months of the majority of allottees having booked their plot or apartment or building".

Owners have a duty here too. Section 19(9) says every allottee "shall participate towards the formation of an association or society or cooperative society of the allottees, or a federation of the same".

Which Karnataka law your association registers under, and so whether the three-month fallback applies, is a question for your lawyer. For the wider handover picture, see when a builder must hand over the apartment association and common areas in Karnataka.

What must the builder hand over to the association?

Section 17(1) says the promoter shall execute a registered conveyance deed in favour of each allottee "along with the undivided proportionate title in the common areas to the association of the allottees", and hand over the common areas to the association with the other title documents, within the period set by local laws. Where there's no local law, conveyance must be done "within three months from date of issue of occupancy certificate".

Section 17(2) adds that after the occupancy certificate and possession, the promoter must hand over "the necessary documents and plans, including common areas" to the association. Without a local law, that is "within thirty days after obtaining the completion certificate".

Two more duties sit with the promoter:

• Section 11(4)(b) makes it responsible for getting the completion or occupancy certificate and making it available to allottees individually or to the association. Here's why OC and CC matter in Bangalore.
• Section 11(4)(a) keeps it responsible for its obligations "to the association of allottees" until conveyance. Its proviso keeps the defect liability under section 14(3) running even after conveyance. See what you can do about defects after possession.

For lifts and generators specifically, see which lift and DG papers to collect at handover.

Why does it matter who runs maintenance?

Whoever runs maintenance picks the vendors, sets the monthly charges and decides when a cost is passed on to owners. Until the association takes over, owners see those choices from outside. Taking over also means taking on the work: contracts, staff, accounts and the common-area assets the builder hands across. That is why the documents under section 17(2) matter as much as the keys to the pump room.

What can owners do if the builder won't hand over maintenance?

1. Read your agreement for sale. Note the maintenance clause, the period it covers, any advance paid and any deposit. Our guide on what to check in the builder's sale agreement lists the clauses to look for.
2. Get the association formed or registered. Every allottee has to take part under section 19(9), so push for a general body meeting and an elected committee.
3. Write to the promoter. Ask for a takeover date, the maintenance accounts for the period it has run the project, copies of the OC and CC, and the documents and plans listed under section 17(2). Keep copies of everything you send and receive.
4. Check the K-RERA project page. Section 11(1)(d) requires the promoter to keep a quarterly list of approvals taken and approvals pending. Our guide to checking a project on the Karnataka RERA website shows where to look.
5. Keep paying what the agreement requires while you dispute it. Section 19(6) makes each allottee responsible for maintenance charges "at the proper time and place", and section 19(7) charges interest on delay. Take legal advice before you hold anything back.
6. File a complaint if needed. Under section 31 any aggrieved person can complain, and its Explanation says "person" includes "the association of allottees". Here's how to file a complaint with Karnataka RERA.

What doesn't RERA settle?

• A rate. The Act sets no maintenance rate and doesn't define "reasonable charges".
• The association's registration route. That depends on Karnataka law, which this page doesn't cover. Ask your lawyer.
• Tax on the bill. GST on maintenance turns on the facts of your association and its charges. Ask your CA.

Frequently asked questions

Can the builder keep collecting maintenance after the association is formed?

Section 11(4)(d) ties the builder's role to the date the association takes over maintenance. The association merely existing isn't enough. Forming the association is one step and the takeover is another, so ask the promoter in writing for a takeover date.

Is maintenance included in the flat price?

In the K-RERA model agreement, clause 11 says the promoter's maintenance cost until takeover is included in the Total Price, while clause 7.2 has the allottee pay maintenance charges after the completion certificate. Your signed agreement decides, so have your lawyer read it.

Do I have to join the apartment association?

Section 19(9) says every allottee shall participate towards forming the association. How membership works after that depends on the association's own rules and the Karnataka law it registers under.

Can owners stop paying maintenance to the builder?

Not without legal advice. Section 19(6) makes allottees responsible for maintenance charges as the agreement sets out, and section 19(7) charges interest on delay. Use the complaint route instead.

Where can owners complain about a builder that won't hand over maintenance?

To the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority under section 31. The Explanation to section 31 lets the association of allottees file the complaint itself.

References

1. Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, ss. 11(1), 11(4)(a), (b), (d), (e), 14(3), 17, 19(6), (7), (9), 31. https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/resources/staticpage/Real_Estate_Act.pdf, accessed 17 Oct 2026.
2. Karnataka RERA, Proforma Agreement of Sale (Downloads page), clauses 1.10, 7.2 and 11: https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/downloadPage, accessed 17 Oct 2026.
3. Karnataka RERA portal (project search). https://rera.karnataka.gov.in/, accessed 17 Oct 2026.

This page explains public rules and processes. It isn't legal or tax advice. acre&key gives buyers advice for free. We are an authorised sales partner for some projects and may be paid by the developer.