Builder has the OC but will not hand over your flat? Use your section 19 rights

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Meera booked a 2 BHK in Pune for Rs 82 lakh. The project received its occupancy certificate in January. By then she had paid 95 per cent. The builder offered her “fit-out possession” for interiors, began billing maintenance from that date, and raised a fresh demand of Rs 2.4 lakh in charges that appear nowhere in her agreement. The keys, the possession letter and the OC copy stayed in the site office. This guide is for that exact stand-off.

Once the occupancy certificate exists and you have paid the agreed price, the builder's stalling has no legal cover. Section 19(3) of the RERA Act, 2016 gives you the right to claim possession as per your agreement. Section 19(10) expects you to take physical possession within two months of the OC, which assumes the builder makes a valid offer you can act on. Section 11(4) places the matching duty on the promoter to hand over possession and documents. Section 17 then requires conveyance of title, normally within three months of the OC.

The builder can lawfully insist on one thing only: the genuine unpaid balance of the agreed price. Not invented charges, not an inflated maintenance advance, not a “documentation fee” that appeared last week.

This is the trap in Meera's story and probably in yours. Fit-out possession is an informal arrangement that lets you do interiors before formal handover. Builders push it for two reasons. It starts the maintenance meter early. And some argue it stops the delay-interest clock under section 18, even though delay interest is generally tied to a valid offer of possession backed by the OC, not a fit-out letter.

If you accept fit-out access, give the builder a short signed note: access is for interior work only, it is not legal possession, and your rights remain reserved. Date it. Keep a copy. Do not sign any fit-out letter that calls itself a possession letter or waives your claims.

• Physical possession of the unit and the keys, against a dated acknowledgement.
• A possession letter dated on the actual handover date, not backdated to the OC date.
• A copy of the occupancy certificate, and the completion certificate where your state issues both.
• The final statement of account reconciling every payment and demand.
• The sanctioned plan and details of common areas and amenities.
• A timeline for conveyance under section 17. If that stage stalls, see builder delaying the conveyance deed.

Keys alone are not handover. Ask in writing for anything missing and keep proof.

Put the builder's final demand next to your agreement, line by line. Make a one-page note in two columns: dues you accept, and dues you dispute with the clause noted against each. The agreed balance goes in column one. A maintenance advance beyond what the agreement permits, fresh “infrastructure” or “legal” charges, and GST recalculated without basis go in column two. If the sticking point is a maintenance demand raised before handover, see maintenance demanded before possession.

Pay the genuine balance against a proper receipt. If you must pay a disputed amount to get the keys, pay it under written protest and reserve the right to recover it.

To: [Builder company name and registered office]
Date: [date]

Subject: Demand for possession, possession letter and handover documents,
Unit [no.], [project name], OC already issued

1. I am the allottee of Unit [no.] under the Agreement for Sale dated [date].
2. The occupancy certificate was issued by [authority] on [date, reference
   if known]. Possession has not been handed over to me.
3. Against the agreed consideration of Rs [X], I have paid Rs [Y]. I am
   ready to pay the balance of Rs [Z] against receipt.
4. I dispute the following demands, which have no basis in my agreement:
   [list each disputed charge and amount].
5. Within 15 days, hand over: (a) possession and keys, (b) a possession
   letter dated on actual handover, (c) the OC copy and final statement of
   account, (d) the sanctioned plan and common-area details.
6. Possession when taken will be subject to a written snag list, without
   prejudice to my rights under sections 18 and 19 of the RERA Act, 2016.

[Name, unit number, mobile, email]
Enclosures: agreement, payment proofs, builder demand letters

Send it by email and registered post.

For a registered project, file before your state RERA seeking directions for possession, handover of documents, refund of charges collected without basis, and delay interest under section 18 where the agreed possession date has passed. The state portals (MahaRERA, UP RERA, K-RERA and others, linked from rera.gov.in) take online complaints with a fee of about Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 by state. The consumer commission through e-Daakhil is the alternative for deficiency in service. Choose one forum for the same relief, not both. If you want out instead, see refund on cancellation.

Take possession when offered even while you fight about charges. Record defects in a dated snag list with photographs, get the builder's acknowledgement on a copy, and write on the possession letter that possession is accepted subject to the attached snag list. Defects ignored later fall under the five-year defect liability in section 14(3); see defect liability complaints.

The builder's claim that “the OC has come” should be checked, not believed. The municipal or planning authority that issues the OC is a public authority under the RTI Act. File an RTI with its PIO asking whether an OC was granted, its date and number, and a certified copy with the sanctioned plan. The reply is due in about 30 days. If the builder will not even show you the certificate, the OC copy guide has the full RTI text. Filing basics are at how to file RTI online.

RTI fetches records. Only RERA or the consumer commission can order the handover.

Only if your agreement says so, and most do not. Maintenance normally runs from the offer or handover of legal possession. Dispute the demand in writing and pay any forced amount under protest.

It expects you to take possession within two months of the OC once a valid offer is made. It does not help a builder who has made no valid offer, or who conditions the keys on disputed charges. Your demand letter shows you were ready and the builder was not.

The builder can insist on the agreed consideration, not on contested extras. State RERA benches routinely direct against keys held hostage to charges outside the agreement. Pay genuine dues, protest the rest, and file.

Generally no. Delay interest is linked to a valid offer of possession after the OC. A fit-out letter without that offer usually does not stop the clock. State RERA orders differ on facts, so keep every letter.

Read it first. Strike out clauses that waive your claims, accept the flat as defect-free, or confirm disputed charges. Add “subject to attached snag list and pending documents” above your signature. If the builder refuses any change, sign under written protest.

No. The builder is a private entity. RTI confirms the OC and sanctioned plan from municipal records. The order for possession comes from RERA or the consumer commission.

• Builder not providing the occupancy certificate copy
• Builder demanding maintenance before possession
• Builder delaying the conveyance deed
• Builder ignoring defect liability complaints
• Builder refusing cancellation refund
• All practical guides
• How to file RTI online

Download the possession handover checklist (PDF).