Landowners must deposit full refund to appeal RERA order, K-REAT rules
The Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal dismissed landowners' appeal against a Rs 60.91 lakh refund order for a homebuyer, holding they too must make the full pre-deposit.
Key points
- The Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal on 30 October 2026 dismissed an appeal by landowners of a Bengaluru project developed with Vijicon Properties.
- K-RERA had ordered a refund with delay interest of Rs 60,91,329 to a homebuyer; the tribunal refused to waive the pre-deposit or condone a 697-day delay.
- The tribunal held landowners can be promoters under RERA, so they must deposit the full amount owed to the buyer before appealing.
Photo: Spamguy at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5 (cropped). Representational image.
The Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (K-REAT) on 30 October 2026 dismissed an appeal by the landowners of a Bengaluru housing project against a refund order in favour of a homebuyer, holding that landowners can be promoters under the RERA Act and must deposit the full amount owed before they can appeal. The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) had ordered a refund with delay interest of Rs 60,91,329.
What Happened
According to the order, the homebuyer signed an agreement of sale on 27 June 2015 for a flat in the project Vivansaa Aurigaa, developed by Vijicon Properties on the landowners' land, for Rs 37,00,174, and paid Rs 33,76,000. Possession was promised by 31 December 2016 but the project was not completed. On 1 December 2023, K-RERA allowed the buyer's complaint for a refund with interest.
The landowners appealed only on 28 October 2025, 697 days late, without making any deposit. They said they had not been heard by K-RERA, that the developer had breached its agreement with them, and that as landowners they should not have to deposit the amount. The tribunal found that a High Court order of 28 October 2024 in a related case showed they knew of the refund order long before, and held that they had not shown sufficient cause for the delay.
On the deposit, the tribunal held that under Section 43(5) of the RERA Act a promoter appealing a refund order must first deposit the entire amount due to the buyer, including interest, and that it has no power to waive this; discretion exists only for penalties. Since landowners may fall within the Act's definition of promoter, being a landowner rather than the developer is no ground for exemption, it said. It dismissed both applications and the appeal.
What It Means
For homebuyers holding a RERA refund order, the ruling means a promoter, including a landowner in a joint development, cannot stall payment through a late appeal without first depositing the full sum. The K-RERA refund order stands. The K-REAT order can be appealed to the High Court.
Source: K-REAT judgment
Sources & Citations
- K-REAT judgment — Karnataka Real Estate Appellate Tribunal