Step 3 of 8: Agreement to sell — The contract is signed and registered at the sub-registrar.
Step 3 of 8
Agreement to sell
The contract is signed and registered at the sub-registrar.
The agreement to sell (also called the agreement for sale) is the contract between you and the builder: the flat, its carpet area, the price, the payment schedule, the completion date, and what happens if either side is late. It is registered at the sub-registrar's office. Under the RERA Act (section 13) the builder may not take more than 10% of the cost of the flat before this agreement is registered — so this is the step that protects every larger payment after it.
The money at this step
The balance up to 10% of the cost, plus stamp duty and a registration fee on the agreement itself. How the agreement is stamped in Karnataka depends on its terms — confirm the amount with your lawyer or the sub-registrar.
Where Pinly helps
The Pinly report flags clauses in the builder's filed agreement that favour the builder — delay compensation, cancellation, changes to the plan — where the agreement has been read. Read your own draft against it.
What the report coversHow long this usually takes
Usually 2–6 weeks from booking, depending on the builder's drafting and the sub-registrar's appointment.
You are done with this step when
You hold a registered agreement to sell naming your flat, carpet area, price break-up, payment schedule and completion date — and you have paid no more than 10% before it was registered.
Your next step · Agreement to sell
Register the agreement to sell before you pay more than 10%
Section 13 of the RERA Act stops the builder taking more than 10% of the cost before the agreement is registered. The agreement is where your completion date, carpet area and delay compensation live — have your lawyer read it first.
2–6 weeks from booking
Documents at this step
Registered agreement to sell
The contract: completion date, penalty, specification, carpet area and schedule all live here.
Stamp duty and registration fee receipts
Proof the agreement was properly stamped and registered.
Approved floor plan and specification annexed to the agreement
What you are owed, in writing.
Questions to ask
- What compensation does the agreement give me if completion is late?
- What are the cancellation charges after registration, on each side?
- Can the builder change the plan or the specification, and does it need my consent?
- Is the completion date the same as the one filed with K-RERA?
- Who pays the stamp duty and registration fee on the agreement?
Traps at this step
Paying a large advance before registration
The 10% rule exists because this used to happen constantly. Every rupee above 10% before a registered agreement is leverage handed over for nothing.
Signing the builder's standard draft unread
Standard drafts protect the builder, legitimately. Your lawyer's job is to find the clauses that need changing before you sign, not after.
Two different completion dates
If the agreement's date differs from the RERA filing, ask which one the builder will be held to, and get the answer in the agreement.
This is general guidance to help you plan, not legal, tax or financial advice. Process, charges and stamp duty change, and vary by bank, builder and authority. Have a property lawyer read your documents, and confirm every figure before you transact. Pinly does not verify title, and does not perform legal due diligence on your behalf.