By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 15 October 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice: see our disclaimer
A homebuyer whose flat is years late, or whose builder has quietly reduced the promised amenities, usually assumes RERA is the only door available, since the authority was specifically set up for exactly this kind of grievance. It is not the only door, and in many cases it is not even the better one, which is a choice worth making deliberately rather than by default.
This guide explains why the Supreme Court has held that the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 does not oust a consumer forum's jurisdiction over a builder dispute, what each forum actually does differently in practice, and how a homebuyer or their lawyer should decide between them.
What the Supreme Court actually decided in Imperia Structures
In Imperia Structures Ltd. v. Anil Patni, decided on 2 November 2020, the Supreme Court dealt squarely with a builder's argument that homebuyers who had approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission should instead have been required to proceed under RERA, since RERA was the later, special legislation specifically covering real estate. The Court rejected that argument, holding that Section 79 of the RERA Act bars only civil courts from entertaining matters RERA covers, and that a consumer forum, being a quasi-judicial body created under a separate statute, is not a civil court within the meaning of that bar.
The Court went further and held that remedies available under the Consumer Protection Act are additional to, and run concurrently with, remedies available under RERA, reasoning that Parliament's intent, reflected in Section 71 of the RERA Act, was to leave the allottee with a choice of whether to proceed under the Consumer Protection Act or under RERA, rather than forcing every real estate grievance exclusively into the RERA framework. The case itself arose from homebuyers of a Gurgaon project who had booked in 2011-12 and approached the NCDRC after waiting forty two months with no real prospect of possession, and the builder's argument that they were commercial purchasers, outside consumer protection altogether, was also rejected on the facts.
Why this still matters even though the ruling is from 2020
Builders continue to raise the same jurisdictional objection in fresh matters, arguing that a complaint should be dismissed or transferred because RERA is the specific, specialised forum for real estate disputes, and the Imperia Structures position remains the operative answer to that objection, consistently applied by consumer commissions and cited in RERA authority orders that have had to grapple with the overlap, including specifically in Haryana RERA proceedings. A homebuyer's lawyer facing this objection today should be ready to meet it directly rather than treat it as a serious threat to the complaint's maintainability, since the law on this specific point has not shifted since 2020.
What has evolved since 2020 is how both forums actually operate in practice: RERA authorities across states have built up a substantial body of orders on delay compensation, refund with interest, and possession-related relief, giving a homebuyer going that route considerably more predictability about outcomes than existed when RERA was still new, while consumer commissions have continued to handle real estate complaints as part of their ordinary docket, including through the revised pecuniary jurisdiction structure that now applies to all consumer complaints generally.
What each forum actually does differently
RERA authorities are specifically built around real estate transactions and tend to move faster on straightforward, formulaic claims, such as delay in possession where the promised date and the actual status are not seriously disputed, and the relief sought is refund with interest or possession with compensation calculated under the state's RERA rules. Because RERA authorities handle these claims constantly, their orders tend to be more consistent and the compensation formulas more predictable than taking the same claim to a consumer forum, which handles real estate disputes alongside a much wider range of unrelated consumer grievances.
A consumer forum, by contrast, can be the better choice where the claim involves something RERA's framework is less suited to award cleanly, such as a claim for broader compensation for mental agony and harassment, or a dispute that turns on specific contractual terms in the builder-buyer agreement rather than the more standardised delay-and-refund fact pattern RERA authorities handle most often. A consumer forum also has somewhat wider procedural tools available for a complex, document-heavy dispute, since RERA adjudication, while quasi-judicial, is generally designed for a faster, more summary process than full consumer forum proceedings.
The one thing you cannot do: run both at once on the same claim
The concurrent jurisdiction the Supreme Court recognised is a choice of forum, not a licence to pursue the same relief in both places simultaneously and see which one moves faster. A homebuyer who has already obtained an order from RERA on a specific claim, such as a refund with interest for delayed possession, generally cannot then approach a consumer forum seeking the same relief over the same default, since that would amount to seeking a second bite at an issue already decided, and forums have been alert to this kind of forum shopping.
Where a homebuyer has distinct claims against the same builder, some suited to RERA and others better framed as consumer grievances, such as a RERA claim for delayed possession alongside a separate consumer claim over defective construction quality discovered after possession, pursuing each in the forum best suited to it is legitimate and does not raise the same objection, provided the two claims are genuinely distinct rather than the same grievance recharacterised twice.
How to actually decide which forum to use
Start with what kind of relief is actually being sought. A straightforward delay-in-possession claim, where the facts are largely undisputed and the remedy is a standard refund-with-interest or possession-with-compensation order, usually moves faster and more predictably through the state RERA authority, particularly in states where the authority has a well established track record on this exact fact pattern. A more complex claim, involving disputed facts, a claim for broader damages beyond the standard RERA compensation formula, or allegations going beyond delay, such as fraud or serious misrepresentation in the original sale, may be better suited to a consumer forum or even a civil suit, depending on the specific relief needed.
Where there is genuine doubt, filing in RERA first is often the lower-risk choice given its generally faster timelines and lower filing costs, while keeping the consumer forum route available for any distinct claim that RERA's order does not fully address, rather than trying to anticipate every possible outcome at the filing stage. Whichever forum is chosen, the builder-buyer agreement and the actual payment and possession timeline should be assembled and dated clearly before filing, since both forums decide these claims on exactly that documentary record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our builder says we cannot go to the consumer forum because RERA is the specific law for real estate disputes. Is that correct?
No, this argument has already been rejected by the Supreme Court in Imperia Structures Ltd. v. Anil Patni. Section 79 of RERA bars only civil courts, not consumer fora, and the Court held that remedies under the Consumer Protection Act remain available alongside RERA. You can proceed in the consumer forum despite this objection.
We already got a refund-with-interest order from RERA for a delayed flat. Can we also file a consumer complaint for the same delay to claim more compensation?
Generally no, not for the same grievance already decided by RERA. Pursuing the identical claim twice in two forums is treated as an impermissible second attempt at the same relief. A genuinely separate and distinct grievance, such as a construction quality defect found later, can still be pursued separately.
Which forum will resolve our delayed possession claim faster, RERA or the consumer commission?
RERA authorities generally move faster on straightforward delay-in-possession claims, since they handle this exact fact pattern routinely and have standardised compensation formulas. A consumer forum may take longer but can be better suited to a more complex claim involving disputed facts or broader damages.
We want to claim for mental harassment caused by the builder's conduct, not just a refund. Should we go to RERA or the consumer forum?
A consumer forum is generally better suited to this kind of claim, since RERA's framework is built primarily around possession, refund and standardised delay compensation rather than broader damages for mental agony and harassment. Consider framing this specific claim through the consumer forum route.
References & Further Reading
The provisions and rulings below were relied on for this guide. The position can change with amendments and later decisions, so check the current text and the latest case law before acting on any of it.
- Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, Sections 71 and 79
- Consumer Protection Act, 2019
- M/s. Imperia Structures Ltd. v. Anil Patni and Another, (2020) 10 SCC 783, decided 2 November 2020