What is force majeure under RERA?
Also called: force majeure clause, Act of God clause, Covid force majeure RERA
The RERA Act defines force majeure, in the Explanation to Section 6, as war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or any other calamity caused by nature affecting a project's regular development. It can justify extending a registration by up to one year.
The list is short on purpose. Look at what isn't on it: demonetisation, GST, labour shortages, slow approvals, weak sales, a builder's cash crunch. Builders write all of these into their agreements anyway, often ending with "or any other reason beyond the promoter's control". RERA authorities and consumer commissions have mostly refused to treat such commercial or regulatory setbacks as force majeure.
Covid-19 was the exception, and a deliberate one. In May 2020 the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs advised authorities to invoke force majeure and extend registrations and completion dates by six months for projects expiring on or after 25 March 2020, with a further three months possible. Most states followed. It gave builders time on paper. It didn't erase interest for delays that began long before the lockdown.
Construction bans in Delhi NCR under GRAP are a grey area. They're real stoppages ordered by the state, and builders cite them every winter, but they last weeks, not years.
The clause in your agreement matters as much as the Act. State rules attach a model agreement for sale that uses the Act's narrow definition, and authorities tend to read down one-sided clauses that go further. When a builder pleads force majeure, ask for dates: when work stopped, when it restarted and the order behind it.
A Gurugram builder cites NGT and GRAP construction bans to justify a 30-month delay. The bans over those winters add up to perhaps three or four months, so a buyer's complaint can argue the rest of the delay is the builder's own.
Accepting the agreement's force majeure clause at face value. What counts is the Act's definition and evidence of how long work actually stopped.
Questions people ask about force majeure under RERA
Was Covid treated as force majeure under RERA?
Yes. The May 2020 advisory from the housing ministry let authorities extend registrations by six months, with three more if needed, for projects whose deadlines fell on or after 25 March 2020.
Can I get a refund if the builder claims force majeure?
Section 18 lets you withdraw with a refund and interest if the builder fails to deliver by the agreed date. The builder will argue force majeure periods should be excluded, and the authority decides how much of the delay it accepts.