| I had booked a flat in Patna and paid a substantial amount, but the builder has now cancelled my allotment. What legal remedies are available to me? |
An arbitrary or unjustified cancellation of a flat allotment is one of the most distressing situations a homebuyer in Patna can face, particularly after years of EMI payments and emotional investment in a home. The law is firmly protective here, and a cancellation that is not backed by a specific, legitimate contractual ground is both legally challengeable and a RERA violation.
Your most direct and powerful remedy is a complaint before Bihar RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Bihar) under the RERA Act 2016. Bihar RERA's office at Shastri Nagar, Patna 800023 has been increasingly active in homebuyer protection, and the Authority can — on a complaint filed at rera.bihar.gov.in — order restoration of your allotment, direct possession to be handed over, or order a full refund of all amounts paid with interest at SBI MCLR plus 2% from the date of each payment under Section 18 of RERA. As of August 2025, Bihar RERA permits complainants to bypass the earlier compulsory conciliation step and proceed directly to the RERA bench, making the process faster. Bihar RERA has issued Section 18 orders in several cases involving Patna projects on Bailey Road and Boring Road. The filing fee is ₹1,000 at rera.bihar.gov.in.
A parallel civil remedy is a suit for specific performance under Section 10 of the Specific Relief Act 1963 (as amended 2018), seeking a court order directing the builder to complete the sale and hand over possession, combined with an interim injunction restraining the builder from re-allotting the flat to any third party while the suit is pending. If the cancellation involves fraud or misrepresentation — the builder claiming a false ground for cancellation to re-sell at a higher price — criminal remedies under the BNS (cheating under Section 318, criminal breach of trust under Section 316) are also available. The RERA and property advocates at the Patna panel of Aapka Legal Advice can assess which combination of RERA complaint, civil suit, and if appropriate criminal complaint delivers the best outcome for your specific situation.
Preserve your complete paper trail: allotment letter, every payment receipt with date, the registered agreement for sale, all correspondence with the builder about the cancellation, and any earlier communications about delays or deficiencies.