Section 14: plan changes and five-year defect liability

Can plans or specifications be changed unilaterally?

Section 14 requires adherence to sanctioned plans and project specifications and distinguishes changes affecting an allottee’s premises from other specified project changes. Section 14(2) includes consent requirements and limited exceptions. Classify the actual change and read the subsection rather than assume that any architect approval, planning sanction or majority decision satisfies every requirement.

Compare the original and revised plans, agreement and consent records. Record who is affected and what was disclosed. A portal correction is not necessarily a lawful substitute for consent.

How does the five-year defect provision work?

Section 14(3) covers the specified structural, workmanship, quality, service and agreement-obligation defects brought to notice within five years of handing over possession. The promoter must rectify without further charge within thirty days, failing which appropriate compensation is available as provided by the Act. The defect, timing and notice need evidence.

Preserve photographs, inspection reports and communications. Technical causation matters; not every maintenance issue is automatically a promoter defect. Outcomes depend on facts and the decision of the Authority or Tribunal, and compensation procedure requires separate legal assessment.

Official sources

• RERA Act, Section 14(1)–(3)
• RERA Act, Sections 31 and 71

Read defect-claim support and area disputes.

Editorial source check: 2026-10-24. Owner-approved for publication. No independent professional legal review or named professional authorship is claimed. “Last reviewed” records an editorial update, not legal sign-off. Check applicable amendments, orders and case-specific law before reliance.

General information, not legal advice. Authorship and review policy.