In 2020 and 2021, regulators across India extended project deadlines because of COVID-19. Builders often cite those orders when a flat is late. The honest answer is that the orders changed the project’s registered timeline, and whether they also moved your possession date depends on the facts and on who is deciding.
Short answer: The extension orders were made under Section 6 and addressed registrations and project completion dates. Nothing in them rewrites the date in your Agreement for Sale. In practice, some authorities and tribunals still let builders exclude a COVID-19 period, often six months, when counting delay. Delays that began before the pandemic, or agreements signed after it, are on much weaker ground for the builder.
What the orders actually said
| Date | Step | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| 29 April 2020 | Central Advisory Council under RERA (minutes on the MoHUA site) | Recommended that states extend project timelines by six months for projects whose completion date falls on or after 25 March 2020, with a further extension of up to three months at each authority’s discretion |
| 13 May 2020 | MoHUA advisory to states and regulators (as reported by law firms and relied on by UP-RERA) | Treated COVID-19 as a force majeure event for extending registration under Section 6 |
| 2020 | UP-RERA order (the version published on the UP-RERA website is dated 6 June 2020) | Extended registrations and completion dates by six months for registrations expiring on or after 25 March 2020, without fee; projects that already had a completion or occupancy certificate did not need it |
| 2021 | UP-RERA second-wave extension (press reports) | Reports describe nine months for NCR projects and six months for others, but the reports differ on dates. Check the UP-RERA website for the actual order |
The MoHUA advisory was addressed to regulators. It dealt with registered timelines and, as far as the published summaries show, did not say that agreements between builders and buyers were changed. Law firm commentary at the time made the same point: the registration extension does not alter the terms of the agreement.
Section 6 date versus agreement date
Section 18(1) asks whether the promoter completed or gave possession “by the date specified” in the Agreement for Sale. Section 6 allows the Authority to extend the registration of the project. These are two different dates. See our article on Can a Builder Unilaterally Extend the Possession Date?.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Newtech Promoters and Developers Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. (11 November 2021) held that the refund right is not dependent on contingencies and applies regardless of unforeseen events or stay orders not attributable to the allottee. Newtech did not decide a COVID-19 question as such, but it supports the view that an extension of registration does not by itself defeat a Section 18 claim.
How tribunals have handled the COVID-19 plea
| Forum | What happened |
|---|---|
| UP Appellate Tribunal in the Ratan Buildtech appeals (decision recorded by the Allahabad High Court, 4 September 2025) | The Tribunal awarded interest from 1 January 2020 to the offer of possession in late 2022 at MCLR plus 1%, except for a six-month COVID-19 force majeure period. The High Court dismissed the builder’s appeals but did not itself lay down a rule on the COVID-19 exclusion |
| Haryana Appellate Tribunal, Signature Global v. Meena Godhvani, 26 August 2025 | The Authority had allowed a six-month COVID-19 grace period. The Tribunal called the entitlement “doubtful” and read force majeure narrowly, but did not disturb the grace period because the allottees had not appealed |
| Haryana Appellate Tribunal, Cosmos Infra v. Abhinav Kohli (reported February 2024) | No relief to the builder: the possession date had passed before the pandemic and no evidence showed how it hit the project |
| MahaRERA, Divya Gajwani v. Five Star Construction (reported April 2026) | COVID-19 plea rejected for a flat agreed in December 2022, after the pandemic had eased. Reported to hold that extending registration does not let the developer change the date in a registered agreement |
| Rajasthan Appellate Tribunal (reported September 2026) | Reported to exclude a COVID-19 moratorium from the interest period while rejecting other grounds such as demonetisation and GST |
Orders from other states are persuasive, not binding, in Uttar Pradesh. Reports of the Maharashtra and Rajasthan decisions come from news coverage, so read the order itself before relying on it.
What this means for your date
| Your situation | Likely position |
|---|---|
| Possession date before 25 March 2020 | The delay began before the pandemic. The builder has the weakest case for excluding time, though the UP Tribunal in Ratan Buildtech still excluded six months |
| Possession date after 25 March 2020 and before the second wave | The builder is more likely to get some COVID-19 time excluded, if it shows the effect on the project |
| Agreement signed after the pandemic eased | A COVID-19 plea is hard to sustain |
| Builder relies on a later extension | Ask for the order and its date, and check whether it covers your project |
Practical steps
- Find your possession date in the Agreement for Sale, not in the brochure.
- Download the project’s registration certificate and extensions from the UP-RERA website.
- Calculate your delay claim two ways, with and without a six-month exclusion, so you know the range. Our article on How Delay Interest Is Calculated Under Section 18 of RERA explains the method.
- Reply in writing to any builder letter that claims a COVID-19 extension, and say that you do not accept it as changing your agreement.
- Keep paying instalments as your agreement requires.
Frequently asked questions
Is the six-month COVID-19 extension automatic for my flat? It was automatic for the project’s registration, for registrations expiring on or after 25 March 2020. It was not an automatic change to your agreement. Whether a tribunal excludes the period in your claim is decided case by case.
Can I still claim a refund? Section 18(1) and Newtech support the refund right when the agreed date is missed. A COVID-19 plea goes to the builder’s defence on the calculation of delay, and tribunals have differed on it.
Does the extension pause my instalments? Not by itself. Follow the payment plan in your agreement, and take advice before withholding anything, because Section 19(7) makes an allottee liable to pay interest on late payments.
This article is for general information and is not legal advice. Laws, rules and rates change and differ by state. Verify current provisions before acting.