EOI and Pre-Launch Property Booking: What You Are Paying For, and the RERA Risk
An EOI (expression of interest) is a refundable deposit that puts you in a builder's queue for a coming project. It does not reserve a specific unit, fix a price or make you an allottee. Before the project is registered with RERA, section 3 of the RERA Act bars the builder from booking or selling, so paying an EOI then carries legal risk.
Key takeaways
- Section 3 bars advertising, marketing, booking or selling a project before RERA registration. The penalty is up to 10% of the project cost, and continued default can bring up to three years in prison.
- An EOI should be fully refundable and in writing. It buys a place in the queue, not a unit.
- After registration, the builder still cannot take more than 10% of the price before a registered agreement for sale, and your EOI counts toward that.
- Launch discounts today are modest. One 2026 Bengaluru EOI offered 5% below the launch price, far from the "up to 30%" pre-launch savings cited before RERA.
- Telangana, Gujarat and Karnataka regulators have acted against pre-registration collections in 2025-26.
What the law allows before registration
Section 3 of the RERA Act says no promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite anyone to buy, any unit in a project without first registering it. It applies to projects on more than 500 sq m of land or with more than eight units. Under section 59, breaking this rule attracts a penalty of up to 10% of the estimated project cost, and continuing to break it can mean imprisonment of up to three years, a further fine of up to 10%, or both.
That gives two very different things the same marketing label:
- A soft launch is lawful: a teaser or preview of a project that already has its RERA number, or one where no money is taken.
- A pre-launch, in the old sense, is taking money before registration. Calling the payment an EOI does not change what it is. Regulators and commentators treat a cheque collected before registration as inviting purchase, which section 3 forbids.
Our note on how RERA made home buying safer covers the wider protections. The rest of this page assumes you have checked whether the project is registered yet.
Refundable, adjustable and the rest
Builders use "EOI", "token", "priority pass" and "pre-booking" loosely. What matters is what the form says, not the label.
| Type | What happens to your money | Your risk |
|---|---|---|
| Fully refundable EOI | Returned in full if you do not proceed or get no unit | Low, if the refund date is written down |
| Adjustable EOI | Credited to the booking amount once you choose a unit | Depends on the refund clause if you walk away |
| Partly refundable token | A cancellation charge is kept if you withdraw | You pay to change your mind |
| Non-refundable pre-launch cheque | Kept by the builder if you withdraw | High; a red flag before registration |
Get the refund terms on the builder's letterhead: the amount, the date by which a refund is paid if no unit is allotted or you decline, whether interest is paid, and the bank account the money goes into. Pay by cheque or bank transfer to the builder's company, never in cash or to a broker's account.
Priority numbers, draws and allotment
When demand exceeds supply, EOIs set the order in which buyers choose. A priority number usually follows the order of receipt; some builders run a draw among EOI holders instead. Demand at big launches can be large. Godrej Properties reported more than 1,200 EOIs for its roughly 750-unit Godrej Aristocrat in Gurugram in 2023, and DLF reported selling all 795 flats in a Gurugram project within three days of launch in 2024.
Three things to know about the queue:
- You usually queue for a configuration, such as a three-bedroom unit, not a specific flat. Floor, view and facing come at allotment.
- A low priority number in an oversubscribed launch may leave only the least wanted units. Decide in advance which ones you would accept.
- Once you pick a unit, the EOI converts into a booking and you receive an allotment letter. From then on, RERA's 10% cap before a registered agreement for sale applies to everything you have paid, EOI included.
What regulators have done about EOIs
- Telangana: in March 2026, TG-RERA fined Bharathi Builders Rs 4.74 crore for collecting money through pre-launch offers on an unregistered project in Kompally, Hyderabad, and ordered refunds with interest within 60 days. It has also fined Janapriya Projects about Rs 32 lakh for pre-registration booking.
- Gujarat: GujRERA fined Devnandan Builders Rs 27.39 lakh for booking flats in a scheme at Adalaj before registration, and in April 2025 said it would form zone-wise teams and watch social media to catch pre-registration marketing.
- Karnataka: K-RERA has been reported to be proceeding against developers who took pre-launch booking amounts without registration in 2025-26.
The penalty goes to the regulator, not to you. A refund order helps, but a buyer who paid before any agreement existed may find the claim harder to argue; commentators have noted the difficulty of RERA refund claims where no written agreement was signed. Your paperwork is your protection.
How launch discounts really work
Before RERA, buying at pre-launch could save up to 30% of the price, which is why the practice spread. Today, with approvals and registration in place before a lawful launch, the gap is much smaller. Sobha's One World project at Hoskote in Bengaluru, for example, opened EOIs in May 2026 at Rs 14,720 per sq ft, 5% below the price announced for its public launch ten days later.
Worked example
- If Rs 14,720 is 5% below launch, the launch price is Rs 14,720 / 0.95 = about Rs 15,495 per sq ft.
- On 1,500 sq ft, the saving is 1,500 x (Rs 15,495 - Rs 14,720) = 1,500 x Rs 775 = about Rs 11.6 lakh.
- Against that, an EOI of Rs 10 lakh (the amount asked at one recent Gurugram launch) may sit with the builder for weeks or months, earning you nothing, and the unit you are offered may not be the one you wanted.
A saving of that size is worth having on a registered project from a builder with a clean record. It is not worth the risk on an unregistered one, where a long approval delay or a changed plan can wipe it out. City practice differs mainly in form: Gurugram launches often run on EOI cheques and priority numbers, Bengaluru sells configurations at pre-launch, and Hyderabad has seen repeated TG-RERA action against unregistered pre-launch schemes.
Risks, and who should not pay an EOI
- No registration, no protection. Before registration there is no approved plan, no declared completion date and no separate project account to hold your money.
- Money locked up. A refundable EOI can still take months to come back if the launch slips.
- Changed product. Sizes, prices and specifications shown before registration often change once plans are sanctioned.
- Pressure selling. "Only today" windows push buyers past the checks they would normally run.
An EOI does not suit a buyer who needs the money back on a fixed date, a buyer who will need a home loan, since lenders work from an allotment letter or agreement rather than an EOI, or anyone who has not checked the builder's history. Our guide to checking a builder's track record takes about an hour.
A safer way to use an EOI
- Check the state RERA portal. If the project is registered, note the number, completion date and carpet areas; if not, pay nothing that is not fully refundable, or wait.
- Get the EOI terms in writing: amount, refund date, interest, and what happens if you get no unit.
- Pay only by cheque or transfer to the builder's company account.
- Before converting, read the price sheet and the draft agreement against our builder-buyer agreement clauses.
- After booking, follow the project's RERA quarterly progress reports, and see our home buying process in India for the steps that follow.
For current launches that are registered, see our new launch listings.
Frequently asked questions
Is paying an EOI for a project without a RERA number legal?
The builder is the one breaking the law, since section 3 of the RERA Act bars booking, selling or inviting purchases before registration. You are not penalised, but you are exposed: there is no approved plan, no declared completion date and no separate project account, and regulators such as TG-RERA and GujRERA have fined builders for exactly these collections.
Is an EOI refundable?
It should be, and most builders describe it as fully refundable if you withdraw before choosing a unit or no unit is allotted. But terms differ, and some tokens carry cancellation charges. Get the refund amount, the date it will be paid and the account it will be paid from in writing before you hand over a cheque.
Does an EOI guarantee me a flat at the pre-launch price?
No. An EOI gives you a place in the queue, usually for a configuration rather than a specific unit. The price is fixed only when you choose a unit and receive an allotment letter, and it becomes binding with the registered agreement for sale. In an oversubscribed launch, a late priority number can leave you with no unit or one you do not want.
How big is a typical pre-launch discount now?
Much smaller than before RERA, when savings of up to 30% were cited. Lawful EOIs on registered or about-to-register projects now tend to offer a few percent; Sobha's One World in Bengaluru offered 5% below its launch price in May 2026. Weigh that against how long your money is locked up and how much choice of unit you give up.
If you have been offered an EOI and want to know whether the project and its terms stand up, the Realty Hunting team can take a look before you pay.
