If you are buying a flat in a joint venture project, a landowner has contributed the land and a developer is building on it. The landowner is paid mainly with a share of the flats or of the sale revenue, sometimes with a cash deposit, rather than a full cash price. Your RERA protections are the same as in any registered project: under the Explanation to Section 2(zk) of the RERA Act, where the builder and the seller are different, both are promoters and are jointly liable, though courts differ on how far that reaches a landowner. What changes is the paperwork: who owns the land, what the joint development agreement says, and whose share your flat is in.
Landowners should read our landowner’s guide to joint venture development instead. In Jaipur, “JDA approved” on a brochure means the Jaipur Development Authority, not a joint development agreement, so it does not signal a joint venture.
How a joint venture project works
Under a joint development agreement (or collaboration agreement), the landowner lets the developer build and receives an agreed share of the finished units or of the sale revenue. So one building can hold flats sold by the developer and flats that belong to the landowner.
We describe our model as joint-venture-led, and our joint ventures page explains how we work with landowners.
Who is the promoter under RERA?
The promoter is the party RERA holds responsible to buyers. Section 2(zk)(v) covers anyone acting as a builder, coloniser, contractor, developer or estate developer, or claiming to hold the landowner’s power of attorney. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ RERA FAQ (July 2025, Q7) answers the joint development question by quoting the Explanation to Section 2(zk) on joint liability, though it calls its answers guidance only.
Whether the landowner is a promoter, and how far co-promoters share liability, is less settled, and courts differ:
| Decision | What it held |
|---|---|
| Bombay High Court (single judge), Wadhwa Group Holding Pvt Ltd v Vijay Choksi, 26 February 2024 | A co-promoter registered under a joint development agreement must refund with interest even if it received none of the buyer’s money |
| Kerala High Court (single judge), Pooja Constructions v The Secretary, 30 August 2024 | “Promoter” in Sections 3 and 4 excludes the landowner, though a landowner may be treated as a promoter for specific functions such as conveyance |
| Supreme Court, UP RERA v Larsen and Toubro, 13 August 2025 | Let stand a High Court direction registering L&T, the assignee developer, as sole promoter, but confined it to the facts and left the meaning of Section 2(zk) open |
| Karnataka High Court (single judge), M Govind Reddy v State of Karnataka, WP 23165/2026, 11 August 2026 | A landowner under a joint development agreement is also a promoter or co-promoter |
This is a selection, and the law is still developing.
In Rajasthan, a landowner is not automatically a promoter. Rajasthan RERA’s website FAQ (Q79) says a landowner should be named and treated as a promoter if:
- it has a role as builder or developer (if its power of attorney holder plays that role instead, that holder is the promoter);
- it holds saleable area that it intends to sell before completion;
- it has not given the developer full powers of sale and conveyance, so it must sign agreements for sale or sale deeds for its share;
- it shares the project’s profit or loss; or
- the development agreement names it as a promoter.
For more detail, the FAQ (Q80) points to the regulator’s order of 30 June 2020 (No. F.1(152)RJ/RERA/LAND/2020/1202); check that order’s current text on the regulator’s website before relying on it.
The same FAQ (Q86) goes further for revenue-share and area-share projects: a landowner who benefits from sales and receives buyers’ payments is a co-promoter. So ask whether any of your payments go to the landowner.
The practical answer: who is liable to you depends on the development agreement and on who is named on the project’s RERA registration. Read both.
How the landowner’s share of units is handled
Ask whether your flat is in the developer’s share or the landowner’s, because three things turn on it.
Who signs. Unless the developer holds full powers of sale and conveyance, the landowner must sign the agreements for sale and sale deeds for its units (Rajasthan RERA FAQ Q79).
Where the money goes. Section 4(2)(l)(D) requires 70 percent of buyers’ payments to go into a separate scheduled bank account for construction and land cost, with withdrawals certified by an engineer, an architect and a chartered accountant. Rajasthan RERA’s FAQ calls for one designated account per registered project or phase, and says withdrawals for a landowner’s revenue or area share remain subject to Section 4.
Who you can pursue. Section 31 lets you complain against any promoter, so check whether the landowner is named as one; if not, see the court decisions above.
Title and agreement checks before you book
When registering, a promoter who does not own the land must file the owner’s consent, the joint development agreement and the owner’s title documents (Rajasthan Rule 3(1)(f)), plus an affidavit on title and encumbrances (Section 4(2)(l)(A) and (B)). Most of these are published on the project’s page at rera.rajasthan.gov.in. Rule numbers are from the Rajasthan RERA Rules as notified in 2017; check for later amendments. Before you pay:
- Look up the project on rera.rajasthan.gov.in. See who is named in the promoter details, whether a landowner is listed as a promoter, and the project’s status and completion date. Our guide to checking RERA registration shows how.
- Download the published documents. Rule 16 requires a land title search report by an advocate with at least three years’ experience in land matters, encumbrance details, the joint development agreement where the promoter is not the owner, and the proforma allotment letter, agreement for sale and conveyance deed.
- Read the sharing and handover clauses. Unclear title and vague clauses on profit sharing, timelines and handover are common causes of joint development disputes, says law firm King Stubb and Kasiva (June 2025). Check the encumbrance certificate, and confirm that the landowner’s development power of attorney is registered and covers the sale of your unit.
- Check your agreement’s recitals. Rajasthan’s model agreement for sale (Form-G) asks a promoter that does not own the land to state the landowner’s name, how the owner acquired it, and the joint development agreement’s Sub-Registrar registration details. If these are blank, ask why.
- Pay no more than 10 percent up front. Section 13(1) bars a promoter from taking more than 10 percent of the cost before a written agreement for sale is registered, and under Rule 9(2), an application form or allotment letter signed earlier cannot limit your rights.
See our stamp duty guide for registration costs and our first-time buyer’s checklist for the wider process.
The risks, and how RERA protects you
| Risk | Protection |
|---|---|
| Defective land title | Section 18(2): the promoter must compensate you, and the claim is not barred by limitation |
| Delayed possession | Section 18(1): withdraw with a full refund plus interest and compensation, or stay and receive interest for every month of delay. Check whether Rajasthan RERA has extended the project’s dates, as an extension can affect when delay interest starts |
| Your flat is mortgaged after you sign | Section 11(4)(h): barred after the agreement for sale, and any such mortgage does not affect your rights |
| The developer hands the project to someone else | Section 15: needs two-thirds of buyers’ written consent and the Authority’s approval; your allotment stays valid, and the new promoter takes on all pending obligations with no extra time |
| No sale deed | Section 17(1): a registered conveyance deed is due within three months of the occupancy certificate where no local law sets a period. Rajasthan RERA’s FAQ adds an earlier trigger (51 percent of buyers paid in full), so check the timeline in your agreement |
In Rajasthan, Rule 17 sets one interest rate whichever side owes the other: SBI’s highest marginal cost of lending rate (MCLR) plus 2 percent.
Do not count on title insurance. Rajasthan RERA’s FAQ says Section 16 insurance becomes compulsory only once the state government notifies it, so ask Rajasthan RERA or your lawyer whether it has.
If you are considering a Dhanuka project
Any project, ours included, can be checked this way. Our two residential projects listed as ready to move are Sunshine Aditya, 2 and 3 BHK homes on Rangoli Garden Road near Vaishali Nagar, and Sunshine Symphony, 3 and 4 BHK homes on Jaisinghpura Road, Ajmer Road. Aditya is registered with Rajasthan RERA as RAJ/P/2017/331 and listed on the RERA portal as completed; its record names the promoter as Dhanuka Realty Limited, our former name. Our completed projects are a track record you can visit.
Dhanuka Infra Realty Ltd is listed on NSE Emerge, the National Stock Exchange’s SME platform, under the symbol DIRL, and publishes its annual reports. A listing adds scrutiny but does not replace project checks; our NSE listing guide covers listings in general.
Ask our team which units are available, whether a project is under a joint development agreement and whose share a unit is in.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to buy a flat in a joint venture real estate project?
It can be, if the project is registered with RERA and the documents check out. Check who is named as promoter and the registration’s validity, read the joint development agreement and title search report, and pay no more than 10 percent before a registered agreement for sale.
Is the landowner a promoter under RERA?
It depends on the development agreement, and courts disagree; the Supreme Court left the question open in August 2025. Rajasthan RERA treats a landowner as a promoter in defined cases, such as holding flats to sell before completion, and as a co-promoter if it shares in sales and receives buyers’ payments.
Can I buy a flat from the landowner’s share?
Yes, but confirm who can sell it. If the landowner has not given the developer full powers of sale and conveyance, Rajasthan RERA’s FAQ says the landowner must sign your agreement for sale and sale deed.
Where can I see the joint development agreement for a Rajasthan project?
On the project’s page at rera.rajasthan.gov.in. The Rajasthan RERA Rules require it to be published where the promoter is not the landowner, with a title search report.
What happens to my flat if the landowner and developer fall out?
Their dispute does not cancel the promoter’s duties to you, which last until every unit is conveyed (Section 11(4)(a)). You can complain against any promoter under Section 31, and under Section 15 the project cannot change hands without two-thirds of buyers’ written consent and Rajasthan RERA’s approval.
This guide reflects the RERA Act 2016, the Rajasthan RERA Rules as notified in 2017, and the Rajasthan and central government RERA FAQs as of September 2026. It is general information, not legal advice; confirm the current position on rera.rajasthan.gov.in or with a lawyer before you sign.
