Who to hire for home interiors in India

Titles and the law

Section 37(1) of the Architects Act 1972 says no person other than a registered architect, or a firm of architects, shall use the title and style of 'architect'. The exceptions are landscape architects, naval architects and approved foreign architects on specific projects. A first conviction carries a fine of up to Rs 500, and a later one up to six months' imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs 1,000 or both. Section 36 adds a fine of up to Rs 1,000 for falsely claiming to be registered (India Code).

In March 2020 the Supreme Court, in a case concerning NOIDA, held that the Act does not prohibit unregistered persons from carrying out the activities architects undertake. It restricts the title and style. Naming a post 'Architect' or 'Associate Architect' for an unqualified person breaches Section 37 (LiveLaw's report of the judgment). So an unregistered designer may legally design your interiors; they may not call themselves an architect while doing it.

For 'interior designer', we found no statute protecting the title. The one source we found saying so is a secondary guide, so we rate our confidence on this point as low. Treat the title as a description, and judge the person by finished homes and a written contract.

What each option does

Magicbricks' research (page updated 11 December 2025, industry) describes the market's shift from carpenter-made furniture to factory-finished modular formats, with furniture and modular components making up 45% of interior spend. That is the ground the platforms are built on. Civil work, approvals and structural change are where a registered architect's qualification earns its keep, and where the platforms do less.

Cost signals, each dated

None of these figures is a quote for your home. They show the bands the market talks in, and each is labelled with who published it and when.

Two things stand out. The average spend of Rs 3.9 lakh in Tier-2 cities sits below every platform's full 2BHK package, which suggests many households buy partial interiors or use a carpenter rather than a full package; that is our inference from the numbers, not a finding in either source. And HomeLane's own page quotes a Mumbai 3BHK range below its 2BHK bands, so read platform cost guides as marketing with figures in it, and ask for a written quote against your own floor plan.

Architects' fees are a separate matter. The Council of Architecture publishes a Scale of Charges under its 1989 regulations, and a 2015 CPWD memo says the scale is not approved by Parliament and that architects in competitive bids routinely offer lower fees (Architexturez). Our article on the COA Scale of Charges explains what it says and how the stages release.

The platforms, in numbers

Livspace reported revenue of about Rs 1,460 crore in FY25, up 23%, with an adjusted EBITDA loss of about Rs 131 crore (Business Standard). HomeLane, which has merged with Design Cafe, reported revenue from operations of Rs 747.8 crore in FY25, up 22%, with a net loss of about Rs 111.4 crore, short of its own Rs 1,000 crore projection (Entrackr). Both are growing and both are still loss-making. Set against Magicbricks' estimate of a Rs 1.27 lakh crore home interiors market in 2024 (industry, page updated 11 December 2025), the two together are a small share, so most homes are still done by independent designers, architects and carpenters. That comparison is our rough arithmetic across two different definitions, so treat it as an indication, not a statistic.

Warranty and RERA questions to ask

Under Section 14(3) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, the promoter must fix structural defects and defects in workmanship or quality reported within five years of possession, free of charge and within 30 days (Housing.com). Some guides say damage from an owner's own alterations falls outside that liability; we found no RERA order deciding the point, so it is unsettled. Ask these before you sign with anyone.

• To any of the four: what is the warranty, in writing, on which items, for how long, and who honours it if the firm closes?
• To a platform: what exactly is in the package, who does the civil, electrical and plumbing work, and is that work covered by the same warranty?
• To a designer or carpenter: if a wall, pipe or electrical point moves, who files for permission, and who carries the liability?
• To an architect: what is your Council of Architecture registration number, and does the fee include approvals and site visits?
• If you took possession less than five years ago: record existing defects before work starts and keep structural elements untouched. That is our prudence, not a legal rule we can cite.

If you live in Mumbai, our guide to renovating a flat in Mumbai covers Section 342, the society NOC letter and who files what.