Home ownership in India has always been a big dream. To realize this long-cherished dream, a home buyer may either acquire the property through a home loan (or) invest huge sums of money in the property, in most of the cases this can be his/her life-long savings.
Thanks to no proper regulations in the real estate sector and no proper grievance redressal mechanism in place, the dream of the average middle class family to own a home, has of late become a nightmare. Home Buyers in India have always been at the receiving end of innumerable malpractices at the hands of many real estate builders or promoters.
The biggest investment of ones lifetime is more often than not either compromised with or ends up in the legal battle. The number of cases in the consumer courts by aggrieved home buyers has skyrocketed of late.
“A Home buyer in India is often left alone at the mercy of the builders.”
Delayed possession, default on design and construction parameters, mismatch of space in the guise of floor area & carpet area, the list of woes for home buyers seems to be endless.
With the introduction of RERA act, looks like things are slowly changing for the good.
Though it is too early to call RERA Act a success, but the recent verdicts given by the RERA authorities, may make home-buyers something to cheer about!
(Click on the above image to read the full article – Source : ET Realty)
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has recently asked a builder in Mumbai to return an advance amount of Rs 26.15 lakh to a consumer, this is the first such order since the real estate law came into effect in the state (Maharashtra) on May 1.
As per the RERA authority, the complainant (Home buyer) had booked the flat in 2012-13 and was assured by the developer that the project would be completed in 2016. As the building has not yet been completed, the property buyer filed a complaint through Maharashtra RERA portal and got the verdict in his/her favor.
One more aggrieved home buyer (an elderly women) has approached the RERA authority and got the verdict in her favor.
(Click on the above image to read the full article – Source : ET Realty)
As per the complaint received by the authority, the property buyer had booked a Flat worth Rs 53 lakh in Feb 2013, and till march 2016, she had made payments to the tune of around Rs 40 lakh. For the last 10 months or so, the builder has been postponing the registration of flat in her name.
Hence, she filed her complaint with RERA and the builder has now completed the registration, following the directives of the RERA bench.
These are definitely good signs for Indian property buyers and the real-estate industry as a whole!
Although RERA is a central law, its implementation will depend on state governments, as real estate is a state subject.
Most of the states have now notified their own versions of RERA Act and have been implementing the enacted laws. Some of the states like Maharashtra and Karnataka have already launched their respective RERA portals for the benefit of all stake holders i.e., Real estate builders, Property Agents and Home buyers.
Below is the online procedure to file complaints against errant builders / promoters. I have provided the screenshots of two RERA portals – Maharashtra’s and Karnataka’s….
The authority has so far received more than 98 complaints through its online RERA portal.
Below is the online procedure to submit complaints to RERA in Karnataka ;
All this may look impressive and beneficial to real estate property buyers, but the main contentious issue for the builders has been ‘the inclusion of on-going (under-construction properties) projects under the RERA Act’.
The various associations of builders across the nation have been challenging the law, particularly sections that put old projects — started before the RERA law was passed and are yet to be completed, under the ambit of the regulator. They have approached the various state High-courts and also the Supreme court, awaiting for the judgement. (As per the builders, Section 3 of the RERA Act, which says ongoing projects must be registered, is applied retrospectively and therefore violates their constitutional safeguards.)
Let’s hope that a well balanced RERA Act is beneficial and ensures a level-playing field for all the stake holders of the real estate industry.
Continue reading : ‘Real Estate Regulations & Development Act (RERA) : Key points & Review‘
(Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net) (Post published on : 08-September-2017)
This post was last modified on July 11, 2023 9:25 pm
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Hi, I have been given a occupancy certificate(after registration) by Bangalore development authority last year 2016 for a flat which is not completed even today. Can i file a complaint against Bangalore development authority for this?
Hi Santosh,
This is irrelevant to issue an OC. You can lodge a complaint against them, even I have filed the same conndition through legal service domain, MyAdvo. If you need any more suggestions, you can reach out to me at 9628524007(Whatsapp)
Dear Santosh..Thats surprising! How is it possible to issue an OC without competing the project?
As per RERA Act, generally the projects where OCs have already been issued may not come under their purview.
However, if you are dissatisfied, you may try lodging a complaint online.
You are amazing buddy! BEAUTIFUL blog/website I must say! Keep it up! :)
Thank you dear Sagar!
Keep visiting ReLakhs.com ..
Thank you very much for this article you wrote .. everything I wondered about is quite clear.
Very useful post, Sreekanth!!!
I am sure many will benefit.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you Deepesh!
The payment of Rs.5000 for registrant complaint on MahaRera is quite high compared to Rs.1000 charged by the Karnataka arm. I hope the former considers reducing this fee -- unless, of course, they have a reason for this relatively high charge. There should be rationalization of such fees across the board.
Dear Nathan ... Considering the mental agony, time & money invested to run from one pillar to pillar by an aggrieved property buyer, a few thousands spent to get justice should be ok I believe.... provided he/she gets justice.
How does RERA provide relief to gullible investors to recover booking amount and advances paid to Builders and Developers where project has not taken off even after 4 years. How can one proceed with the action to recover funds where Builder is refusing to refund, delaying and prolonging the process .How fast is the proceeds Kindly advice would be highly obliged.
Dear Naresh ..You may kindly approach your concerned State's RERA authority....
Dear Reddy,
I book a flat in Noida (UP) in 2010. Possession was to be given by builder on or before 30.09.2013 but the project is still under construction. The CC/OC is not with the builder even as on date. Now the Project comes under the ambit of RERA. Builder has already charged full and final payment in Nov. 2016. In every demand he threatened that 18% interest will be charged if the payment is not made. He was asking me to take the illegal Possession but refused to take the possession without obtaining CC/OC from Nodia Authority. He is also not giving delayed Possession penalty on the grounds that he could not construct the project due to some unavoidable reasons. What should I do in the circumstances mentioned above.
Dear Arjun,
If your project which is an on-going one (under-construction) comes under the gambit of your State's RERA, suggest you to file a complaint against your builder, you will surely get the justice in your favor.
Dear sir,
One think has been developed recently. I have received a letter from Builder dated 15.09.2017 in which he has now withdrawn his Offer of Possession sent on 06.06.2016 giving reasons that due to some unavoidable circumstances he could not get CC/OC from all local authorities. But he has not send me the amount of Rs. 10, 50, 635/- +interest thereon charged in Nov. 2016 along with illegal offer of possession sent which was actually due at the time of Offer of Possession. This has been done due to interference of Noida Authority. Noida Authority has called for his explanation on 12.07.2017 as to why and under which circumstance he had issued illegal Offer of Possession without getting CC/OC. In other words builder has now admitted that he was involved in wrong trade practice. Whatsoever may be reasons mentioned by the builder in his letter dated 15.09.2017, legally he cannot issue Offer of Possession with out getting CC/OC from Noida Authority.
Please guide what should I do in the current scenario.
A. K. Parwani
Mail id - managercs**m@gmail.com and parwaniaotr**@rediffmail.com
Dear Arjun,
You may formally request the builder to provide an explanation, ask for refund of money with interest (if you want refund), in case he refuses suggest you to submit an online complain through your state's RERA portal.
Dear Reddy,
What will be the rate of interest in such a scenario?
Dear Arjun,
The authority will decide on the rate of interest (as penalty), if it gives the order in your favor.
I have recently read in couple of reports that RERA has ordered few builders to pay 12 to 14% simple interest as penalty on refunds.
Kindly note that this interest is a taxable income in the hands of home buyers.