Frequently Asked Questions

Ans: RERA is Real Estate Regulation and Development Act. The act was introduced on 1st May 2016 and came into force from 1st May 2017. The Act has made the registration of Under Construction Projects mandatory in RERA and only after registration they can start selling. RERA is an act to establish the Real Estate regulatory authority for regulation and promotion of the real estate sector to ensure efficient real estate sales in a transparent manner and to protect the customer investments. RERA is also focused on establishing an adjudicating mechanism for speedy dispute redressal.

Ans: For RERA registration, the developer has to upload all details about projects on the RERA website, and then they get a RERA number and project page on the RERA website. You can go to the respected RERA website (state-wise) and search through the project name. If the project is registered, you will end up opening the page which has all the details about the project.

Ans: “Carpet area” means the net usable floor area of an apartment. The area covered by the internal partition of walls of the apartment also comes under the carpet area. It is exclusive of the area covered by walls (wall width), the area under the shaft, the balcony area, or any open terrace given with the apartment.

Ans: a) Rights to get details about the promoter, land status, layout plan, plan of development works, the status of statutory approvals, number of parking, consultant, architect, material, specifications, sizes, amenities, time period for project completion, etc.
b) Right to know about the name and addresses of agents, contractors, architects, engineers etc.
c) Right to claim on interest in case of delay or refund, non-adherence to approved plans or specifications.
d) Right to claim on rectification if some construction/structural default is witnessed after possession for the next 5 years.
e) Right to file a case if there is any discrepancy in arbitration against the developer in the court of RERA.
f) Right to claim a refund in case of delay in possession or get interested in the money deposited.

Ans: The agreement under RERA is the standard format of agreement. The consumer's right is all protected in this. However, there is a proper arrangement for developers in the context of cash flow and delay payment penalty mandate.

Ans: Under RERA, there are amendments in all divisions of work - starting from marketing all collaterals, brochures, pamphlets, and hoardings to any other advertising. All of this needs to be transparent and displayed with the RERA number and the RERA website. Developers/sellers are legitimate to share the right information. They cannot misguide the customer. The communication flow needs to be approved under RERA.
a) The brokers/channel partners who work for the project also need to register themselves under RERA and developers are also required to share their name on RERA as salesperson of that particular project.
b) A promoter shall not accept a sum of more than 10% of the apartment cost as an advance payment or as an application fee without entering into a written agreement for sale.
c) The sales process becomes smooth, transparent, and informative as from the start every information needs to be in sync with RERA submission.

Ans: No pre-launch sale exists under RERA until the project is RERA approved. Any transaction with the name of pre-launch is considered to be an illegal dealing and is considered a punishable offense.

Ans: Any broker/ channel partner needs to sell any property first. They need to register themselves under RERA by paying a fee, and also for any project they want to work on. The developers are required to register their names under RERA; then only they can go and sell that project. It is more streamlined now.

Ans: There are rights mentioned for the customer under RERA to protect his investment.
a) Right to claim on rectification: If some construction/structural default is witnessed after possession for the next 5 years.
b) Right to file a case: In case any discrepancy in arbitration is found against the developer in the court of RERA.

Ans: Developer is liable for the demand of customer to return the amount he received from him in respect to the flat/property/apartment with interest at such rate that may be prescribed in the agreement including the compensation in the manner as provided under RERA act. (it is equal to the RBI’s MCLR rate +2% on the money paid by the consumer)

Ans: If the customer finds any default or difference in the product, he can cancel the unit and get the complete refund with interest or the builder has to rectify it within a month.

Ans: The audit system needs to be based not only on the construction stage but also on all aspects of cash inflow and outflow, for example - other payments are in place, employee salary released, vendor payments made, etc.

Ans: The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) of the state has said it will relax delivery timelines and other norms for builders for the time being because of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the overall economy.

Ans: Developers that are granted relief on timelines as well refunds and penalties.

Ans: Though Rera officials confirmed builders would be granted relief, the details of the relaxation would only be available when the authority starts functioning.

Ans: The builders are also not asked to submit quarterly progress reports along with photos and videos of their projects. Usually, this is done by March 31. There is no way builders can follow these norms in the current situation. All such compliances should be deferred at least by a few months,”

Ans: The developers have also sought relaxation in the registration of projects. They have requested UP-RERA for amnesty to unfreeze escrow accounts for the time being. The regulatory body had frozen the accounts of many developers for not complying with orders and timelines.