RERA For Consumer

REAL ESTATE (Regulation & Development Act), 2016 Govt has empowered the Real Estate Buyer (Residential or Commercial) with a very strong Regulatory Act namely "RERA" RERA has brought in confidence not only with real estate consumer but also within other stake holder community like Banks, Financial Institutions, Foreign Investors.

Today when the buyer goes for real estate shopping the developer says that he is registered with RERA and the customer feels confident. RERA has become synonym to TRUST & CONFIDENCE.

But does a customer truly understand the provisions of RERA – I am not sure – hence I decided to put in writing in very simple terms the obligations of the developer under RERA. RERA extends to Residential and Commercial Real Estate both. Registering project with RERA is mandatory if the size of the plot is 500 sqr mtr or above or the number of apartments is 8 or more.

Obligations of Real Estate Developer

Developer is obliged to disclose all relevant project information for public view such as :

1. Details of promoter, layout plan, plan of development works, land status, status of statutory approvals, number of parking, time period for project completion… The customer can check the above information on RERA website and can also ask the developer to see the physical hard copies of the same This clears the first step of verification and the first step into buying with confidence

2. The Agreement To Sell has a standard format created by the authority which protects the buyer as well as the developer The Legal paper runs into pages and the consumer is not trained to read and understand the content. At times buyer was cheated because of hidden clauses or cleverly drafted agreements. With standard Agreement To Sell approved by RERA the fear is GONE.

3. The developer has to declare credentials of Architects, Engineers, Consultants, Contractors and Agents working on the project

Developer also has to comply with :

1. Adherence to approved plans and project specifications. The plans approved by the competent authority have to be followed strictly and no changes are permitted until a consent from majority of allottees is obtained. Likewise, the specification mentioned in the brochure have to be strictly followed.

2. Obligations regarding authenticity of the advertisement or brochures/catalogues

3. Rectify Structural Defects

4. Refund money in case of default

5. Compulsory deposit of 70% of the amount realized from allottees in a separate account to cover the land cost and construction cost

RERA has been framed for regulation and promotion of real estate sector. The act is in force to protect the interest of the consumer in real estate. RERA will also ensure timely redressal of customer complaints. Dear Consumer go ahead and buy your dream home, shop, office etc "RERA aap ke liye chowkidari kar raha hai".

About The Author
Mr. Sanjeev Kathuria
COO, CRC Group

Diverse experience of being a professional to an entrepreneur and holding to position as a top position of big brands for years.