New Delhi (NVI): Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) is a gamechanger for real estate sector as it stands for transparency in the real estate industry by placing the interests of homebuyers at the heart of the sector, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep S Puri has said.
“RERA has infused governance in a sector hitherto unregulated and added that along with demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax laws, it has, to a large extent, cleansed the real estate sector of black money,” Puri said.
Explaining the RERA provisions, Puri said, “It has transformational provisions, conscientiously addressing issues which have been a constant bane for the sector.”
RERA stipulates that no project can be sold without project plans being approved by the competent authority and the project being registered with the regulatory authority, putting to an end the practice of selling on the basis of deceitful advertisements, he added.
Under this Act, promoters are required to maintain project-based separate bank accounts to prevent fund diversion. The mandatory disclosure of unit sizes based on carpet area strikes at the root of unfair trade practices, he said.
Furthermore, the provision for payment of equal rate of interest by the promoter or the buyer in case of default reinforces equity, according to Puri.
The Housing Minister further stated that the history of urban India and the real estate sector will always be remembered in two phases – ‘Pre RERA’ and ‘Post RERA’.
“Since RERA came into full force in May 2017, 34 states and union territories have notified the rules, 30 states and union territories have set up Real Estate Regulatory Authorities and 26 have set up Appellate Tribunals,” the minister informed.
He added that the operationalization of a web-portal for project information, which is the heart of RERA ensuring full project transparency, has been done by 26 Regulatory Authorities.
Puri said that around 60,000 real estate projects and 45,723 real estate agents have been registered with the Regulatory Authorities, providing a platform for informed choice for buyers and informed that 22 independent judicial officers have been appointed to redress consumer disputes, as a fast-track mechanism, where 59,649 complaints have been disposed-off. He said that this has simultaneously unburdened the consumer courts.
-CHK/ARK
