RERA Complaint Against Builder | Procedure

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Existence Of RERA

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (referred to as ‘RERA’) got the presidential assent on March 25, 2017. The Act is applicable IN whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir.

Needs Of RERA

The following are the foremost needs for implementation of RERA

First and foremost reason is improper or No information is available of builders
Buyers are aggrieved due to lack of proper information
Lack of transparency prevailing in projects
Poor track record of timely deliveries
Ridiculously unnecessarily diversion of Fund making legal provision complex
And of course, Poor quality of work in the execution and maintenance of Assets and Documents
In the absence of proper act, there is Improper conduct of litigation matters

Has the homebuyer benefitted from RERA?

Before the Existence of RERA, most builders do illegal trading by just loophole the provision of legal Laws, thus leading to delayed delivery across several cities. Many buyers, especially those who had booked even before the existence of RERA are still awaiting possession.
Now concurrent role with the RERA is in place, both new and ongoing projects are to be brought within its fold. RERA authority of respective states needs to be more stringent with respect to following rules and Norms.

Objectives of RERA

The following are the main crucial objective that coincides with RERA implementation:-

The most important sector for which RERA implemented is to Regulate and promote the Real Estate Sector
To effectively maintain the transparency and efficiency in the sale of Plot, Apartment or Building.
To Protecting the Interest Of Consumers.
To maintain and Adjudicating Mechanism for speedy trials.
To establish Appellate Tribunal to hear all matters thereof.

What should a homebuyer do?

As a new buyer in the re-sale market, Buyer has to assure that the Promoter has received completion/occupancy certificate. Project’s permanent registration number provided by the state’s Regulatory Authority also required to be Ask for it even before Buyers make a visit to the project site.

Basic Understanding of RERA Terminology:

There are certain persons/projects (namely, Promoter(who initiate the following activity as below mentioned), a real estate agent(the mediator) and (real estate project) for which registration under RERA is mandatory. Before proceed to the relevant process for registration of Promoter and Agent, first we need to understand the following terms:

Promoter;
Real estate Agent;
Real estate project.

1. Promoter

Who constructs building or apartments for selling purpose
Who transform the existing building or apartments for selling purpose
Who sell land (plots)
Any development authority [eg: DDA, HUDA, etc.]
Housing Board Co-operative society
The person who is the holder of power of attorney from owner to construct apartment or building or plot for sale
Any other person who is engaged in selling of any building to the general public

2. Real Estate Agent

Real estate agent means any person who:

Act as a mediator between buyer & seller for negotiation, either for sale or purchase of plot, apartment or building
In consideration of his service, he Receives remuneration or commission or brokerage

3. Real Estate Project

Real Estate Project means Making or constructing of building or apartment for selling purpose to the general public
Converting the building (existing) for selling purpose
Construction of land into the apartment for sale purpose

The Below mentioned projects should be covered under RERA in the prescribed application in Form-A.

On-Going Projects :

Promoter has to make an application to the authority for registration within a period of 3 months of projects for ongoing projects exist on the date of commencement of the Act where the Completion Certificate has not been issued.

New Projects :

Before booking, selling or offering for sale in such projects, the promoter has to register their project with the Authority. In case a project is to be made in phases, then each phase would be considered as a single project, and the promoter would have to obtain registration for each phase.

Promoter has to make an application to the authority for registration for all commercial or residential projects where land area exceeds by 500 Square Metres or Number of apartments exceeds by 8.

Terms before Selling of Real Estate Project:

No advertisement, marketing, booking, selling or an invitation for purchase of plot, apartment or building by the promoter in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Regulatory Authority;
RERA act does not specify any registration of real estate project is required in the case area
of land does not exceed 500square meters or the number of apartments does not exceed eight inclusive of all phases;
If the registration completion certificate has already been issued under prior to RERA act, no registration is required in case of renovation or repair or re-development.
A promoter shall not accept if the cost of the project exceeds sum more than 10%, as an advance payment or an application fee, from a customer without first entering into a written agreement.

Grant of Registration :

On receipt of application in Form A, the authority shall within 30 days grant or reject the Registration subject to the provisions of the Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder.

if all the conditions are satisfied then the registration shall be granted to the promoter and a registration number, Login Id and password for accessing the website of the Authority shall also be provided, to create his web page. It is pertinent to mention here that no application shall be rejected by the Authority unless the applicant has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter.

Deemed Registration :

If the application is neither accepted nor rejected by the Authority, within 30 days, then application shall deem to be registered.

Registration Fees

For making registration, payment has to be made for registering Under RERA by paying prescribed fees through any digital means.

Grounds Of Filing A Complaint With MahaRERA

Any aggrieved buyer can file a complaint in MahaRERA Authority or the Adjudicating Officer for the following issues faced at the hands of a builder:

Delay in delivery of flat possession.
Refusal by the builder to refund the amount and cancel the booking.
Delay in registering the property under MahaRERA.
Extra or unwarranted demands by the builder.
Denial of penalty by the builder for delay in flat possession.
When there is modification without the permission of the buyer in the project layout.

Refund of the amount in case of delay in handing over of possession

if the promoter is not able to hand over possession of the apartment, plot or building to the allottee

(i) As per the terms of the agreement of sale; or

(ii) Due to discontinuance of his business at the time of suspension of the project; or

(iii) Registration revocation or any other reason,

then the promoter would be liable, of the demand made by the allottee and to return the amount received from the customer with interest and compensation at the specified rate as provided under the Act.

However, where an allottee does not want to withdraw the amount from the project then promoter shall be paid interest for every month of delay, till the Appartement is handed over to the customer.

Appeal Procedure In MahaRERA Tribunal

Under the Maharashtra RERA Rules, 2017, an appeal can be filed with the help of a RERA lawyer in India before the MahaRERA Appellate Tribunal against any order passed by the MahaRERA Authority/Adjudicating Officer. An appeal can be filed with the MahaRERA Appellate Tribunal by any person aggrieved by the order or RERA Authority within 60 days from the date on which the order was received. The MahaRERA Tribunal needs to dispose of any appeal received within 60 days from the date on which the appeal was approved.