How RERA is revolutionising the real estate scenario

Anuj Puri, Chairman — Anarock Property Consultants gives us an overview of 14 important guidelines incorporated in the RERA umbrella to prevent unscrupulous players from raining on consumers’ home-buying plans: 

In case of project delays, buyers have the right to — (i) Seek withdrawal of booking (the developer is liable to refund the entire amount along with interest) (ii) Go ahead with the project (with the condition that developer will pay interest for every month of delay until the property is ready for possession). The maximum time for refunding the buyer’s investment is within 45 days of it becoming due. 

All builders have to mandatorily register their projects under RERA with the respective state regulatory authority and obtain a registration number for every project. Without RERA registration, developers are not allowed to sell the project. The project details, construction progress, commencement/occupation and other certificates, sales details, etc. must be updated on the single-point information window i.e. RERA portal, at regular intervals. 

Homebuyers’ investments can be considered safe, as RERA obliges developers to deposit at least 70% of the buyers’ money received for a particular project into an escrow account. This prevents the developers from ‘rolling’ these funds into other projects.  

Buyers can now opt for properties only from reputed developers who are complying with RERA norms and have financial stability, which can be verified by buyers. 

Developers can now promote a project only after registering it with RERA. The unique RERA registration number must be published with every advertisement/brochure, or promotion. 

The conventional practice of charging homebuyers on basis of the super built-up area is gone. Under RERA, the quoted price has to be mandatorily based on the carpet area of the property. 

Around 2/3rd of the buyers’ consent in a particular project is necessary in case the developer intends to modify the building or layout plans/specifications/liabilities in the project. 

Homebuyers can do due diligence before opting for a particular payment plan. 

Developers can only take 10% of the total property cost as a booking amount while the sale agreement is drafted at later stages. 

Brokers are also liable for all deliverables committed by the developers they represent.

RERA provides a strong redressal mechanism to consumers by imposing a penalty on developers/brokers for any breach of obligation.  

In case of issues within the building or apartment, such as inefficient plumbing, visible cracks, etc. in the initial five years after possession, developers are liable to rectify the defect in less than 30 days or else give compensation to the buyer. 

Buyers can scrutinize documents related to a project’s land title ownership on the RERA website. 

RERA has put a complete halt to soft launches, pre-launches. Speculators have now been pushed out and the market has turned extremely buyer-friendly.