Real Estate Regulatory Act(RERA) Provisions
1) It establishes the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority for that particular state as the government body to be approached for redressal of grievances against any builder or agent.
2) The act makes it mandatory for all real estate firms and agents to register themselves with the competent authority.
3) This Act obliges the developer to park 70% of the project funds in a dedicated bank (escrow) account. This will ensure that developers are not able to invest in numerous new projects with the proceeds of the booking money for one project, thus delaying completion and handover to consumers.
4) This law makes it mandatory for developers to post all information on issues such as project plan, layout, government approvals, land title status, subcontractors to the project, schedule for completion with the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and then in effect pass this information on to the consumers.
5) The current practice of selling on the basis of ambiguous super built-up area for a real estate project will come to a stop as this law makes it illegal. Carpet area has been clearly defined in the law.
6) Currently, if a project is delayed, then the developer does not suffer in any way. Now, the law ensures that any delay in project completion will make the developer liable to pay the same interest as the EMI being paid by the consumer to the bank back to the consumer.
7) The maximum jail term for a developer who violates the order of the appellate tribunal of the RERA is three years with or without a fine.
8) The buyer can contact the developer in writing within one year of taking possession to demand after sales service if any deficiency in the project is noticed.
9) The developer cannot make any changes to the plan that had been sold without the written consent of 2/3rd buyers. This puts paid to a common and unpopular practice by developers to increase the cost of projects.
10) Projects which have either applied for or received occupation certificate on or before notification of act will be out of purview of RERA.
Non-compliance Penalties
RERA enforces stringent penalties on defaulters and violators of the regulations. Non-compliance is a serious offence, which could lead to imprisonment and a heavy fine. Penalties differ from State to State. Some of the key penalties enlisted under the Act include-
Penalty of 10 percent of the total project cost or an imprisonment of up to three years, or both, on non-registration under RERA. Registration revocation of a project, builder, promoter or agent in case of defaulting any regulations under the Act or violating any of the terms and conditions as approved by the competent authority. Penalty of five percent of the project cost for submitting false information to the authorities or contravening any provisions under the Act. Penalty can rise up to 10 percent or one year imprisonment or both in case of failure to comply with the orders of the Appellate Tribunal. Structural defects, caused by poor workmanship, quality or provision of services, brought into notice within five years from the date of possession, to be rectified by the builder/promoter within 30 days of filing the complaint.
In case of delayed projects:
If homebuyer wishes to withdraw their investment – Promoter must refund all the amount collected so far with the applicable interest
If homebuyer wishes to stay invested: Promoter must pay interest for every month of delay as compensation
In case of delayed payment by you: Allottee must pay a similar monthly interest as compensation to the promoter. Promoter holds the right to terminate the allotment of the property and deduct the booking amount and interest from the total refund in case of repeated violations.
Filing a complaint under RERA
Project delivery delays, unexpected changes in construction plans, unaccounted extra charges and coming short on promised facilities are just some of the issues that the buildermight present to the homebuyer. The implementation of the Real Estate (Development and Regulation) Act (RERA) has given these aggrieved homebuyers the power to take errant builders to task. Every State’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) provides a complaint redressal platform on their website. Such complaints can be filed against the builder, developer, promoter, agent or allottees.
When Can You File A Complaint?
If the builder violates any provisions, rules or regulations under RERA, the homebuyer can take the matter to the RERA authority. The complaint must be filed in a form prescribed by the particular State’s RERA. The official RERA websites of the various State governments have simplified the remedial process for resolving complaints. Just by filling up a form and paying the registration fees, you can file a complaint under RERA. Steps to file RERA complaints
Step 1. Go to the RERA website of your respective State. Find the ‘Online Complaints’ or ‘Complaint Registration’ link. For example, on the website of Haryana RERA, you must click on ‘Complaint Registration’ on the menu bar, and then you may either click on ‘Registration of Complaint with Authority’ or ‘Registration of Complaint with Adjudicating Officer’.
Step 2. Clicking on either of the complaint registration links will take you to the complaint form where you will be required to fill the details of your complaint.
Step 3. Additionally, you will also be required to furnish your personal details such as your phone number, address as well as the project details. Some websites, such as the Delhi RERA website, will require you to make a buyer account before you can file a complaint. Other websites ask you to attach the relevant documents.
Step 4. After filling in all the details, you will be directed to the payment gateway for the payment of the complaint registration fees, Rs 1,000 for a normal complaint and Rs 5,000 for filing a complaint with an adjudicating officer. You may also pay the fees at the office of the sub-registrar.
Haryana
Register complaint about a Gurgaon-based project here
Rs 1,000 with RERA and Rs 10 extra for every extra annexure
Check Haryana RERA complaints status for Gurgaon here, and for Panchkula here
HARYANA RERA GUIDELINES FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS
REGISTERATION GUIDELINES:
(1) Every real estate agent shall make an application in writing to the Authority in Form REA-I, in triplicate, for registration alongwith following documents, namely:-
(a) the brief details of his enterprise including its name, registered address, type of enterprise (proprietorship, society, partnership, company etc.);
(b) the particulars of registration (whether as a proprietorship, partnership, company, society etc.) including the bye-laws, memorandum of association, articles of association, etc. as the case may be;
(c) name, address, contact details and photograph of the real estate agent, if it is an individual and the name, address, contact details and photograph of the partners, directors etc. in case of other entities;
(d) the authenticated copy of the PAN card of the real estate agent;
(e) the authenticated copy of the address proof of the place of business;
(f) such other information and documents, as may be specified by regulations.
(2) The real estate agent shall pay a registration fee at the time of application for registration by way of a demand draft or a bankerscheque in favour of “Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority” drawn on any Scheduled bank or through online payment, as the case may be, for a sum calculated at the rate mentioned in Schedule II.
Application for registration by real estate agent
(1) On receipt of the application under rule 9, the Authority shall within a period of thirty days either grant registration to the real estate agent or reject the application, as the case may be: Provided that, the Authority may grant an opportunity of being heard to the real estate agent to rectify the defects, if any, within a period of thirty days from the date of issuance of communication regarding such defects.
(2) Upon the registration of a real estate agent, the Authority shall issue a registration certificate with a registration number in Form REA-II to the real estate agent. Grant of registration to real estate agent.section 9 3334 HARYANA GOVT. GAZ. (EXTRA.), JULY 28, 2017 (SRVN. 5, 1939 SAKA)
(3) In case of rejection of the application, the Authority shall inform the applicant in Form REA-III.
(4) The registration granted under this rule shall be valid for a period of five years.
Renewal of registration of real estate agent under Section 9
(1) The registration granted to a real estate agent under the Act, may be renewed, on an application made by the real estate agent in Form REA-IV, in triplicate, within three months prior to the expiry of the registration granted.
(2) The application for renewal of registration shall be accompanied with a demand draft or a bankerscheque in favour of “Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority” drawn on any Scheduled bank or through online payment, as the case may be, for a sum calculated at the rate mentioned in Schedule II.
(3) The real estate agent shall also submit all the updated documents set out in clauses (a) to (f) of sub-rule (1) of rule 9 at the time of application for renewal.
(4) In case of renewal of registration, the Authority shall inform the real estate agent about the same in Form REA-V and in case of rejection of the application for renewal of registration, the Authority shall inform the real estate agent in Form REA-III: Provided that no application for renewal of registration shall be rejected, unless the real estate agent has been given an opportunity of being heard: Provided further that the Authority may grant an opportunity to the real estate agent to rectify the defects, if any, within a period of thirty days from the date of issuance of communication regarding such defects.
(5) The renewal granted under this rule shall be valid for a period of five years.
Revocation of registration of real estate agent under section 9
The Authority may revoke the registration granted to the real estate agent or renewal thereof, as the case may be, shall intimate the real estate agent of such revocation in Form REA-III.
Books of accounts, records and documents
The real estate agent shall maintain and preserve its books of account, records and documents in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and the rules made there under.
Guidelines for practice
This registration is granted to real estate agent subject to the following conditions, namely:-
(i) The real estate agent shall not facilitate the sale or purchase of any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, in a real estate project or part of it, being sold by the promoter which is required but not registered with the Authority;
(ii) The real estate agent shall maintain and preserve such books of account, records and documents as provided under rule 12;
(iii) The real estate agent shall not involve himself in any unfair trade practices as specified under clause (c) of section 10;
(iv) The real estate agent shall facilitate the possession of all information and documents, as the allottee is entitled to, at the time of booking of any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be;
(v) The real estate agent shall provide assistance to enable the allottee and promoter to exercise their respective rights and fulfil their respective obligations at the time of booking and sale of any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be.
(vi) The real estate agent shall comply with the provisions of the Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder;
(vii) The real estate agent shall not contravene the provisions of any other law for the time being in force as applicable to him;
(viii) The real estate agent shall discharge such other functions as may be specified by the Authority by regulations;
The registration is valid for a period of five years unless renewed by the Authority in accordance with the provisions of the Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder.
If the above mentioned conditions are not fulfilled by the real estate agent, the Authority may take necessary action against the real estate agent including revoking the registration granted herein, as per the Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) mandates all registered developers, promoters and agents to submit the original, approved plans of their ongoing projects to their respective State regulatory authority, including the details about the alterations made later. Besides, the Act mandates developers to publish the details of the revenue collected from allottees and the utilisation of funds, construction, completion and delivery timelines certified by an Authorised Engineer, Architect or a Practising Chartered Accountant.
As per RERA, homebuyers must also have unrestricted access to information such as the builder’s profile, track record, litigation details, advertisements and prospectus of their projects, details of plots and apartments, details of registered agents, consultants and promoters, the status of approvals and layout plans.
If you are seeking to delve into the details of a certain project registered under RERA, you can visit the respective State’s RERA website and follow the below steps –
Haryana RERA
Visit the Haryana RERA website, and select either HRERA Panchkula or HRERA Gurgaon microsites to check for project details in the respective cities.