What is it?
RERAs are intended to
perform the same role for your property transactions as the SEBIdoes for
security transactions in the capital markets.
Today,
real estate buyers have only the brochures or ads in newspapers to go
by while making property investment decisions. But with the
implementation of this Act and the establishment of State-level RERAs,
every developer launching any residential project with area of over 500
square metres or eight apartments, has to register it with RERA and
upload all the project details to the RERA site before he initiates any
sale.
The details uploaded by the developer must
include the number and types of homes for sale, site and layout, payment
schedules, schedule of completion and quarterly updates on the status
of the project too.
Thus, RERA maintains
comprehensive records for every project across the entire chain, from
the conceptualisation of the project to its completion. Each State will
also have an Appellate Tribunal to adjudicate and deal with real estate
disputes. RERA is a gift for the public, who earlier had to approach the
Courts for such disputes.
Retail
property buyers have often been the ones to bear the brunt when real
estate transactions go awry. If there are delays in construction, the
promised property gets locked in legal disputes or the developer changes
the layout or building plans after purchase, it was up to the buyer to
make compromises. It was also not unusual for developers to divert
monies received towards one project to more lucrative ones, leaving
buyers in the lurch.
This Act requires developers to
deposit 70 per cent of the sums received from buyers, in a separate
bank account earmarked for each project. In case the builder would like
to change the layout or plans after the sale, he will need the approval
of two-thirds of the buyers in that project, to make such tweaks.
Both
the buyer and the promoter have to pay penal interest at similar rates,
for missed payment obligations or delayed completion. Imposition of
heavy penalties and cancellation of developer registration are also
provided for in the Act, where a developer violates rules. In case
developers renege on any of their commitments, buyers can complain to
the RERAs for redress
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