The civil writ petition titled Harinder Pal Singh & Others vs State of Haryana and Others was admitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 20. It was filed by homebuyers to seek quashing of several provisions of the Haryana RERA Rules which dilute the purpose for which the main RERA Act was enacted.
Homebuyers in Haryana on Saturday met to discuss the provisions of Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA) and the status of the writ petition filed by them in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that challenges some provisions of HRERA rules as also the Haryana Building Code, 2017.
The briefing session that lasted for over two hours was held at Leisure Valley Park, Gurugram. The civil writ petition titled Harinder Pal Singh & Others vs State of Haryana and Others was admitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 20. It was filed by homebuyers to seek quashing of several provisions of the Haryana RERA rules which dilute the purpose for which the main RERA Act was enacted.
A notice of motion to the respondents have been issued by the court for April 27. This writ, apart from challenging various provisions of the HRERA rules, also targets the Haryana Building Code, 2017 (as amended) in as much as it contains a concept of ‘deemed occupancy certification’ which, “can primarily be utilised by builders to escape the rigours of the RERA Act,” says Gaurav Prakash, a homebuyer and a RERA enthusiast.
A group of home buyers and RERA enthusiasts under an informal group Undiluted RERA has been working towards promotion of robust real estate laws in the state of Haryana but despite representations and follow ups with the government, the recently enacted Haryana RERA rules (HRERA rules) fail to effectively redress the callous state of affairs in the real estate sector in Haryana, they said.
The major prayers of the petitioners in this writ petition that was heard by the court on February 20 included making HRERA rules compliant with the RERA Act by striking down the definition of ‘ongoing projects’ in HRERA rules and also striking down the provisions of the Haryana Building Code which violate and are antithetical to the provisions of the RERA Act, Amish Tandon and Ayush Beotra, advocates for the petitioners, stated.
The writ petition challenges the provision of “deemed occupancy certification’ in HRERA which, according to homebuyers has been utilised by builders to escape the rigours of the RERA Act, he said.
The aspects of occupancy and completion certificate and issues regarding their interchangeability have been addressed in the writ petition.
As of now RERA, set up in Haryana, has not started work in full swing. The website is not functional and buyers cannot get information on the registered projects or to file complaints. But Gurugram does have a dedicated RERA bench.
“As of now many people know there is something called RERA Act but there is no awareness on its applicability, scope and status. We expect the government to come up with an awareness and education drive for the sake of the common masses. However, we still have a long way to go in this struggle for an undiluted RERA,” Prakash said.
Homebuyers across the country have been raising their voice against the weak RERA rules by the respective state governments. Their main worry has been the dilution of the definition of ongoing projects that has the potential to grant leeway or escape route to builders.
Under HRERA, builders are exempt from the purview of RERA if they had applied for or received even an occupation certificate while the rules were notified.
Last year, Gurgaon Citizens Council, had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the HRERA rules.
