A year after RERA Act introduction, changes in realty sector negligible
A year ago, it was a celebratory win for homebuyers as India’s first Real Estate and Regulation Authority (RERA) was set up to bring in fair practices and impose penalties on errant builders.
Published: 01st May 2018 01:42 AM | Last Updated: 01st May 2018 03:33 AM | A+A A-
CHENNAI : A year ago, it was a celebratory win for homebuyers as India’s first Real Estate and Regulation Authority (RERA) was set up to bring in fair practices and impose penalties on errant builders. However, there is not much change in realty practices in the country as 15 of the 28 states (J&K excluded) have not even set up websites where project details of builders can be disclosed as per the mandate, a report from Magicbricks revealed.
A poll conducted by Magicbricks also said that 74 per cent of respondents were not aware of the mandate by the regulatory body to check if the project is registered with the RERA or how to view it on the website.Even as real estate developers flash their RERA registration number across advertisements, the lack of operational state RERA websites and the absence of full-time regulators in most states have also caused a deceleration in new launches.
“The biggest lacuna of RERA is absolving statutory authorities in granting permissions. The builders are presently at the mercy of state agencies, which are in charge of granting approvals at various stages of a development project,” said Surendra Hiranandani, CMD, House of Hiranandani.While states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have implemented full-time regulators and operational websites, homebuilders in states like Gurgaon and Haryana have to physically visit RERA offices to verify registration or completion status of real estate projects.
Even when there are teething issues with the implementation of RERA with most states in different stages of adoption of the law, homebuilders see a light at the end of the tunnel, as both home owners and real estate developers are made aware of the string of regulations the law has introduced into the sector.
“With states gradually aligning to the requirements of RERA, this will benefit all key stakeholders — the consumer, developer and investor. In future, we will witness the evolution of Indian real estate sector into a transparent, organised and balanced system,” said Ashish R Puravankara, MD, Puravankara Ltd.
