Registration with Hrera a must, rules realty regulator

In a landmark decision, the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Hrera) said on Tuesday said that all real estate projects will have to mandatorily register with it. The authority asserted that all ongoing real estate projects and those which have been completed come under its purview as per the RERA Act. It said that the only exception would be those which got obtained completion certificate prior to the enactment of the Act.

The order means that over 800 residential and commercial projects in Gurugram, which had sought exemption on technical reasons will now come under the ambit of the authority. Currently, 250 real estate projects are registered with Hrera, Gurugram.

The judgment was delivered after a real estate company raised objections to the applicability of the rules and jurisdiction of Hrera on its project after a buyer filed a complaint against delay in delivery of the shop she had booked.

The authority also made it clear that merely filing an application for part completion, or occupation certificate by department of town and country planning does not make a real estate projects exempt.

“In several cases the applications are incomplete and the certificates have been obtained or are under process. This will not be allowed and neither condoned. All projects, which have not obtained completion certificate must get registered,” said Dr KK Khandelwal, chairman, HRERA, Gurugram.

Simmi Sikka, a buyer in Emmar’s commercial real estate project Emerald Plaza in Sector 65, had complained to the authority seeking compensation for the delay in the delivery of a shop. “The question was raised whether a project which is not ongoing and has received deemed occupation certificate should come under Hrera or not. We have settled the issue once for all and made it clear that projects, including the Emmar Plaza, came under our purview,” said Khandelwal.

The order also made it clear that the developers were under the wrong impression that only ongoing projects came under the purview of the act. “Somehow the developers also managed to get exemptions under Hrera rule and using these to their advantage tried to get exemption from the Act. This cannot be allowed and everyone is accountable,” the order said.

The authority also said that this order will also mean that any loophole in the Haryana rules, which led to alleged dilution of the Central Act, will be plugged.

“This judgment has not only settled confusion regarding the applicability of act and registration of projects but also nullified the effect of dilution of rules. It will enable the authority to exercise power and functions in true spirit of the RERA Act which otherwise had been marginalised on account of Haryana rules. This decision also settled the controversy regarding ongoing projects, which will now be treated as simply real estate projects,” said Khandelwal.

The authority also maintained that as far as ongoing projects were concerned, the authority would look into timely delivery, layout, planning, design and sanctions, and to ensure that there is no diversion of funds. For completed projects, that have been delivered in the last five years, the obligation of the promoter would entail workmanship and structural defect liability. All real estate projects are covered for land title defect liability. it said.

Sanjay Sharma, a Gurugram based real estate consultant, welcomed the ruling.

“This is step in the right direction. It will bring all the ongoing projects under the purview of Hrera,” he said.

Sharma also called for proper legislative backing to the authority so that it could act independently.

“It is most likely that this decision could be challenged in a higher court. The government should give legislative backing to this order to ensure Hrera Act is not diluted and its judgments are implemented,” said.

Sanjay Sharma, a Gurugram based real estate consultant, welcomed the ruling.

“This is step in the right direction. It will bring all the ongoing projects under the purview of Hrera. It is most likely that this decision could be challenged in a higher court. Therefore, the government should give legislative backing to this order to ensure Hrera Act is not diluted and its judgments are implemented,” Sharma said.

First Published: Aug 22, 2018 04:30 IST