Central Rera Law Will Not Be Diluted, Says Central Government

The central government appears to be taking a relook at the implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 across the country. Union Housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri, while chairing a meeting of the Central Advisory Council (CAC) on Tuesday, said that states that were diluting the RERA rules would be answerable to the Supreme Court. Puri added, “There will be no dilution of the law. Those who have diluted will have to justify themselves as to why they have done it. We will not bring the whole template down.” 

The CAC also decided to set up a committee to look into stalled projects and homebuyers getting their houses. Non-compliance of orders by regulatory authorities or adjudicating officers regarding refund, penalty, compensation, etc., will be looked into, the Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs said in a statement. Puri added that the deficiency was not in the Act, but in the compliance. “In some cases, orders are being passed but not being complied with. It is an issue of compliance,” he said.  

Some states have diluted the rules, for example, while defining the term ‘ongoing projects’. In Haryana, ongoing projects are those where licence was granted on or before May 1, 2017 and where development work is yet to be completed. So, projects that submitted their applications on or before notification of the Rera rules, are not considered ‘ongoing projects’. This means that projects which are still not complete but had got the licence before May 1, 2017, do not fall under the purview of Rera. 

In Andhra Pradesh, projects that don’t come under Rera are those where, on the date of notification of the rules, development work was completed and application filed for issue of completion or occupancy certificate; slabs were laid; roads, open spaces, amenities and services were handed over to the local authority in layout projects; and sale or lease deeds of half (50 per cent) of the units (apartments, houses or plots) were executed 

Due to such tweaks in the definition of ‘ongoing project’, many homebuyers are not able to get the benefit of Rera as their houses are excluded. 

Commenting on structural flaws during the CAC meeting, Puri said builders have to take the responsibility for the structural safety of projects. Flaws or not being able to check should at the very least mean full recovery from the builder, he added. 

This was the Council’s third meeting, and it was live streamed.