NEW DELHI: When, in 2017, the government implemented the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, an act to establish a real estate regulatory authority, the aim was to protect consumers from fly-by-night developers and dubious property dealers. With more than a year gone by since its implementation, has the Act helped consumers?
Experts claim that barring a few states, the law is still at the nascent stage and it is not helping homebuyers.
“Some states like Maharashtra have really done well in implementation of RERA. Maharashtra leads with the highest number of projects registered under RERA, with 17,353 till August 2018, accounting of more than half the projects registered across the country. Maharashtra leads not just in numbers but also in spirit due to strict enforcement. However, the implementation remains poor in most states,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Property Consultant.So far, 32,306 projects and 23,111 real estate agents have been registered under RERA.
Despite Noida and Greater Noida being among the largest realty hotspots in India, Uttar Pradesh has 3,950 projects registered, followed by Gujarat with 3,300 projects, and Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh with 1,982 and 1,901 projects, respectively.
According to Samantak Das of realty Consultant JLL, “Even states who have notified the act have not adopted it in the manner it was supposed to be. Another factor is that many states have diluted the legislation in a way that many projects are out of the ambit, diluting its impact”.
However, awareness among homebuyers can build pressure on authorities. Rera says more than 3,000 complaints are yet to be addressed by the authorities, with 80 per cent of them being from Noida and Greater Noida.
Homebuyers have filed complaints about non-compliance with regard to 500 housing projects in Noida and Greater Noida.
“We have decided to start a rating system, from 1 to 5 stars, depending on the past performance of the builders. We will provide information about the builder’s financial position and failed projects to prospective buyers. This will enable homebuyers to make a proper selection of the property,” said Balvinder Kumar, UP Rera member.
The Uttar Pradesh real estate regulatory authority on Wednesday said it will rate builders after assessing their track record.