Rajiv Jain, a software engineer, had almost given up hope that he would get hold of his long-awaited apartment booked with the Logix group nearly 8 years ago. But now, he can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. The Logix group has appointed ATS group to complete the delayed project after receiving a stern warning and facing steady pressure from the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-RERA).
Implemented just two years ago, the new regulatory framework has already brought some discipline to a sector which has had the dubious distinction of being one of the most opaque. “Two years is a very short span for analysing the impact of legislation on an entire sector and this clearly points that RERA is still a work in progress. However, it has definitely promoted transparency, trust and growth in the sector,” said Surendra Hiranandani, founder and Director, House of Hiranandani.
Despite the initial lukewarm response, and in the face of heavy criticism from homebuyers for its slowness to take action, the authority has initiated several actions against errant developers over the last few months.
For instance, UP-RERA last week rejected the registration application of 36 developers across the state citing non-compliance. It has also cancelled the registrations of six more developers citing delays and shoddy work.
The biggest challenge, however, for the new regulatory framework is enforcing it equally in all states. “Apart from weeding out the non-serious players, it is also bringing in the trust factor back in the sector. However, barring a few states, not all have been very enthusiastic in implementing the law,” noted Rajesh Goyal, MD, RG Group & Vice President, CREDAI NCR.
So far, Maharashtra remains the most active state in terms of enforcing the new norms, with more than 20,718 projects registered under the MahaRERA and nearly 19,699 RERA-registered real estate agents operating in the region. Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, has about 2,600 projects registered on their website.
The numbers are not that encouraging from a few other states, with Andhra Pradesh having just 307 projects registered under RERA. The situation is similar in Telangana, while registrations in Karnataka stand at 2,530 projects and 1,342 RERA-registered real estate agents. Gujarat has 5,317 RERA-registered projects and 899 registered agents and agencies, said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Properties.The north-eastern states, including Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim are yet to officially notify RERA rules.
However, homebuyers feel that the law is tilted mostly towards developers, with many stating that builders get away with small penalties and homebuyers still have to go to court.“The authority is very slow in initiating action. The number of cases where fines have been imposed is almost dismal. Buyers still have more faith in the courts for complaints. See what happened in the case of 3C Developers,” said aggrieved home buyers of Lotus Panache project from 3C Developers.
Developers, while lauding the law, have their own reservations. “The biggest lacuna of RERA is absolving statutory authorities in granting permissions. We must have a single-window disbursal of all regulatory approvals which has been a long standing demand of the real estate sector as it will help developers to complete projects on time,” Hiranandani said.
According to him, another downside is that a young entrepreneur who wishes to enter the business will find it quite difficult. “You have to be an organised player. You just cannot start and build your way up; you have to build something before you start, in terms of finance, compliance and your team. RERA has made everything more challenging,” Hiranandani added.
maharastra most active
Maharashtra remains the most active state in terms of enforcing the new regulations, with more than 20,718 projects and 19,699 real estate agencts registered under the MahaRERA