BHUBANESWAR: In a major relief to homebuyers, landowners and promoters, the state government has issued a special order simplifying the registration of apartment units in projects completed before the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) on October 5, 2016.
The government clarified that the order is intended only to facilitate registration of genuine apartments and should not be treated as a regularisation of unauthorised constructions. “Any violation of building regulations will continue to attract action under applicable laws,” Housing and Urban Development minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said.
Mahapatra said that despite the enactment of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 (OAOM Act) to improve transparency and efficiency in apartment ownership, many buyers in pre-RERA projects continued to face difficulties in registering deeds of transfer.
A special order issued on December 3 had provided relief to individual allottees, but apartments retained by promoters and landowners remained outside its scope. To address these legacy issues, the government has introduced a special exemption mechanism for eligible projects, creating a legal framework to overcome documentation and compliance hurdles that had prevented registration of many apartment units.
The relaxation will apply only to apartments in projects completed before October 5, 2016, where at least 50 per cent of the units had already been transferred through registered sale deeds before the RERA cut-off date. The apartment proposed for registration must also be part of a building plan approved by the competent authority under the Odisha Development Authorities Act, 1982 or the Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust Act, 1956.
Promoters or landowners must prominently display the approved building plan within the project premises. Before registration of the first sale deed of any unsold apartment, a No Objection Certificate from the Association of Allottees certifying the correctness of apartment numbering will be mandatory. An undertaking confirming compliance with all eligibility conditions must also be submitted.
The order further states that apartment associations formed under earlier laws will be recognised only after adopting bye-laws in line with the OAOM Act, 2023.
