39 delisted real estate projects await final cancellation by RERA
According to the RERA Act, 2016, all real estate projects must be registered with the RERA in the respective states where they are being executed
PUNE: While many flat buyers are anxious on the one hand, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) on the other hand has given them a 15-day window to submit suggestions/objections to its decision of delisting 39 projects in the city in response to applications for deregistration submitted by the respective real estate developers.
According to the RERA Act, 2016, all real estate projects must be registered with the RERA in the respective states where they are being executed. According to the Act, no one may book, sell, market or advertise a specific property without first registering it with the RERA. In Maharashtra, projects registered with the Maha RERA are issued a certificate with a unique registration number. The regulator has the authority under sections 7 and 5 of the RERA Act, 2016, to revoke the registration of Maha RERA projects if the promoter (developer) is found engaging in non-compliance or any unfair practices.
In a bid to check if any rights/claims of any buyer/s are pending, the Maha RERA has released a public notice on its portal seeking objections from home buyers within a timeframe of 15 days. The reasons for delisting the project include unviable projects coming to a standstill, lack of project funds, changes in government regulations, and internal disputes. It was in February that the permission to delist was granted by the Maha RERA. A RERA official said that if no claims are received, all 39 projects will be deregistered.
According to Maha RERA, a project’s registration number does not remain forever and there can be events in which the number/s lapse or can be revoked. The Maha RERA notice states, “There is a situation herein where the project in itself, as was planned, is now sought to be abandoned. This in effect means that there will be no project available for allotting premises, as was promised. In such a situation, one has to look for a legislative remedy to force the hand of a promoter (developer) to complete a project which he wants to abandon. Unfortunately, there is no provision in the said Act which provides a path for forcing a promoter to complete a project which the promoter has voluntarily come forward to say that he is unable to complete in the present form.”
The notice reads, “Further, it is not the case of any of the respondents (buyers who challenged the termination of the allotment) that the applicant-promoter is unable to complete the said project due to financial fraud or misappropriation of the monies provided by the allottees. Thus, this authority sees no mechanism to force the hand of a developer where a case of fraud or misappropriation is not made out.”
Prominent builder and owner of Dorabjee real estate, Jehangir Dorabjee, said, “The RERA delisting encourages real estate developers who are unable to proceed with or complete their projects to consider the option of deregistration. Developers are exploring this option in case the real estate project is commercially unviable for them to complete within the stipulated deadline.”
Manish Ghule, a customer who had invested in a project at Ambegaon Budruk, said, “My real estate developer contacted me for the refund and the same has been credited to my account. I believe not everybody is as lucky as buyers suffer terrible losses due to sudden halting of projects in which they have invested their life’s money.”
Maha RERA a hurdle in the path of those trying to cheat home buyers: Devendra Fadnavis
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday asserted that the purpose of establishment of RERA is not to regulate the construction/real estate business but to encourage those who do really good work while curbing malpractices in this sector and the same is being done very well by Maha RERA. The deputy CM was addressing the members of the All India Forum of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities at Hotel Conrad which was attended by 15 state RERA authorities.
Fadnavis said that Maharashtra is truly the birthplace of RERA. For 25 years, consumer associations and activists, especially in Mumbai, have been demanding a regulatory framework for real estate. The state government had also been thinking about it seriously. Therefore, as soon as the central government passed the RERA Act, the state took advantage of this opportunity and established the Maha RERA, Fadnavis said.
“Citizens invest their life’s earnings to buy a house in places like Mumbai and Pune. In the event of cheating, there is a big shock. There have been many complaints about this. However, the establishment of RERA has become a hurdle in the path of those who want to cheat commoners,” the deputy chief minister said.
