New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led government plans to review the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016 due to challenges being faced by homebuyers and the inability of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) in states and Union Territories to enforce their orders, ThePrint has learnt.
Last month, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) held a meeting with homebuyers associations to discuss the issues faced by them. The first such meeting was held in May.
The ministry has now sought data from all 32 RERAs in various states and UTs about the number of orders passed by them and their implementation status, along with the reasons why some were not effectuated, according to senior ministry officials. This has been done because of a demand by RERAs for amendment of the Act to give the regulatory bodies more powers to execute their orders.
“RERAs have previously suggested amending the Act due to delays and non-implementation of orders. We are now reviewing the functioning of RERAs to identify problem areas. Once we gather the data, it will provide a clearer understanding of the ground realities. We have also sought response from RERAs about the issues flagged by homebuyers in the meetings,” a senior ministry official told ThePrint. “The decision to amend the law will be taken based on the assessment.”
RERAs, established under the Act to regulate the real estate sector and ensure quick dispute resolution, have been facing criticism from homebuyers and the judiciary due to delays in timely redressal of issues. Expressing displeasure over the functioning of these bodies last month, the Supreme Court had said that RERAs have become a “rehabilitation centre” for former bureaucrats, who have frustrated the entire scheme of the Act”.
Homebuyers associations have often complained about the inefficient functioning of RERAs in states and UTs, saying that the authorities in most states have not been able to get real estate developers to comply with the norms and provide relief to homebuyers.
Activist Abhay Upadhyay, national convenor of Fight for RERA, highlighted that homebuyers often struggle as regulatory authorities fail to enforce orders or ensure compliance by developers.
Upadhyay, also the president of Forum For People’s Collective Efforts—the parent groups of Fight for RERA—added, “In several cases, developers often issue misleading ads and provide inconsistent information on their websites and the RERA portal. The other issue is that authorities are often unable to get their recovery orders implemented by government agencies. With the authorities unable to address these issues, homebuyers have to suffer the consequences.”
However, officials in various RERAs cite lacunas in the Act for their inability to enforce the orders.
Balvinder Kumar, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer and former member of Uttar Pradesh RERA, told ThePrint, “The Act needs to be amended as RERAs don’t have the power to get their own orders implemented. They have to be enforced by state government agencies, such as the development authority or via district collectors. But the RERAs don’t have the power to issue directives to development authorities or government agencies to comply with its orders.”
He added, “We (Uttar Pradesh RERA) had written to the housing ministry a few years back to amend the law to give more power to RERAs.”
ThePrint has reached out to the ministry for a comment via email. This report will be updated as and when the response is received.
‘Law must be amended’
While several states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, among others, have ensured strict enforcement of the Act, former RERA members say that there is an urgent need to amend the law to give more powers to the body.
Gautam Chatterjee, retired civil servant and former chairperson of Maharashtra RERA, said that there is a need to bring other stakeholders under the ambit of the law.
“For a real estate project, a developer has to seek permission from various authorities. For timely completion of projects, it is essential to get the necessary permissions on time. It is important that government agencies, whose approval is required for the project, are brought under the ambit of the Act so that the authority can hold them accountable in case of delays,” he said.
“It is also important that the regulatory authorities have more power to implement their orders.”
A section of former and current RERA members, including chairpersons, told thePrint that these bodies should have the more powers to get the recovery orders passed by them in cases where the builder fails to deliver the project on time.
A former Tamil Nadu RERA member said, “Currently, the regulatory authorities rely on district magistrates or civil courts to recover money from builders, who delay projects, but this process is time-consuming. Given that people’s hard-earned money is tied up in these projects, the government should consider granting RERA the power to recover funds directly from builders.”
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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