RERA reshaping real estate, more than 1.24 lakh complaints disposed of: Eco Survey

Real Estate Regulatory Authorities have disposed of 1.24 lakh cases as of July 1, according to the Economic Survey

The Real Estate (Regulatory and Development) Act of 2016 is causing the real estate sector in India to be "reshaped", due to "citizen-centric" rules and regulations ensuring transparency and financial discipline in housing projects, according to the Economic Survey of 2023-24, which was tabled in Parliament on July 22.

According to the Economic Survey, a total of 1,24,947 complaints have been disposed by the 32 state and union-territory level Real Estate Regulatory Authorities that were established as a result of the Act's passage, with a "fast-tracked" dispute resolution mechanism being provided under the Act. Nagaland is the only state or union territory that has not notified the Act, although it is in the process of formulating their rules.

The Survey said that before 2016, the year in which RERA was passed and the first states started notifying the law, the only redressal homebuyers in stalled projects had was to approach consumer forums that were established under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. It added that with the passage of RERA and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, or IBC, as well as later revisions to it in case of real estate projects, homebuyers now have two broad avenues in which they can expect resolution for stalled projects.

Those later revisions include the treatment of homebuyers as creditors, as well as resolution plans for projects being RERA-compliant, ensuring the primacy of RERA as the sectoral law.

RERA, the Survey said, has ensured financial discipline and and removal of uncertainties and false promises and developers, through measures such as mandatory registration with Real Estate Regulatory Authorities along with disclosures on amenities and date of delivery, and the requirement of 70 percent of monies collected from homebuyers being kept in an account meant for project construction, as well as land costs.

According to the Survey, more than 1,30,186 real estate projects, as well as 88,461 real estate agents, have been registered under RERA. The Survey added that under RERA, the "agreement to sale" has now been mandated at the time of registration itself, and any changes to layout plans for projects requires consent from two-thirds of homebuyers, in order to rein in developers who were often accused of failing to deliver on promised amenities and features.