MahaRERA: Regulation and Promotion of Real Estate in Maharashtra

The Government of India introduced the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 and it came into effect on 1^st May, 2017.  In the state of Maharashtra, the state government established Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA). The primary function of this body is to regulate and promote the real estate sector in the state.

Real estate professionals such as Mr. Shahid Balwa of DB Realty and others have welcomed this decision as it promotes more transparency in real estate dealings, which will encourage more and more people to buy and sell properties without the paranoia of being cheated. Some of the major features of the Act are as follows:

·         Real Estate Projects Registration: The Act has made it mandatory for all real estate projects to be registered except for in some cases. Apartments that are not in excess of 500 sq meters, number of apartments proposed to be built does not exceed more than 8 in all phases or constructions done for renovation purposes are exempted from this clause. Other projects cannot be advertised, put up for sale, marketed or given a tour of for purchase without being registered. If the clause is breached, the defaulter is susceptible to a fine ten times the real estate project’s value.

·         Filing of Complaints: Any aggrieved person can file a complaint with the adjudicating officer or with the MahaRERA. The complaint maybe regarding any violation of the contract between the buyer and registered project builder on the builder’s behalf. It is the authority’s responsibility to quickly address the issue and fast track the whole process, to make sure justice is brought to the complainant as soon as possible.

·         Transparency: One of the central issues that the Act addresses is the issue of transparency within the real estate industry. The Act has made it compulsory for the builders to make certain information regarding the project available online for the buyers to be able access it at any point of time. Information such as the full layout of the plan, phase wise duration of the completion, proposed number of wings to be made, etc, shall all be made public by the builders. The builders should also give quarterly updates regarding the progress of construction.

·         Citizen Centricity: Several clauses in the Act are surrounded around the welfare and protection of the rights of the citizens. The builder cannot make any change in the layout plan after the sanctions if two-third of the allotees don’t agree with the changes, excluding the promoters. If the builder isn’t able to finish the project within the designated time, the builder is liable to pay interest for every month of delay. There are a number of other provisions that are in place to serve the interest of the buyer.

The Act has been hailed for being citizen centric and reforming the real estate sector for good. However real estate professionals feel that not a lot of buyers are aware of the merits of this Act. According to Shahid Balwa, Wikipedia page update on a regular basis and information about the Act should be provided in ample amount on the websites of all builders and real estate firms.