Mumbai: The realty sector witnessed a slowdown this year after the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act came into force on May 1, 2017. Maharashtra was the first state to implement the Act. Parliament passed the Act in March 2016 to protect the interests of the homebuyers and also to boost investment in realty sector. Apart from being introduced to ensure transparency and financial discipline in the sector, the Act also sought to provide a platform for consumer complaints and hearings where both parties can clarify their points. After this, the authority passes a final order by which both sides have to abide.
Headed by Gautham Chatterjee, the authority - which imposed stringent rules on all ongoing residential as well as commercial projects - gave developers time till July 31 to register all the projects. The deadlines were further pushed till August 31 and fines were imposed on the late registrations. As of now, more than 14,000 projects have been registered with MahaRERA.
Within months after the registrations, the authority passed an order, in October, which brought cheer among homebuyers: A developer was asked to pay back Rs 2 crore to the homebuyer as the former had delayed the possession. This judgment came as a ray of hope for many homebuyers who were affected by delayed possession. Many such orders were passed in this year wherein developers were asked to give back the money along with the interest amount. However, in absence of the RERA tribunal, few challenged the order in the high court. In the coming year, citizens can expect the RERA tribunal to be operational.
Meanwhile, in December, builders filed a petition in the high court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act. However the court upheld its validity and while a few tweaks were suggested in the Act, the builders' petitions were dismissed.
