Tag: uprera

New Delhi

The current process of maintaining a collection account by builders to get all deposits before transferring the mandatory 70 percent of the money into escrow account is wrong, said the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority.

The realtors then transfer the remaining 30 percent of the money to third account operated by them for appropriating for purposes other than construction and land cost.

According to the authority, “This practice is apparently wrong. The promoters have to receive all the amount in the Escrow Account and only the money left after utilising 70 percent of the money for construction and land cost should be allowed to be withdrawn for a purpose other than construction and land cost. It is re-emphasized that this 70:30 percent ratio has to be maintained from the inception of the project.”

The above observation was made in a meeting held by UP-RERA officials with chief general managers and general mangers of all the public and private banks. The authority has issued appropriate directions to all the zonal heads and branch managers to comply with the RERA orders.

UP-RERA has also decided to verify all the projects accounts maintained with different banks. “The Chartered Accountants of RERA will be visiting the concerned branches in this regard,” said Rajive Kumar, chairman, UP-RERA.

The authority further said that there cannot be any charge or lien on the separate project account, the bank cannot recover the amount or installment due from the promoter from this account. The bank can have lien on the account to which the promoter transfers 30 percent of the collected money.

“The bank can not insist that in case of loan for the project the promoter should open an account with it and receive all the money from the allottees in this account. Nor can be the bank insist on the promoter to transfer the balance money from the existing project account to new account,” said Abrar Ahmed, secretary, UP-RERA.

As per the provisions of section-4 (2) (l) (D) of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, seventy percent of the amount for a real estate project must be deposited in a separate account to be maintained in a bank to cover the cost of construction and the land cost.

The concerned branch is required to ensure that money is utilized for the specified purpose only and not for any other purposes. The bank must also ensure that the promoter is permitted to withdraw any amount from this account only after he has submitted the certificate from an engineer, an architect and a charted accountant.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/builders-current-process-of-maintaining-a-collection-account-is-wrong-up-rera/70558486

Noida

In the first step towards providing some relief to homebuyers, the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-Rera) is set to propose the creation of a stress fund to complete pending real estate projects.

After tabling the proposal at its board meeting in Lucknow, the regulator will open it for suggestions and discussion, after which it is likely to send it to the UP government.

Homebuyers who invested in several projects have been demanding a stress fund to help cash-strapped builders with initial liquidity.

However, their demand has so far not received any response from the state or central government.

UP-Rera members told TOI that given the abysmal financial state of some of the projects in Noida and Greater Noida, it could be difficult for any agency to come on board to help complete construction without financial backing from the government.

“We have created a proposal. However, it will be weighed unanimously by the entire board in Lucknow. While the law takes its course to deal with the injustice by the builders towards the buyers, we, as a real estate regulator, will take a balanced and poised stance. Our objective is to help buyers get their flats. Wherever we can, we will mediate to help completion,” UP-Rera member Balwinder Kumar told TOI.

“Given the huge count of flats that are pending here where builders are in a financial mess, we now want to see if a financial package for completing these flats can be created,” he added. Kumar, however, did not divulge the fine print of the proposal.

Homebuyers cannot start making payments and banks do not offer loans in projects which are in a stalled condition, some have argued.

“The builders have to show at least some sign of construction before buyers can start paying their pending dues on projects, which have come to an absolute standstill. Whichever agency comes forth for the task of completion would need seeding liquidity which the government ought to provide through a stress fund,” Abhishek Kumar, president of the Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (Nefowa) and also a member of the UP-Rera Conciliatory Committee, said.

In June, the Forum For People’s Collective Efforts, an apex body of homebuyers, had urged the state government to set up a Rs 10,000-crore stress fund for completing pending projects in the next five years. The forum had suggested that the government should strip off personal and company assets of promoters of delayed projects to recover the amount spent for completing the works using this fund.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/up-rera-to-propose-stress-fund-to-complete-pending-realty-projects/70426054

 

Lucknow

Take all reasonable precautions before buying your dream house or apartment on the outskirts of Lucknow.

The UP Real Estate RegulatoryAuthority (UPRERA) has identified 57 apartments and housing colonies that have been developed without requisite permission from local authorities and any investment in these projects is not safe, officials have warned.

Satellite images taken by the Remote Sensing Centre (RSC), which on the request of UPRERA is carrying out a survey, have helped identify these rogue projects. So far, the centre has completed 70% survey and identified the 57 along Faizabad, Sultanpur and Sitapur roads. Survey in remaining areas will be completed by the end of June.

The inspection was commissioned in March after two allottees of a housing project lodged a complaint regarding the registration money taken by a builder on Sitapur road. According to Section 13 of the RERA Act, a buyer has to pay 10% of the apartment/house value as registration money. The complainant claimed that the builder was charging 15% instead.

Chairman of UPRERA Rajive Shukla said they later came to know of more than 150 cases in which builders had asked for more registration money. “We also received complaints about builders disappearing after taking the allotment money. That is when we decided to conduct the survey,” he added.

Sources in UPRERA said developers of the 57 rogue projects would be served notices, asking them to seek registration from local authorities such as LDA or zila panchayat, and fullfill all fire safety norms. They will also be directed to return extra money if registration fee charged was more than the prescribed 10% of the apartment value.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/up-rera-spots-57-rogue-residential-projects-on-outskirts-of-lucknow/69765435

New Delhi

Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-RERA) has decided that if there is no progress in completion of the residential projects, the authority will issue show cause notice to deregister their projects.

It further said that the notice will also be issued if the builder fails to deliver projects, fails to show his keenness to deliver flats, if the builder does not resume construction and is absconding or in jail.

The authority in the last few days has issued deregistration notices under Section 7 of the RERA Act to seven builders for failing to meet their commitments to buyers covering 14 projects and approx. 4800 residential units.

Their matter is still under active consideration at various stages.

UP-RERA has also sent notices to many developers over bad construction quality and project delays.

Under RERA Act 2016, Section 8 provides an indication that the Authority can provide a platform to take up stressed projects and bring them to completion.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/up-rera-to-issue-show-cause-notice-to-builders-with-stuck-projects/69485164

NOIDA

Homebuyers on Tuesday submitted a letter to the Greater Noida Authority and the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-Rera), asking them to make public the names of builders who have opened escrow accounts with the money deposited by investors. The move comes as buyers feel that many builders have not started this financial practice to protect their rights.

“We have written letters to both Greater Noida Authority and UP-Rera, asking them to disclose the names of all such builders with escrow accounts, on the website of UP-Rera for the sake of transparency,” co-founder of Noida Extension Flat Owners Welfare Association (Nefowa) Indrish Gupta told TOI.

The buyers’ group claimed, in its letter, that over the past few months they received complaints from various buyers on the issue of projects which are incomplete and where builders seem to have diverted funds.

“There are over 50-60 projects which are stalled. However, these builders have been taking payments from buyers and most of them have overstepped UP-Rera completion deadline. So, we have asked the regulatory authority to disclose an update on the status of the buyers’ funds with these builders,” Shweta Bharati, general secretary of Nefowa, said.

According to UP-Rera, over 700 builders in Noida and Greater Noida have overstepped completion headlines, with over 100 more expected to follow suit in the next three months.

“We just want to ensure that despite delays, the buyers’ funds are protected,” Gupta added.

When contacted, a GNIDA official said, “Buyers’ requests on the matter will be considered and they can find seek necessary answers from UP-Rera.”

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/show-list-of-builders-with-escrow-accounts-buyers-to-up-rera/69335097

Noida

The Uttar Pradesh real estate regulator has asked local authorities to start the registration process of realty projects under the RERA Act for making builders accountable and addressing rising complaints from buyers in the state.

UP Real Estate Regulatory Authority chairman Rajive Kumar in a statement said the authority has received about a 1,000 complaints with respect to projects and promoters from outside the planning areas mainly from the districts of Lucknow and Barabanki.

The complaints vary from non-implementation of the projects to the promoter having run away with the money of the buyers, he said.

The RERA Act applies only to the real estate projects with area of 500 sq metres or more and with eight apartments or more in planning areas.

“RERA cannot extend relief to such buyers unless the project can be registered in Rera and invited the attention of the participating officers to the provisions of Section 3 of the Rera Act wherein a provision has been made that in order to protect the interest of the buyers it can direct a promoter to register in Rera a project outside planning area and that the provisions of Rera will apply to such a project from the date of its registration in RERA,” he added.

The UP RERA chief held a meeting at the RERA office in Greater Noida to discuss approval and regulation of layout plans of the real estate projects outside the planning areas.

The meeting was attended by Anurag Srivastava, Principal Secretary of Panchayati Raj, Mahendra Prasad, Secretary of Industrial Development and CEO LIDA, Preeti Shukla, Secretary of Panchayati Raj, Ajai Chauhan, Housing Commissioner, Masoom Ali Sarvar, Director of Panchayati Raj, MP Singh, Secretary of Lucknow Development Authority, among others.

Kumar, however, clarified that a project can be registered in Rera only if the layout plan of the project has been approved by the concerned local authority, which means zila panchayat in most of the cases.

Rera has already engaged UP Remote Sensing Application Centre for carrying out the site inspection of real estate projects within 10 km of LDA limits in the districts of Lucknow and Barabanki with the help of satellite data, according to the statement.

Anurag Sivastava, principal secretary, said in some of the Zila Panchayats the bye-laws relating to the approval of the projects have not been adopted so far.

However, he assured to direct the districts concerned to adopt the bye-laws soon.

“They will also work effectively to check the breaches of the sanctioned plans or the development of real estate projects without required approvals,” according to the statement. The progress would be reviewed next month, it added.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/up-rera-directs-authorities-to-start-registration-of-projects/69335068

Noida

Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-Rera) has resolved to adopt projects that have been abandoned by builders midway and whose completion date has expired. The regulatory body has estimated that there could be 100 such abandoned projects in the state’s NCR cities.

Following a meeting with officials of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), the UP-Rera officials announced on Thursday it will draw a true estimate of the number of projects which have been left midway by builders and have exceeded their completion dates so as to draw a resolution.

“There are about 100 such abandoned projects where the builder has deserted a project midway and is untraceable. Many of these have also expired their completion dates. We will now find a way to adopt them and resolve their fates. Work on this will start soon,” UP-Rera member Balwinder Kumar said.

Moreover, UP-Rera has also appealed to all developers who have not come forward to get their projects registered with the real estate regulator to do so at the earliest, else a fine to the measure of 10% of the project cost will be imposed.

“So far, we have not exercised this clause in NCR, but there is provision in the UP-Rera Act to impose a 10% fine for not registering a project and we have now decided to start sending notices. By our estimates, there could be 300 projects that have dodged UP-Rera registration and would be sent notices,” Kumar added.

According to the UP-Rera officials, there are 4,850 NCR-based cases pending before the regulator. The Greater Noida office of UP-Rera has recently set up a third bench to accommodate cases faster.

Source – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/up-rera-plans-to-adopt-projects-left-midway-by-developers/69261297

Noida

The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP RERA) said it has sent letters to the zonal heads of all 42 banks to be more vigilant of the escrow accounts of the promoters and developers.

A copy of the letter has also been sent to the director general of the Directorate of Institutional Finance, Government of Uttar Pradesh, UP RERA said in a statement.

The authority has asked banks for strict compliance of the provisions of Section-4 (2) (I) (D) of RERA Act, 2016, which warrants 70 per cent of amounts realised for real estate projects to be deposited in a separate account and to be maintained in a scheduled bank to cover the cost of construction and the land cost and shall be used only for limited purposes.

UP RERA Chairman Rajive Kumar said, “It has come to the notice of the Authority that some of the promoters are not complying with the statutory provisions of the law and withdrawing the amount from the designated account without submitting the requisite certificate. This is grave violation of the mandatory provisions of the Act.”

UP RERA Secretary Abrar Ahmed said the separate accounts related to 2,651 projects registered in RERA are being maintained in 962 branches, some of them are based out of Uttar Pradesh. “We have sent separate individual letters to all the 962 branches by speed post.”

It has also come to the notice of the Authority that some of the banks, especially the ones that have sanctioned loan to the promoter, arbitrarily adjust the entire amount deposited in the account against the outstanding loan of the promoter instead of transferring 70 per cent of the money collected to the escrow account for the purposes of construction and payment of the cost of land of the project, the statement said.

“The banks are requested to issue necessary instructions to all of the regional managers, deputy general managers, assistant general managers (and) branch managers to strictly comply with the provisions,” Ahmed said.

It is further clarified that if the banks do not adhere to the provisions of the Act, the matter will be brought to the notice of the chairman of the respective banks and the secretary of the banking department of the Government of India for appropriate action in the matter.

In total, there are 42 scheduled commercial banks — 21 each public sector and private sector lenders.

Source – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/be-more-vigilant-of-developers-escrow-accounts-up-rera-asks-banks/68748179

RERA Uttar Pradesh

• Uttar Pradesh notified the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules on October 27, 2016.
• The office of Regulatory Authority is located at Naveen Bhavan, Rajya Niyojan Sansthan, Kala Kankar House, Old Hyderabad, Lucknow – 226007.
• Former chief secretary Rajive Kumar has been appointed the new full-time chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UPRERA)
• Website Launched on 26th July, 2017.