Tag: rera-karnataka

Even as the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA-K) tries to keep up with the times and take details of its cases online, the delay in getting justice is putting off homebuyers, who are desperate after investing huge amounts of money into properties.

The inability to bring erring realtors to book is an oft-repeated complaint against the authority by buyers. Presenting statistics on the backlog up to November 6, Forum for RERA Collective Efforts General Secretary M S Shankar said, “Out of the 4,450 complains that have been filed with the authority, 2,310 have been heard and judgment delivered.

Around 90 per cent of the cases filed pertain to compensation to be paid by developers for delay in construction of projects.” RERA officials said they were trying to provide speedy justice. An order issued by RERA-K on November 3 says the Deputy Commissioner would be involved in recovering the penalty to be paid by builders, along with interest for delays in completion, or for not adhering to promises made to the buyer.

“The regulatory authority will send a notice to both the builder and homebuyers 60 days after its award seeking a compliance report. If it exceeds the time period, RERA-K will take suo moto action and issue a Revenue Recovery Certificate to the revenue authorities,” it said. RERA-K Secretary K S Latha Kumari told TNIE, “If you assess the cases, we have nearly 2,500 pending with the RERA court. More than 60 per cent have been resolved, which is a good figure.” This was an association set up just three years ago, she pointed out, adding,

“We are going all out to make everything online. Details of every complaint will be made online in future.”To speed up resolution of cases, four additional benches are being set up in addition to the existing three-member authority through a recent notification, the secretary said. “Cases to be earmarked to each bench too would be displayed online to avoid any complaint of bias,” she added.

However, Shankar questioned the rationality behind the move. “There is no provision under the RERA Act to constitute such benches at all. Validity of the benches itself is under question. This decision itself is illegal as they are functioning beyond their powers,” he said.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2020/nov/18/under-flak-rera-k-hopes-to-deliver-speedy-justice-2224753.html

Amidst allegations from sections of homebuyers of weak implementation of the RERA Act, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Karnataka (RERA-K) is preparing to put in place an online system of allocation of cases, which, it says, will result in impartial allotment of cases.

RERA-K Secretary K.S. Latha Kumari told The Hindu, “Some people raise questions about the Chairman allotting cases manually. Now we are developing a software where case allocation will be done online and on rotational basis to benches without any human intervention. This will be allotted as and when cases come to the available benches. This will mean impartial allotment. It has already been developed, but it has to be clubbed with our existing complaint model. It should be put in place in another two to three weeks.”

The authority put out a notification in November about the constitution of four benches, in addition to the existing three-member authority. “Considering the number of pendency of complaints, a decision has been taken to create additional benches under Section 81 to delegate powers of the authority under the RERA Act on the chairman and members separately by creating the benches,” the notification signed by Ms. Latha Kumari said.

There are over 2,000 pending cases with the authority, she said, and disposal of cases under the old arrangement was time-consuming. Creation of additional benches will ensure speedy disposal of cases, she added.

Meanwhile, the Forum for People’s Collective Efforts, an NGO formerly known as the ‘Fight for RERA’ movement, has written to the Chief Secretary of the Karnataka government requesting a meeting to discuss the functioning of RERA-K. In the letter, they have alleged that RERA Act implementation has not been tracked or reviewed since 2017, when it was first implemented.

“The functioning of RERA-K has reached new lows and differences have cropped up among members of the authority, impacting the very purpose of the Act,” they have alleged, adding that there is “no protection for homebuyers.”

However, the RERA-K Secretary has denied all allegations. Ms. Latha Kumari said the authority is functioning as per rules and regulations. “Administratively, RERA-K is one of the best in the country,” she added.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/rera-k-to-ensure-online-allocation-of-cases/article33060534.ece

In a new measure that will ensure compliance of rules by real estate developers, the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) has decided to levy penalty on builders for failure to submit quarterly and annual updates.

The Section 11 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and Rule 15(D) of Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017 mandates the promoter to perform certain functions including submission of quarterly updates on the RERA website.

In a circular issued on September 3, the K-RERA said any builder who fails to upload quarterly updates will be levied a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 up to one month of delay and Rs 20,000 per month beyond that.

The delay fees shall be effective from the date of the circular and the promoters shall remit the fees through RERA E-Payment at the time of filing of the quarterly updates as enabled by the Authority on its website, the circular said.

The K-RERA has enabled the facility on its website for online filing of quarterly updates and annual audit for the registered projects.

The K-RERA said it has been observing that many of the promoters are not filing quarterly updates and annual audits on its website within the prescribed time in accordance with Rules 15(D) and Section 4(2)(1)(D), post-registration of their projects.

The Rule 15(D) mandates that a promoter shall upload updates on the webpage for the project, within 15 days from the expiry of each quarter on apartments/plots, garages booked, the status update of each building, floor, internal infrastructure and common areas construction with photographs, details on project approvals received, applied and expected date of receipt, approvals to be applied among others.

The compliance of the new rule, which has come into force from September 3, will enable homebuyers to take a comparative decision on buying a property. Every quarter, the builders are required to submit reports on project status, update, sanctioned plan, details of amenities, facilities that will come up in their project.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/k-rera-to-penalise-realtors-for-not-filing-project-updates-883999.html

Many eady-to-move-in flats in the city are lying vacant as there are no takers. So why not convert them into quarantine units, is a suggestion from many people. Realtors from across the city, real estate associations, and even RERA-K officials are now thinking of ways to implement this suggestion. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, member of Real Estate (Regulation and Development Act), Karnataka, told The New Indian Express that many government constructed units like those built by the Bangalore Development Authority and Karnataka Housing Board, are lying vacant.

“These can be used as quarantine centres. They are better than private ones because most private properties lack basic facilities. The ones constructed by the government should have all basic facilities like water, electricity and other amenities, and can be put to immediate use,” he said. He added that Karnataka can also follow the example of Maharashtra, where unused government offices have been converted into quarantine units as logistics-wise, they were a better option.

Those associated with the real estate sector are welcome to the idea of opening their unused apartment and commercial units as quarantine centres. Kishor Jain, CREDAI Bengaluru president said that if it’s unsold, the entire unit can be used as a quarantine centre, but not individual homes as it will create fear. Though there is no request from the government, the idea is being mu l l ed amo n g t h e stakeholders. A senior FICCI member added that since the real estate sector is seeing a lull and many units are vacant, they can be converted into quarantine units. The FICCI member added that discussions among the members, stake holders and with the government, were being held and a decision will soon be taken.

HOTELS FOR ISOLATION UNITS

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has identified non-air-conditioned hotels which will converted into quarantine centres. The state government will pay the room rent for the number of days the patients will stay and for food. The hotels have been directed to use disposable cutlery. The hotels are: Sabarwal Residency, Sudamanagar (50 rooms); Emirates Hotel, BTM layout (40); Empire, Koramangala 5th Block (39); Silicrest, Koramangala 4th Block (30); Oyo Amethyst, Jayanagar 5th Block (32); Ramakrishna Lodge, Gandhinagar (200); Hotel Citadel, Anand Rao Circle (111); Likith International, Gandhinagar (70), Fortune Park JP Celestial, Sampangi ramanagara (129); Arafa Inn, Gandhinagar (46); Lemon Tree Premier, Ulsoor (60); Keys Select, Hosur Road (120); Chalukya Hotel, Chalukya Circle (70); Oyo Town, near Ulsoor lake (28); Sri Lakshmi PG, Domlur (27); Keys Select Whitefield by Lemon Tree Hotel, ITPL Main Road (220); and Trinity Wood Hotel, ITPL Main Road (25).

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2020/mar/31/call-to-turn-vacant-flats-into-quarantine-centres-2123693.html

The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) has approached the state’s housing department to finalise the model sales agreement as per central government rules.

The K-RERA that started functioning two years ago had faced delay in model sales agreement due to change in government and the absence of RERA chief in the state.

“The model sales agreement has been sent to the government and is expected to be notified soon. There were objections that has been looked into before sending to the state,” said MR Kamble, chairman K-RERA.

As per the model sales agreement on the K-RERA website, builders will have to convey the final carpet area to the buyer after the construction of the building is complete and the occupancy certificate is granted by the competent authority. “Builders will have the right to forfeit the booking amount in case of cancellation by home buyers but has to finish the project on timely manner,” it said.

For home buyers, the model agreement says that buyers can ask for refund if there is default on the part of the builder and stop the payment amongst other benefits.

The Karnataka government notified Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules-2017 in the state gazette in July 2018 with the setting up of Karnataka RERA.

According to Anarock research, among all states and UTs across the country, RERA has been fairly pro-active in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, among others. Individually, Karnataka RERA has seen 33% jump in project registration since October 2019 – from 2,906 projects registered in early October 2019 to nearly 3,871 projects as on date.

“Among the nature of complaints largely seen in Karnataka, late delivery of projects tops the list for which errant builders have been asked by concerned RERA authorities within the state to pay compensation to aggrieved homebuyers. Despite this, many such builders have failed comply. Hence, authorities have further directed their revenue department team to issue show cause notices to the errant builders for property attachment,” said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultants.

As far as registering complaints and resolving them is concerned, as many as 3,950 complaints have been registered under Karnataka RERA till date (March 2020) out of which nearly 46% cases (or approx. 1,817 cases) have already been disposed of. Back in October 2019, the tally of disposed of cases was nearly 1,513 cases.

However, as far as disposing of complaints is concerned, Karnataka still lags far behind its immediate neighbour Maharashtra, where RERA has been significantly active. Out of the total 10,814 complaints registered under Maha RERA till date, a whopping 72% cases have already been disposed of by the concerned authorities.

Source: https://www.constrofacilitator.com/k-rera-approaches-state-govt-to-approve-model-sales-agreement/

Bengaluru

In a major relief for site allottees in the Kempegowda Layout who were charged exorbitant rates of interest by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for the delay in making full payments for their allotted sites, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) court ordered it to refund a major chunk of it.

According to Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout Open Forum members, the BDA has been told to charge an interest rate equivalent to that charged by the State Bank of India plus 2 percentage points. “If those who are charged any higher rate of interest file a complaint with RERA, the BDA will have to reimburse the interest collected above this figure,” said a senior member. The court also agreed to the BDA’s deadline of December 31, 2021 to put in place all infrastructure in the layout.

A total of 10,000 allottees had been allotted sites in the layout in two phases with the original deadline for development of layout being March 31, 2018. “For delayed payments, the allottees were made to pay an interest rate of 18 per cent per annum for the first 30 days beyond May1, 2017, and 21 per cent annually for any period beyond that. Now, RERA has directed it to return the higher interest to the allottees,” he explained adding that the BDA has been directed to amend its rule to facilitate the payment.

Meanwhile, the KG Layout project has been brought under RERA despite a stiff resistance from the BDA. It sought three more years to complete the work and the RERA court approved the extension, another member said.

RERA also asked the BDA to hold regular monthly meetings with the Forum so that they are kept in the loop about regular improvements effected in their layout. The BDA Commissioner has agreed to meet RERA members on Saturday, said AS Surya Kiran of the Forum.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2020/feb/01/return-money-to-kempegowda-layout-site-allottees-court-to-bangalore-development-authority-2097425.html

Bengaluru

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) of Karnataka has finally appointed M R Kamble, a retired IAS officer, as the chairman.

The authority that was notified on July 10, 2017 has seen four interim chiefs since inception.

Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority constituted a 3-member team to appoint the chairman of the RERA authority apart from setting up a tribunal with a High Court judge as part of it. The housing department received nearly 60 applications for the top post.

The K-RERA has appointed the chairman and the prayers of home buyers have been listened. Hoping the RERA functions to bring desired relief to the homebuyers, ” said MS Shankar, secretary, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts.

However, the government is yet to notify model sales agreement as per central government rules and RERA appellate tribunal members. “The appellate tribunal appointment has been with held for now,” said Shankar.

“We had submitted request to the government to reconsider the transfer of RERA secretary K S Latha kumari for the smooth transition,” said Shankar.

The Karnataka government notified Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules-2017 in the state gazette in July last year with the setting up of Karnataka RERA.

The law was passed by Parliament in March 2016 to address the woes of millions of homebuyers and to ensure better governance in a sector that was hitherto unregulated. According to the RERA registration, Maharashtra has the highest share of registered projects under RERA, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

Sources – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/mr-kamble-appointed-as-chairman-of-karnataka-rera/68273238

Karnataka

With over 1,000 real estate projects in the state not registering with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and their proponents not responding to repeated notices, the authorities are in a fix.

The Karnataka-RERA secretary wrote to the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai), requesting it to facilitate the registration of unregistered projects by encouraging promoters/developers to appear before the Authority.

Referring to the 1,076 projects “under investigation”, which have been identified by RERA for not having registered with the body, the authority’s secretary said not only have the projects’ proponents not responded to the notices, they have not explained the reason for not registering with RERA as per the provisions.

A majority of these projects are in Bengaluru.

“Despite issuance of several notices by RERA, only a few promoters have come forward and registered and a very few promoters have submitted their explanation claiming exemption under the provisions of the Act and rule but have failed to produce relevant documents before the Authority,” RERA secretary Latha Kumari K S wrote in the letter.

She asked the Credai-Karnataka president to support the implementation of the RERA Act and rules in letter and spirit. In his reply, Credai vice president Suresh Hari wrote: “All Credai members have registered under RERA and it is only the small builders who are out of the confederation who have stayed out. So there is nothing that we can do to get them registered.”

Activists who are fighting for the effective implementation of RERA have questioned the authority for not initiating action against these projects “under investigation” and for following a wait and watch policy. “RERA can verify the plan approval sanctioned to projects that are under the scanner. They can even freeze their bank accounts,” said M S Shankar, a RERA activist and the secretary of Fight for RERA-Forum for People’s Collective Efforts.

RERA authorities say it is a herculean task to track project promoters. “Often their registered offices do not exist or emails bounce back. In several cases, there is no way we could find out and track the promoter. RERA cannot initiate penalty provisions without giving the project proponent an opportunity to present the case,” said Kumari.

RERA believes that several of the projects under investigation could be older projects which got approvals and commenced before RERA came into existence.

Sources – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/over-1000-developers-keep-dodging-karnataka-rera-notices/67991556

RERA Karnataka

• Under the RERA Act, the Karnataka Real Estate Regulation and Development Rules, 2017 was approved by Government of Karnataka and notified on July 10, 2017.
• Government of Karnataka appoints Principal Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Department of Housing Dr. J. Ravishankar IAS as the Interim Authority.
• Government of Karnataka appoints Karnataka Appellate Tribunal as Interim Appellate Tribunal.
• The office of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority is situated at 2nd floor, Silver Jubli Block, Unity Building, CSI Compound 3rd Cross, Misson Road Bengaluru, Karnataka – 560027.
• Website launched on 24th July, 2017 (www.rera.karnataka.gov.in)