Tag: maharera

Pune

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has placed 16 registered projects under the scanner for non-completion by developers who claimed to have gone bankrupt.

Complaints against these projects have been received mainly from Pune, Mumbai, and Thane, said the authorities. A hearing will be given to these developers, following which they will have to revert within a month or their registration will be revoked under section 7 of the MahaRERA Act, officials said.

In all, 70 complaints have been received from members of the homebuyers’ association against these 16 projects.

The regulatory body had said that homebuyers should form associations and lodge complaints against promoters under section 7 of the MahaRERA Act.

The MahaRERA authorities told TOI that several complaints have been received against these projects and the standard operating procedures (SOP) were put in place for revoking their RERA registration.

Under SOP, homebuyers can form association and lodge a complaint under section 7 of the MahaRERA Act, demanding that the registration be revoked and a new developer be appointed with the help of MahaRERA officials.

“The complaints have been received mainly from Mumbai, Pune and Thane against these projects. The MahaRERA will decide on the projects that have been shelved due to bankruptcy. For each of the registered complaint, hearing has been given to banks and homebuyers’ association and they have been asked to check on the projects’ feasibility,’’ stated officials.’ As per the SOP, the developers will get a month’s notice to arrange for money to complete the projects. If they fail to do so, the homebuyers’ association can appoint another developer or they can complete it themselves.

Citizens who have been issued MahaRERA orders but are awaiting implementation stated that the SOP would help to take the projects ahead if the association members work together. “There is very slow implementation of MahaRERA orders and the SOP should help,’’ said an affected citizen.

Developers, however, feel that the one-month window is too short a time and they should be given more time, especially, when a developer has gone bankrupt, they said.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/around-16-housing-projects-under-maharera-scanner/70431952

Pune

The Union minister of housing and urban affairs on Sunday said he would tell the state government’s housing department to look into bringing the unregistered projects under the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority’s ambit.

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union minister of housing and urban affairs, said he would be writing to Maharashtra chief minister and the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) within the next fortnight to do the needful.

He made the commitment after hearing Shirish Deshpande, the chairman of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat — the Maharashtra consumers’ forum — in a meeting of the ministry of housing and urban affairs in Delhi.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, to discuss various issues concerning the real estate sector and the steps to be taken to strengthen it.

Deshpande told TOI that Section 4 (2)[c] of Real Estate Regulatory Authority Act requiring builders to produce sanctioned building plan and commencement certificate for registration was not mandatory in nature. This was also put forth by Madhya Pradesh RERA chief and RERA chiefs of other states too echoed it, he said.

Against this backdrop, Deshpande expressed hope that there was no need to amend Section 4 (2) [c] and projects could be registered with RERA without those certificates. “This will bring a huge number of unregistered projects under the ambit of MahaRERA,” he said.

Another participating member said the act clearly stated that if any project had not received completion certificate in 2017, when the act came into force, it would come under RERA irrespective of registration. “If any such projects are not registered, they would have to be registered and if it is not it is the duty of the authority to ensure registration,” said an activist.

Consumers have been approaching MahaRERA for registered projects so far.

The state consumers’ forum also put forth the delay in bringing redevelopment projects under MahaRERA. The state real estate regulatory authority has proposed an amendment to the existing rules to bring the rehabilitation and sale components of redevelopment projects under the ambit of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. MahaRERA has sent a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for his approval to the amendment proposal.

Shirish Deshpande, the chairman of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, said rules would have to be amended to consider any redevelopment project as “a whole project.”

The components related to the rehabilitation for the owners and sale are now accounted separately.

The developers now register only the sale component.

It will bring all redevelopment projects, with the rehabilitation components, under RERA.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/centre-to-tell-maharashtra-to-bring-unregistered-projects-under-maharera/70651767

Mumbai

With more and more lawyers representing clients in Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) cases, the advocates handling these cases on Friday registered their Bar Association of MahaRERA with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.

State Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni on Friday formally presented a certificate of registration to the Bar Association of MahaRERA members at his office. Advocate Harshad Bhadbhade has been elected as the President of the association while advocate Anil D’souza and advocate Bishwajeet Mukherjee will serve as the Secretary and Joint Secretary.

The association was registered under the Bar Association (Constitution, Registration and Control) Rules, 2005 framed by the Bar Council under the Advocates Act, 1961 and Maharashtra Advocats Welfare Fund Act, 1981.

“MahaRERA cases with serial numbers having crossed the magical one lakh figure, it is easily the fastest growing and most approached quasi-judicial body in India. The Bar Association of MahaRera will strive to be the crucial link between the Bar and the Bench. There are many issues that litigants and advocates themselves are facing and this Bar Association will do its very best to be the bridge between all stake holders,” said secretary Anil Dsouza. He said the association has 50 members at the moment.

Maharashtra is the leading state in the implementation of RERA and has the highest 21,812 ongoing real estate projects registered with it. Out of these 16,946 projects are ongoing under the Authority’s monitoring, while 4,698 or 21 per cent of these projects have been successfully completed since May 1, 2017. MahaRERA received more than 8,217 complaints, and it has resolved and given orders in 62 per cent or 5,103 cases. 3,114 complaints are presently in the process of hearings.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/rera-lawyers-form-bar-association-of-maharera/70426128

Pune

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has reduced the minimum registration fees from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10,000 for projects that will enable smaller units, especially in the rural areas, to come under its purview.

The change has been effected in accordance with the amended rules issued by the Maharashtra Housing Department on June 6, MahaRERA officials said.

With the prescribed rate of Rs10 per square metre and the minimum area of plot under RERA being 500 square metre, the minimum charge reduction would ensure that developers with smaller projects are encouraged to register with MahaRERA and no longer pay a blanket charge of Rs50,000, the officials said.

“Many cities, other than the metropolitans, have several small projects that may be spread over a little more than 1,000 sq metre or 1,200 sq metre. If these developers had to register their projects, they would have to pay Rs50,000 irrespective of the area. But the reduced minimum charges would encourage such developers to come forward and register their projects,” a senior MahaRERA official said.

MahaRERA completed two years of its implementation in May this year. The officials said over 21,000 projects have been registered in the state, the maximum in the country. Following this, the authorities have taken initiative to ensure more registrations and have more developers under MahaRERA’s purview.

“In the first and second year of the implementation of the rules, it was noticed that most of the registrations came from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and from cities such as Pune and Nagpur. Not many registrations came from the rural areas of the state. This year, our main focus is to penetrate into these areas,” the MahaRERA official said, as he elaborated the need for the amendments.

The changed rules have also reduced the fees for plotted developments, a move that will bring more projects from the rural areas under MahaRERA. In case of plotted development, the promoters have to pay an extended fee calculated on the area of the land proposed to be developed at the rate of Rs5 per sq meter.

Consumer forums, which have been urging MahaRERA to go ahead with these amendments, said the recent changes in the rules regarding registration of projects were done keeping in mind the ground realities. “Till the other day, the rules had not defined plotted development though RERA also covered plotted developments. Through this amendment, the definition of the plotted development has been added to the MahaRERA rules,” Mumbai Grahak Panchayat president Shirish Deshpande said. He added that bringing down the rate for plotted development from Rs10 to Rs5 per sq metre was “realistic”.

Besides, the conveyance to be done by the promoter is within three months since the arrival of the occupation certificate. The amended rules do not give the developers any options for delay.

“The earlier rule stated that the promoters have to give conveyance once 50% of the homebuyers paid full consideration or within one month from the formation of the society or within three months from the date of occupancy certificate, whichever earlier. This was impractical. The MGP had taken this up with the authorities while framing the original rules. But it was not considered then. However, the amended rules state that the conveyance has to be done within three months from the date of occupation certificate. It makes sense,” Deshpande said.

Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, vice-president Shantilal Kataria said the reduction of minimum fees for registration will benefit the tier two, three and four cities and encourage more developers to register with MahaRERA. He, however, said the conveyance period of three months should have been six months.

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/minimum-registration-fees-down-by-maharera-rural-areas-to-benefit/69765872

Amendments made to the Maharashtra RERA rules stipulate that real estate developers can no longer claim expenses made on advertisements and promotions, as well as brokerage commissions as part of their construction costs.

According to RERA regulations, developers are required to deposit 70 per cent of the funds collected from home buyers in a separate RERA account. These funds can only be withdrawn for construction with appropriate certification from the architect and the chartered account. This was done to check the practice by developers to collect booking amounts and flat sales from home buyers and moving them to another project, often stalling the first project.

“The development cost or cost of construction of the project shall not include marketing and brokerage expenses towards sale of apartments. Such expenses though part of the project cost should not be borne from the amount that is required to be deposited in the designated separate account,’ said a notification issued by the state housing department on June 6.

‘Developers often show expenses for full-page ads also in this account. Now, those marketing expenses have to be shown in the remaining 30 per cent. For home buyers, it means that more money will available for completion of housing projects,’ said Gautam Chatterjee, chairperson, MahaRERA.

The notification has also reduced the minimum fee that developers need to deposit with MahaRERA at the time of registration of a project from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10,000 for plotted developments. Earlier, developers had to pay between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh as per the area of the land proposed to be developed at the rate of Rs 10 per sqm. Now, for plotted development, the registration fee will be calculated at the rate of Rs 5 per sqm.

The notification also gives brokers and real estate agents an opportunity to lodge complaints with MahaRERA against developers if their commission or fee was unpaid. “If there is a broker or real estate agent involved in the transaction between the developer and a home buyer, then his commission or brokerage from developer’s side or the buyer’s side should be paid to him as per agreed terms of payment. We have now included this in the RERA’s model form of agreement and brokers can lodge a complaint with MahaRERA and the authority will give them a hearing,’ Chatterjee said.

The new rules received mixed responses from the construction industry. While it was agreed that the amendments were consumer-friendly, questions were raised on the impact they have on incomplete projects.

Reacting to the amendments, Rohit Poddar, Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development Ltd said, ‘The decision to eliminate the marketing and brokerage expenses from the cost of development is a good move from a consumer’s point of view. However, it should be subject to scrutiny whether it will have any direct impact on the prices for end consumers. Advertising, marketing, and brokerage costs are a part and parcel of the project cost, and it is recommended that they are included in the project cost, especially for the affordable segment.’

Rajan Bandelkar, President of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Maharashtra said, “The amendment is likely to impact the unsold inventory. How does the developer sell these without including the marketing costs in the construction cost?”

Ameya Tandulkar, Chief Operating Officer at Paradigm Realty said, ‘The RERA Act clearly mentions that marketing costs should not be included in the 70 per cent funds meant for construction. This account was always meant to pay for land cost, construction cost, premiums for fungible FSI, and administrative costs incurred by the developer. I think the amended rule only reiterates that developers should not include marketing costs.”

Amit Wadhwani, Co-Founder, Sai Estate Consultants Chembur Private Limited (SECCPL) said, “RERA is definitely paving the way for a transparent sector.”

Source: www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/maharera-no-advertisement-expenses-in-construction-costs/69781792

Maharashtra Real Estate Rules 06.06.2019

Earlier, MahaRERA website had an inactive tab which prevented a home buyer from filing an online application for non-execution till the 60-day mandated period for appeal was over.

Home buyers who get favourable orders from the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) will now be able to file online applications for non-execution of these orders even during the 60-day period granted to the developer to proffer an appeal with the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MREAT).

Earlier, MahaRERA website had an inactive tab which prevented a home buyer from filing an online application for non-execution till the 60-day mandated period for appeal was over. However, following a writ petition filed by a 69-year-old Kandivali home buyer in the Bombay High Court, MahaRERA has now changed this process, and made the tab for non-execution active. As a result, home buyers will be able to file for non-execution while the developer’s appeal pending or is being heard by the Appellate Tribunal.

“Yes, we have changed that process. Now, we have made the tab active so that the home buyers would be able to file application for non-execution even while the appeal process is on, but we will hear the application only after the mandated 60-day period is over and after checking the status of the appeal with the Tribunal,” said Gautam Chatterjee, chairperson of MahaRERA.

69-year-old Baheti had booked a flat in Kandivali East in May 2015 with the promise of possession by December 31, 2015. When the developer failed to deliver and revised the date to 2023, she filed a complaint with MahaRERA seeking a refund.

In November 2018, MahaRERA asked the developer to refund Rs 6.84 lakh with 10.5 per cent interest. The developer filed an online appeal, but did not deposit the statutory 30 per cent of the refund amount without which the appeal would not be entertained by the Tribunal. When Baheti tried to file for non-execution, the tab on MahaRERA portal remained inactive even after mandated 60 days. Aggrieved by this, she decided to file a writ petition.

“The developer will neither remove the defects in the appeal nor pay the statutory 30 per cent amount and will delay the matter. Further the developer is in a win win situation as the petitioner cannot file an appeal,” her petition said.

Advocate Tanuj Lodha, who represents Baheti, execution pending appeal cannot be denied, unless there is a stay order in Appeal. “The procedure of making online “Non execution of Order” tab inactive on mere filing of an online Appeal (without depositing minimum 30% statutory amount) is being used as a mischief to frustrate the aggrieved homebuyers,” said Lodha.

Meanwhile, MahaRERA has also taken note of more than 176 recovery orders issued against non-complying developers still pending with the District Collectors, and decided to periodically review the pendency and facilitate its implementation. “We had a meeting of all MahaRERA members, and it was decided that we should periodically review the pending recovery orders, and take appropriate decisions,” MahaRERA member Vijay Satbir Singh said.

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/maharera-now-opens-execution-tabs-during-appeal-process/69606692

Housing regulator rules in favour of home buyer seeking damages from developer in lieu of a project whose possession was delayed by two years.

Housing regulator Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has ordered a developer to pay a home buyer interest for delaying the project.

While ruling in favour of the home buyer, the authority stated that it has jurisdiction over an ongoing project even after an Occupancy Certificate was issued to the developer, adding that it can adjudicate the dispute despite an arbitration clause in the agreement.

The ruling came on a complaint filed by Suresh Swamy, who had booked flat No. 301 in Tower T8 of Emerald Isle project in Powai where he was supposed to move in by September 2017. He was seeking interest on the amount he had paid till actual possession. MahaRERA ruled in Swamy’s favour directing developer L&T Ltd to pay simple interest at 10.75 per cent on a sum of Rs 4.69 crore from October 1, 2017, for delayed possession.

Advocate Manish Gala, appearing for L&T Ltd had argued that the authority had no jurisdiction in the matter due to three key factors. Firstly, they argued that the Occupancy Certificate for Tower T8 had been received on December 21, 2018, well ahead of the December 31, 2018 revised possession deadline given to MahaRERA and hence there was no delay. The developer said the project is complete and since it is not an ongoing real estate project, the Authority does not have jurisdiction to entertain the complaint.

Secondly, the developer contended that the agreement for sale was executed under Maharashtra Occupation of Flats Act (MOFA) and Section 18 of RERA cannot be applied retrospectively. Thirdly, the agreement for sale had an arbitration clause and hence the dispute should be referred to the Arbitrator under Section 7 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Adv Anil Dsouza, appearing for the home buyer pointed out that the OC was a Part OC issued by the BMC and the developer was erroneously using the term.

Rejecting the argument that it no longer has jurisdiction after OC is received or possession is offered, MahaRERA member Bhalchandra Kapadnis cited several sections in RERA to support his point. He said Section 7 and 8 of RERA obligates the Authority to carry out remaining development work if the registration of the projects gets revoked. He said section 14 (3) of RERA provides that if any structural defect or quality defect is found within five years from the date of possession, the promoter is duty bound to rectify such defects without further charge within 30 days.

“Therefore, I hold that the jurisdiction of the Authority is not lost only because of the receipt of the occupancy Certification or on completion of the project or when the possession is offered,” he observed. He cited the HC judgment in Neelkamal Realtors case to rule that RERA provisions are applicable to agreements executed even before it came into operation on May 1, 2017.

Source – https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/maharera-still-has-jurisdiction-over-projects-that-have-an-oc/69300982

Pune

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA), which completed two years on May 1, will shift its focus on housing projects that are under stress and incomplete for various reasons.

The regulator has identified 60-70 such “stressed” projects in the state — mainly in Pune, Mumbai and Thane — and has chalked out a plan to reach out to the members of such projects; to guide them in forming an association and help them complete the project.

In March this year, MahaRERA had issued a standard operating procedure (SOP), allowing homebuyers to remove a developer in case the project was delayed, and hand it over to an expert panel for completion — with the regulator monitoring the proceedings. This step could be initiated only if at least 51% of the homebuyers affected by the delayed project gave their consent.

Over the last two years, more than 20,000 projects have been registered with MahaRERA in the state — the highest in the country. However, the number of completed projects stands at a little over 4,500.

Among these registered projects, there are many yet to be completed despite the issuance of orders and even recovery warrants, allowing the revenue authorities to auction the property and return the money to homebuyers.

“The (March) order was issued to benefit those affected by such stressed projects, where the developer has not been able to complete the project due to a paucity of funds or any other reason, and homebuyers are stuck with the project for long periods of time. We have assessed 60-70 projects in three cities and now plan to reach out to the complainants as well as the remaining members,” MahaRERA secretary Vasant Prabhu said. The regulator is planning a workshop for affected buyers.

MahaRERA had issued the order under Section 37 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA). Under Sections 7 and 8 of RERA, a regulator can revoke the registration of a project as well as remove the developer, provided 51% of the project allottees agree on such an action. A separate panel under MahaRERA, with the help of experts, would carry out the remaining development work and take the project forward to completion.

However, there’s a caveat: this process will be possible only for non-litigated projects.

Once the revocation orders are issued, the developer will lose all right to the project. The authority will set up a panel to prepare a project report within four months to decide the future course.

Source – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/maharera-to-focus-on-70-stress-projects-in-maharashtra/69184915

Pune

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) on Thursday issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to allow homebuyers to remove a developer in case the project was delayed. The project would then be handed over to an expert panel for completion.

The authority, however, clarified that it could initiate such action only against non-litigated projects.

“It will help complete all delayed projects in the state. This is an unique move, probably the first in the country, under the Real Estate Regulatory Act, 2016, which will help the association of allottees (homebuyers) take control of the situation,’’ Vasant Prabhu, MahaRERA secretary, told TOI.

In case of revocation orders, the developer will lose rights to the project and his bank accounts will stay frozen, the order said, adding that the authority would then set up a panel of experts to prepare a project report within four months to decide on future course of action.

The panel would prepare a blueprint for project completion. The blueprint would consist financial details and a detailed roadmap towards arranging the said finances.

The SOP has been issued under section 37 of the RERA Act, 2016, with reference to sections 7 and 8. MahaRERA officials said the authority will only consider complaints received from an association of allottees and not from single homebuyers for such action. “The complainants should not be less than 51% of the total allottees,” they said.

MahaRERA will serve a notice to the promoter with 30-day deadline to present his/her case.

Source – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/maharera-releases-sop-to-remove-delaying-developers/68623712

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority has decided to give developers a second chance to complete delayed projects after the usual extension of a year, provided over 50% customers of the property concerned agree to it.

Vasant Prabhu, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) secretary, said an order was issued last week to give genuine developers a second chance to complete a stalled project if the consumers were willing to wait. He said, “The extension is subject to consent of more than half the flat buyers and a time-frame would be set.”

Prabhu said, “We were getting complaints of delay in project execution. With this order, consumers can take a call on if they want to continue with the project. If more than 50% consumers agree, we can give an extension to the developer.”

Nearly 90% of the complaints registered with the MahaRERA are regarding delay in execution of projects. State president of Credai Shantilal Kataria said the order would not only benefit the consumers, but also the developers.

“It is neither easy for a consumer nor a developer to cancel a project. Given more time, genuine developers will complete projects within the time-frame decided by both the parties,” said Kataria.

The real estate sector faced a rough patch in the past two-three years. It is slowly on the recovery path. Property consultants closely monitoring the market stated that the real estate sector was set to grow this year.

“The issue of stalled projects and liquidity crisis continued to confound the housing sector last year though it continued its transition into a relatively more transparent and end-user driven market,” said Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Property Consultants. He added that builders were extremely cautious about launching new projects to align supply with the existing buyer demand.

Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) – the consumer forum taking up the issues of MahaRERA from the inception-welcomed the move of giving a say to the consumers but stressed that the authority should have specified that the “association of allottees” should be appointed after 50% booking of flats in a project was done.

Sources – www.realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/maharera-allows-builders-a-second-chance-if-homebuyers-agree/67985471