GUWAHATI: The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has decided to implement a grading system for housing projects across the state. The initiative aims to empower homebuyers in filtering out unprofessional developers while providing them with a better understanding of project suitability and quality. Along similar lines, the Assam Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) is also contemplating starting the grading system in Assam.

A senior official of RERA said, “According to the guidelines prepared during the formation of RERA, starting grading system for real estate projects is one of the most important responsibilities for the body,” adding that the body now is contemplating to start the grading system and for the purpose an “analysis” is ongoing.

The official further opined that before RERA it would have been great if the state government could have formulated a policy which could have started “marking” the real estate projects.

The official said that to start the grading system various aspects of the projects will have to be studied. The study for grading will include a project overview, technical snapshot, financial details, and legal snapshot, said the official adding that the system have to consider the promoters’ compliance track record, legal litigations, project finance quality, amenities, the status of statutory approvals, booking percentage, financial and legal encumbrances, and audit certification, among other criteria. “Such information is typically inaccessible to homebuyers or rarely provided by builders,” said the official.

The official said that RERA receives maximum complaints regarding parking and visitors parking in apartments. “There should be 25% of parking space in any apartment allotted to visitors,” said the official and selling parking space is not legal. He stressed that once the grading system starts, all these issues will be easily taken care of.

The official questioned the process by which authorities like Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) issue permissions as according to the official many projects across Assam “violate” building bye-law norms.

The introduction of the grading system aims to assist homebuyers in making more informed decisions said the official by considering factors like financial risk, legal risk, technical risk, and timely completion risk, adding that potential investors can better understand the projects they are considering to buy.

The Assam RERA official said that if the grading system starts in Assam, the process vsill be very transparent and public opinion on the grading system will be taken before starting the process.

In Maharashtra, the grading process is scheduled to commence between October 2023 and March 2024. Initially, all projects registered from January 2023 onwards will undergo grading. Subsequently, the Maha RERA authorities plan to establish a matrix for grading promoters. The first round of grading results is expected to be announced on April 20 next year.

The Assam RERA official said that global examples of successful grading systems in Singapore, Australia, and Dubai have resulted in a better real estate environment there and the grading system in Assam also ensure better projects.

The officials are now studying all aspects of the grading system and a decision be made in a couple of months.

Source: https://www.guwahatiplus.com/assam/assam-rera-mulls-starting-grading-system-for-real-estate-projects

In a strict warning to the builders in Guwahati, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Assam (RERA) has directed the builders to display RERA registration numbers, project names and website addresses on the hoardings, banners and advertisements of the projects.

“It has come to the notice of the authority that many builders have been putting up hoardings, banners, advertisement of the real estate projects without displaying the RERA registration number, project name and website address,” the RERA order stated.

The order further mentioned that this is in violation of section 11 (2) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 and the Rules and regulations framed there under.

“All builders are therefore directed to display their RERA registration number, project name, website address in their advertisements, banner, and hoardings in their project site immediately,” the order further stated. The order said that non-compliance with these instructions will attract the provisions of Section 61 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016.

It needs to be mentioned that there are many real estate projects across Guwahati where the RERA registration details of the projects are not mentioned in the hoardings or any other advertisements.

A manager of the under-construction apartment site at Jyotikuchi where the RERA registration details were not displayed talking to G Plus on condition of anonymity said, “Our project is registered with RERA but we did not know that it is mandatory to display the registration details,” adding that they will soon display all the details.

Assam Real Estate and Infrastructure Developers’ Association (AREIDA) president PK Sharma talking to G Plus said, “It may have been omitted due to oversight since all projects displayed are already registered.”
The Real Estate Regulation & Development Act was brought to India in May 2016 after a decade of real estate being tormented at the hands of powerful builders.

Now, the RERA Act mandates all ongoing and new RERA projects to register with respective RERA Authorities under the ambit of the Act.

In the case of the non-registration, they will attract penalties under the Act. It is mandatory to have RERA registration for builders of real estate projects with RERA Authorities. In case they fail to comply with the quarterly compliance as mandated under the Act and Rules, they may have to face a complaint filing against them.

Source: https://www.guwahatiplus.com/guwahati/rera-warns-builders-to-display-registration-details-on-project-advertisements

To protect the interests of consumers, the State Government formed the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Five years have elapsed, but RERA failed to serve its very purpose.

The outcome is that the Gauhati High Court has served a notice to RERA a few days back based on a PIL filed by Anita Verma. The PIL will come up for its next hearing on February 3, 2022.

The State government set up the RERA to protect apartment buyers from harassment from builders and promoters. The key objective of RERA is to upload details of promoters and developers antecedents, the status of approval of buildings and other related information on the website.

The Act says that RERA has to launch its website within a year and upload details of promoters and developers. It will let the buyers know the details of building promoters before making any advance payment for buying apartments. Five years have already elapsed, but RERA has not yet launched its website.

The Act has provisions of the appellate authority and a court to settle disputes between buyers and sellers. However, the court is not functioning smoothly. The Act further says that all activities of RERA will be online. However, RERA does most of its work manually.

Apartments keep springing up in Guwahati and other urban areas in the state. A section of builders takes advance amounts from buyers. However, they (builders) often fail to hand over apartments to the buyers on time. In most cases, the buyers have to run after builders.

Some builders also play the mischief – they show buildings’ interior plans while signing agreements but make changes at their convenience later, deviating from the original plans. Had RERA launched its website on time, the customers would have got details of building projects before making advance payments or signing agreements.

A source associated with the real estate business said, “It baffles us why RERA has not launched the website even after five years of its formation. Thus it has failed the very objective of the Act. RERA makes queries to promoters regarding the technical and legal aspects of projects. Agencies like the GMC, GMDA, Town and Country Planning bodies permit us to erect buildings after verifying all related issues. Why should RERA quiz us regarding projects? It is high time RERA focused on its objectives to protect buyers’ interests.”

Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/topheadlines/real-estate-business-rera-fails-to-protect-consumers-interests-575775