Registration of Project under RERA

Under the RERA Act, promoters must to register their real estate project to sell, advertise, market, book or buy. The promoters must apply to the authorities for registration. In this article, we look at the RERA registration for a project.

Real estate project: Defined

“Real estate project” is defined as the development of a building, the conversion of an existing building or part of an apartment, the development of land into flats/plots for commercial purposes and includes common areas, development activities, all regulating and structuring buildings, and all freedoms, rights, and property belonging to such property or building, land, or structure.

Who needs to register?

The person who constructs or converts a building into an apartment or builds a site for sale and the people who sell the apartments or sites are different persons, but both are considered to be the promoters responsible for following the rules and regulations stated in Real Estate Act, 2016.

Specified people are required to register the real estate project with the following authorities:

The Application under RERA for registration

In terms of Section 4 of the RERA, an application that must be made by every Developer and the prescribed registration fee for his or her real estate project will, among other things, be accompanied by prescribed documents including:

• Certified copy of permits and an original certificate obtained from competent authorities;
• The approved plan, building plan, and details of the proposed housing and land project as approved by the competent authority; and
• Developer Declaration supported by affidavit inter alia:
  • that the Developer has a legal title to the land proposed for development;
  • details of all hindrance in that land;
  • the time the Developer commits to completing the real estate project;
  • that the Developer will contribute 70% of the proceeds from the real estate project to shareholders from time to time in a separate bank account.

Registration Process

Every promoter will apply to the Authorities for the registration of the housing project on Form ‘A’ three times until the process is web-based following the applicable registration fee.

The Authority will use the web-based application to apply for registration within 1 year from the date of its establishment.

Validity of registration under RERA

The registered projects will be valid for the period announced by the Developer to complete the real estate project or phase thereof as submitted in the affidavit and application for registration.

Registration granted to the Authority may be extended by it upon receipt of a request from the Developer in this regard in the following cases:

• Force Majeure: war, floods, droughts, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, or any other natural disaster affecting the normal development of a housing project.
• Without force majeure: The Authority may extend the registration for up to one year if it deems that the conditions and reasons for the appeal are reasonable.

Consequences of non-registration

In the case of non-registration of a housing project, Section 59 imposes a fine of up to 10% of the estimated cost and in the event of failure to pay an additional fine of up to 10% of the estimated project cost or incarceration up to 3 years or both.

In terms of the provisions of Section 31 of the RERA Act, 2016, any complainant may lodge a complaint with the Authority against the Developer for contravention of the conditions. The Authority is vested with the highest powers under the RERA in respect of any Disruption of the promoter which includes a levy and to take such remedial or defense measures as may be deemed appropriate by the Authority. The same may include the provision of an interim order), a refund of the consideration received by the Developer from different assignments), a change in Developer/Promoter, etc., in each case.

Cancellation of registration

RERA imposes various compliance with the real estate project. If the same does not match, the registration of an already registered housing project may be revoked. The Authority may withdraw the registration based on a complaint received or suo motu by the Authority by giving 30 days written notice to the Facilitator of the real estate project stating the reasons for the proposed withdrawal and stating why the registration should not be revoked. Based on the Developer’s response to the notice of the reason for the exhibition, the Authority may approve the real estate project to be registered or else, may cancel the registration.

A notification of the exhibition’s proposed withdrawal may be issued for the following reasons:

Final words

With the change in legal status following the launch and implementation of RERA, real estate buyers and developers can look forward to a quick solution to disputes and redress grievances such as compensation for delays or omissions or negligence or to say waiving of cancellation costs by the borrower, etc.

This law still has a lot of ambiguities and many loopholes but with orders and judgments from many states, especially Maharashtra, one can be sure that RERA is a much-needed introduction to the legal realm of Real Estate. Gray areas will emerge over time and certainly, other laws will make their way.