Haryana Lives RERA Dream

With the Chief Minister formally launching RERA portal for Gurugram and Panchkula this week, the pitch is prepared for fair play in property deals in the state.

Sumedha Sharma

From being ridiculed for being a ‘toothless’ body to emerging as probably the strongest realty regulator in the country HRERA has come a long way in the past one year. It was a month ago that a landmark judgement of its Gurugram bench got it national acclaim and now the regulator awaits a new revolution as it goes online. Gurugram RERA Chief KK Khandelwal in an interaction highlights how the regulator has graduated to be a much needed ray of hope for home buyers in the state.

HRERA is finally online What will it change for the regulator?

Everything. Going online will revolutionise RERA the way it has revolutioned other departments or platforms. Till now majority of home buyers or complainants who have approached us insisted that they thought of the regulator as the last option and did not mind paying money and go for mutual settlements. Main reasons for this perception were the complicated offline formalities and tedious and lengthy follow ups. Going online will definitely change all this and pretty soon we will be the first choice for seeking redressal. In case of need home buyers as well as realtors would turn to us and we will be just a click away. This will usher a renaissance in state realty.

How many complaints has the authority received so far? And what is the status of cases against developers?

We have received more than 1,100 complaints till now. On an average we are getting 15 complaints a day. We have so far resolved 168 of these. We had a very tedious functioning till now, but all this is changing. In addition to being online we have got a team of legal post graduate staff that will take care of all requisite formalities and the bench would step in for hearings and decisions. This would increase efficiency and reduce resolution time.

According to you how has RERA been a game changer for the realty sector?

The biggest achievement is the confidence that the new  real estate law has instilled in home buyers. The buyer now knows that develop ers can no longer act as per their whims and fancies. It’s the trust that they have someone to fall back on that has made a difference. Builders, too, are now more cautious and restrained now.

How do you explain the role of RERA in cases where projects   have been completed?

We keep a tab on such projects in terms of  implementation of builder-buyer agreement, handing over of common areas and conveyance deeds to residents’ associations,  possession of flats within three months of the completion and subsequent maintenance for five years. In case of an unregistered project we keep a check on fund diversion, review quarterly progress and completion within the deadline.

The Gurguram bench had hit national headlines with its recent judgement that empowered home buyers like never before.Would you elaborate on the same?

It widened the scope of the real estate law recently when it ruled that mere filing of applications for completion or occupation certificates would not leave a project outside its purview.

The rules, which came into effect in July 2017, say an incomplete project won’t be categorised as ‘ongoing’ if the promoter had applied for an occupation or completion certificate before that date, drawing severe criticism from home buyers. But the judgment says the applicability of the Act and registration under RERA are two separate things. A project may not be may not be required to be registered under the law,  but it will still come under RERA ambit .