RERA 2016 changed the real estate sector forever : Puri

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Union Minister of State(I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on September 10, 2018, said  the Union government is committed to provide positive solution to the problems of home buyers so that they get their home as soon as possible. He was delivering the inaugural address at the “First Regional Workshop on RERA – a New Era of Transparency and Accountability in Real Estate – Two years of implementation and way forward (Western Region)” at Pune.

During his address, the Minister pointed out that the country had no regulator for the real estate sector for nearly 70 years after it gained independence, and said that 2016 was the year when the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, was enacted by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Addressing the participants, the minister stated that the year 2016 changed the real estate sector forever and defined the dawn of the post RERA era. RERA is characterized by trust, rules, regulations and regulatory oversight as opposed to the pre-2016 period which essentially was one of mistrust, fraud, cheating and broken promises, he said and asserted that “the plight of the homebuyers who were at the mercy of the developers and bringing discipline in the Real Estate Sector was one of the core objectives of this landmark legislation”.

“Had RERA been in place say 20 or even 10 years ago, consumers would not have had to knock the doors of the judiciary as the stringent provisions of RERA would have ensured an eco-system that would have prevented the entry of ‘fly by night’ operators,” Puri said. He added, “We now have a Government that believes in bold and radical reforms which is determined to bring about a change in the lives of the honest tax payer. We will and are urging, encouraging and persuading the States to set up the regulatory apparatus envisioned under RERA speedily.”

Puri said the Real Estate Act fills the existing gap between the Development/Municipal laws and the Apartment Ownership Act, and is intended to regulate transactions (buying and selling) and enforcement of contracts and added that the Act upholds the spirit of federalism by allowing the States to set up the Regulatory Authority and the Appellate Tribunal and the role of the Central Government is limited to Union Territories without legislature.

He emphasised that the Act attempts to balance the interests of the consumers and the developers by imposing clear responsibilities on both, seeks to establish symmetry of information between the promoter and the purchaser, transparency of contractual conditions, set minimum standards of accountability, and a fast-track dispute resolution mechanism. He pointed out that the Act is aimed at consumer protection, by creating an online system for information sharing so that there is mutual trust between the developer and the buyers and projects are implemented in time.