In May 2017, the much awaited Real Estate Regulation and Development Act was implemented bringing in much relief for the home buyers by putting several mandatory things to do before the project developers at every stage of the project. We list below a few things of RERA that you need to know:

1) RERA is applicable to all proposed and ongoing residential and commercial realty projects over a minimum area of 500 sq m, or having 8 flats, including projects outside urban areas. Developers cannot even market the project without registering it with the Regulatory Authority; the registration can be revoked in case of violations. In such cases, the bank account of the project can be frozen, and the money used to complete the work.

2) Builders have to mandatorily disclose every detail of the project on the website of the Authority, and update them quarterly. Failure to do so can attract a penalty up to 10% of the estimated cost of the project. Repeat offenders can be fined an additional 10% of the project cost, or sent to jail for up to 3 years.

3) Real estate agents and brokers too have to be registered. Non-compliance with the orders of the Appellate Tribunal, by both brokers and property buyers, could attract a penalty up to 10% of the apartment cost and/or a jail term of 1 year. In the case of builders, the jail term may extend up to 3 years.

4) In case of deliberate delays, builders will have to pay the same rate of interest as they levy on defaulting buyers. The consent of two-thirds of buyers will be required for a builder to make changes to the original plan, even if the planning body sanctions the modifications.