Haryana govt clears RERA
Three months after Haryana government published draft rules to regulate the real estate sector, the Haryana Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday approved the final Haryana Real Estate (Regulation and Development), Rules 2017. The definition of “ongoing project” was the contentious issue as the opposition had pointed out that draft RERA rules had sought to exclude projects which have applied for occupancy certificate or part completion certificate, adding that “this would mean that the lakhs of people, who have deposited crores of rupees with the builders in hope of their own house, would not be able to take benefit of the central Act”. On Tuesday, Haryana government went ahead and amended the term “ongoing project” as it exists in the central law. After the amendment, the term “ongoing project”, according to the Haryana government rules, means, “A project for which a licence was issued for the development on or before May 1, 2017 and where development works were yet to be completed on the said date, but does not include (i) any project for which after completion of development works, an application as the case may be, is made to the Competent Authority on or before publication of these rules and (ii) that part of any project for which part completion or completion, occupation certificate or part thereof has been granted on or before publication of these rules”. Homebuyers have been tracking these developments closely as the definition will decide the number of projects that come within the ambit of RERA. The Cabinet has also given approval for inclusion of Rule 4(5) to address concerns on this issue. “A project where an application is made to the Competent Authority on or before publication of these rules but the grant of part or completion or occupation certificate is refused by the Competent Authority, whether before, on or after July 31, 2017, the promoter shall have to make an application to the Competent Authority for registration of the project within 30 days of receipt of communication of such refusal by the applicant,” mentioned the rules approved by the Cabinet. According to the other rules: “In case of residential/industrial plotted colony, the rate would be applicable for gross area of the colony”, while in the case of Group Housing, Commercial or Cyber Park, “rates are for 100 FAR (Floor Area Ratio) and would be proportionately higher for higher FAR”. The government has also amended a rule relating to grant or rejection of registration of a project. In Haryana, as per the amended rules, “The licence and other permissions granted to the promoter by the competent authorities shall be valid at the time of such registration. And, in case, the stipulated time of such registration is beyond the validity period of licence, then the promoter shall renew his said licence/ permissions for the remaining period well in time”. On the issue of the rate of interest payable by the promoter to the allottee or by the allottee to the promoter, the Haryana rules have mentioned that “it shall be the State Bank of India highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus two per cent provided that in case the State Bank of India Marginal Cost of Lending Rate is not in use it would be replaced by such benchmark lending rates which the State Bank of India may fix from time to time for lending to the general public”.
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