Organizational Evolution In Indian Realty

Ram Raheja, Director, S Raheja Realty explains the role of RERA in bringing organizational changes in the realty sector

What has the advent of regulatory authority meant for the real estate sector in India? The introduction of RERA act was whole-heartedly welcomed as a great value-add to the real estate sector. The act that was brought into action has proven to be one of the most effective steps by the Government in bringing about an organizational change in the industry. Since its inception, RERA’s directives and focus has been on homebuyers and safeguarded their interest by enabling transparency through proper disclosure and financial discipline.   Your views on the RERA’s 3 years performance. The 3 years of RERA has been a journey of constant evolvements in the act to meet the need of the hour as well as make it viable for long-term goals. One significant change in three years since RERA implementation is that credibility has been restored; fly-by-night agents and operators can no longer dupe customers with false promises and fraudulent measures. The launch of RERA has resulted in an increase of fair transactions in the real estate sector by bringing about a better accountability, transparency and a positive shift in reinstating the trust of homebuyers. Over the span of last three years, 31 states/ Union Territories have notified rules under RERA, 51,580 projects and 40,481 real estate agents have registered across the country. With regards to the grievances, 46,152 complaints have been disposed-off by RERA authorities till date.   What have been some of the distinct initiatives of MahaRERA? During 2019, MahaRERA – the Maharashtra chapter of RERA took a step of appointing ‘Self Regulatory Organizations’ (SROs) wherein real estate bodies like NAREDCO and CREDAI MCHI were appointed to educate and ensure that the developers registered with them are abiding to the norms. This was done with another motive to bring an additional layer of accountability and ensure that grievances, either by developers or homebuyers are screened thoroughly before it is actually looked into.   Role of RERA in the times of COVID In response to the current health crisis, RERA has played a notable role with states relaxing the deadlines of home-delivery for the developers. Overall, with RERA mandating every project being registered, it has eradicated the problem of illegal constructions at a large level. Additionally, a force majeure relief under RERA has also been provided to real estate developers and suo moto extension of 6 months have been provided for the projects registered on or before March 25. This will help towards timely completion of projects. Overall, we see this as a positive move.