Long term leases covered by RERA

Provisions of the real estate regulatory law were applicable to three apartments booked on a 999-year 'agreement to lease' in Lavasa, near Pune, and for which 80% of "purchase price" had been paid, said the Bombay high court on Tuesday. It added that complaints for compensation for a delay of six to seven years in possession of these apartments could be decided by the adjudication officer under MahaRera, the state's real estate regulatory authority. Justice Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi, after analyzing the salutary object of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (Rera), held that "merely because the legislation excluded allotment, when given on rent, it does not exclude long term lease... That would be defeating and frustrating the object of the Act". The judge dismissed three appeals filed by Lavasa Corporation, which is developing a township project, registered under Rera. The appeals were against orders passed by the Maharashtra real estate appellate tribunal, which had held that Rera provisions were applicable for the three persons who had booked apartments through 'agreements to lease' at Lavasa. Their complaints could be entertained under section 18, providing for compensation with interest for delay by a builder in giving possession in terms of 'agreement for sale'.