Advertisement
When should a housing society in Mumbai start considering re...
From GST on JDAs to SEBI’s REIT reclassification and the S...
Stay ahead in the world of real estate with our daily podcas...
Stay ahead in the world of real estate with our daily podcas...
Bhubaneswar will resume apartment sale deed registrations from April, ending a two-year delay caused by litigation and RERA rule confusion. The government has issued a notification exempting pre-RERA buildings, simplifying resale. This addresses the challenge of older apartments lacking occupancy certificates (OCs), mirroring issues in cities like Mumbai. The Orissa High Court's 2022 order and the 2023 Apartment Act had slowed registrations, requiring OCs, which many older buildings lacked. Similar to Mumbai's OC challenges, Bhubaneswar aims to regularize older buildings. The government's efforts seek to boost market transparency and provide a potential model for other cities facing similar real estate registration issues.
After over two years of delay due to litigation issues and confusion regarding RERA rules and the Apartment Ownership Act, the execution of sale deeds for apartments in Bhubaneswar is set to resume from April, according to Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari. Advertisement
Pujari confirmed that discussions with development authorities are ongoing, and all existing bottlenecks will be cleared by the end of March. The government's efforts aim to simplify the registration process and resolve the long-standing issues that have affected both buyers and sellers in the city's real estate market.
In an important move, the government has issued a notification to streamline the apartment registration process. Under the new rule, apartments and buildings constructed before the implementation of the RERA Act will not fall under its purview. This step is expected to address the difficulties associated with the resale of older apartments, a significant concern for both buyers and sellers. The minister also highlighted that the housing and urban development department, alongside the revenue department, is working together to finalize the necessary changes.
The sale deed registration of apartments in Bhubaneswar had come to a halt in May 2022 after the Orissa High Court issued an order mandating that only apartments built in full compliance with real estate regulations be registered. Registration partially resumed in May 2024 after the enactment of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act of 2023. However, the process remained slow, as the Act requires an occupancy certificate for buildings before they can be registered. Many older apartments, particularly in Bhubaneswar, lack essential documents such as occupancy certificates and environmental clearances, creating further barriers to registration. This hinders the registration process.
Bhubaneswar's challenges with apartment sale deed registrations due to missing occupancy certificates (OCs) mirror issues faced in other Indian cities. In Mumbai, a significant number of residential buildings lack OCs, leading to legal and financial complications for residents.?
In 2021, the Maharashtra-based non-profit MahaSEWA estimated that over 10,000 residential buildings in Mumbai did not possess OCs. They proposed an amnesty scheme to regularize these structures by collecting fines, aiming to address the illegal occupation of buildings without OCs. However, legal experts debated this approach, emphasizing the need for developers to obtain OCs within a specified timeframe, suggesting penalties or jail terms for non-compliance.
Furthermore, in February 2025, the Bombay High Court intervened in a case where CIDCO delayed issuing an OC to the Dolphin Co-operative Housing Society in Kharghar. The court directed CIDCO to grant the OC within a week, highlighting the adverse effects of such delays on residents' legal rights and living conditions
Pradhan emphasised that the government must implement a regularization method for older buildings that lack the necessary documents. While the recent notification moves in the right direction, he suggests that more clarity on the rules and a formal procedure for the regularization of older properties will be key to resolving these issues.
As Bhubaneswar moves forward with these changes, the broader impact will likely be felt across the city's real estate market, improving transparency and encouraging more buyers and sellers to engage in the property market. If successful, these reforms could offer a model for other cities grappling with similar challenges related to older real estate developments.
5th Jun, 2025
25th May, 2023
11th May, 2023
27th Apr, 2023
Advertisement
Facebook
Whatsapp
