22 Dec 2022

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) recently published an order outlining the model agreement for sale's non-negotiable terms. According to authorities, several sale agreements uploaded do not follow the model form. While modifications to the agreement for sale are permissible by MahaRERA, all modifications must be noted in the deviation sheet and uploaded accordingly which many are not doing. Key provisions that include the builder's liability for structural flaws for a period of five years, acquiring OC, forming a society, and executing registered conveyance deeds in favour of societies in a timely way are non-negotiable but often left out by errant builders.Read more

21 Dec 2022

Nearly eighteen months after the Supreme Court deemed The West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Act (WIBHIRA) as illegal and unconstitutional, the state of West Bengal finally implemented the RERA Act by creating the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA). West Bengal was the only state in country that had not implemented the RERA Act since its passing in 2016. They evaded doing so by creating the WBHIRA as a state substitute to the RERA Act, something no other state in the country had attempted to do.Read more

20 Dec 2022

According to data released by the MahaRERA authorities, since its inception over 35,000 projects have been registered with the authority. However, in the last five years over 2,7500 projects worth approximately Rs 90,000 crores have stalled. The builders in question procured registrations numbers for their respective projects but failed to adhere to the norms set by the authorities ultimately causing their registrations to lapse. Apart from defaulting on possession dates, authorities have found that several builders have also found loopholes in the law to divert funds from one project to another.Read more

15 Dec 2022

In a bid to ensure homebuyers approaching the MahaRERA REAT are receiving justice, the MahaRERA authorities have directed 13 district collectors to follow up on cases where dues are pending from the builders. These districts include Pune, Thane, Palghar, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nashik, Chandrapur, Sindhudurg, Satara, Ratnagiri, Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban. In last five years over 730 warrants have been issued which total to approximately Rs 730 crores in compensation payments due from developers to homebuyers. The compensations have been awarded for shortcomings such as delayed possession, abandonment of project, inferior quality of construction, changes in project plans, etc.Read more

13 Dec 2022

The MahaRERA authorities are preparing to approach the Maharashtra state’s Urban Development Department (UDD) to propose a dedicated portal catering to construction approvals such as the commencement certificate and occupation certificates. A commencement certificate is one of the many mandatory documents requested by MahaRERA when issuing registration numbers. The authorities believe that the creation of such a a portal will allow both authorities and potential home buyers to view and verify construction approvals of a project. Currently there is no dedicated portal displaying this information.Read more

09 Dec 2022

The state government of Maharashtra has struck down the April 2022 decision of the MVA regime to prohibit redevelopment of single buildings in a MHADA complexes. Residents whose buildings may have deteriorated more than neighbouring structures can now apply for redevelopment and need not wait for cluster redevelopment to take place. Earlier this week, the President of India signed off on amendments to the MHADA Act thereby allowing owners and tenants to apply for redevelopment of building termed ‘hazardous’ or ‘dangerous’ independently if faced with opposition by local authorities.Read more

09 Dec 2022

The Bombay High Court has directed the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and state government to file affidavits in response to PIL filled seeking clarification on the inclusion of Mahim Nature Park, a protected area, in the plans of the Dharavi redevelopment project. In October this year, the state government released a tender inviting entities to bid for the redevelopment of the 600acre slum located in the heart of the city. Mumbai based Adani Group bagged the project after offering the highest bid of Rs 5,069 crores. Activists who have filled the PIL fear the Park will be unlawfully redevelopment along with the rest on the area.Read more

08 Dec 2022

Earlier this month the Supreme Court took a decision to revoke its 10 June 2020 order which had a set a fixed 8 per cent rate of interest in debts for land supplied on lease to various builders. With the new order, builders will now have to pay up pending dues related to their land allotments. Builders believe this decision is likely to result in the many filling for bankruptcy and the postponement of registration of over 1.6 lac properties in Noida and Greater Noida as issuance of occupancy and completion certificates is directly dependent on payment of debts.Read more

08 Dec 2022

To file an appeal in response to a ruling by the Assam REAT, the RERA Tribunal has directly M/s Arya Erectors India Pvt Ltd to deposit a sum of Rs 32 lacs in an escrow account with them. The company is challenging the order passed by the REAT which stated that the company must pay Rs 1.5 crores to a disgruntled homeowner who had purchased a villa from them for delayed possession. The REAT also slapped an additional penalty of Rs 1.5 lacs on the company for other charges. Section 43 of the RERA Act 2016 requires a promoter to first deposit with the Appellate Tribunal at least 30 per cent of the penalty or as determined by the Appellate Tribunal before challenging any penalty imposed by them.Read more

07 Dec 2022

After air pollution levels reached a worrying height of 407 AQI this Sunday, the Centre’s air quality panel directed authorities in Delhi NCR to ban all non-essential construction work as envisaged under stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). AQI levels above 400 are deemed hazardous. A meeting was held on Sunday to review the air quality in the region along with forecasting meteorological conditions and the air quality index of Delhi.Read more