About RERA

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was introduced by the Government to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority for regulation and promotion of the real estate sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, or sale of real estate project, in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector and to establish an adjudicating mechanism for speedy dispute redressal and also to establish the Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals from the decisions, directions or orders of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the adjudicating officer and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The RERA registration is done at State level. Therefore, it defers from State to State.

Need for RERA

A regulation like RERA was needed in order to protect the interest of the home buyers and investors. There was lack of transparency and doubt on legality of the projects before RERA due to which many buyers had to face losses and their hard-earned money was at stake. Now, the promoter is compulsorily required to do several things like registration of projects, quarterly updating of project details on RERA portal. Even registration of agents has become mandatory now.

Now, the buyer has all the rights to know every detail about a real estate project and will also have the right to get all the documents related to the project. RERA establishes a state authority which will govern both residential and commercial real estate transactions. RERA will ensure timely delivery of the project which is a big sigh of relief to home buyers. RERA will guarantee more confidence between the developers and buyers thereby ensuring transparency.

Mandatory requirement of RERA registration

No promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, in any real estate project or part of it, in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established under this Act.

Thus, registration of the project under RERA is must before advertising or marketing or selling the inventory.

Non-requirement of RERA registration

Registration of the project under RERA is NOT required if the following conditions are satisfied:

1. Where the area of land proposed to be developed does not exceed five hundred square meters (500 sq mt)

OR

2. The number of apartments proposed to be developed does not exceed eight (8) inclusive of all phases

Kindly note, in the condition above the Act has mentioned the word “OR” which means that out of the above 2 conditions, if any one condition is satisfied..

Guidance to Professionals for RERA application

Though the application for RERA registration may seem to be complicated and a tedious task, it can be made simple as we are professionals after all. In this article I will help you to make the process simple for RERA registration. The registration process is completed digitally and the application is submitted through the official site of the region, wherein registration is required.

The very first step is to read all the documents provided by the builder/developer/promoter so as to have a thorough understanding of the project. Therefore, the basic requirement to execute any RERA registration assignment is to have a thorough understanding of the project that the builder/developer/promoter is executing. This understanding will only come from going through all the documents provided by the builder/developer/promoter like commencement certificate, building plan layout, development agreements, legal tittle report etc. The basic details of the project like survey number, plot area, location etc. should be on the top of the mind of the professional.

Second step is preparation of all the documents like – declaration from builder/developer/promoter and landowner in Form B format on Rs. 100/- stamp paper, No encumbrance certificate, Form 3 from CA, No deviation certificate, model agreement letter and allotment letter and others. All the said documents should be scanned and stored in computer with proper file name to avoid confusion.

Thirdly, the professional should begin filing the online application form on Maharera portal (https://maharerait.mahaonline.gov.in/). The online application begins with registration of builder/developer on the portal. After registration, user name and password would be generated and the same should be used to login and file the online application form. The form should be duly filed and all the details should be furnished as per the documents available on record. Professional may refer to the attached document (https://maharerait.mahaonline.gov.in/PDF/RERAMANUAL.pdf) for stepwise registration process for further clarity.

Fourthly and lastly, all the documents should be uploaded as required in the online application. After uploading all the documents, a payment link will become active and it will reflect the amount of payment that needs to be done. After making payment the professional should wait for the verification/approval process to be completed.

Approval Process

Once the RERA application is submitted online by the professional, it passes through 4 desk for verification i.e. Desk 1, Desk 2, Desk 3 and Desk 4 where financial, legal, technical and IT related aspects are verified by the officers at respective desk. The verifying Officer at each desk may raise queries or ask for additional documents which is again required to be submitted online. It is to be noted that there is no option to interact directly with the concerned officer and if any clarity is needed then the professional should get in touch with the SRO representative.

Common errors to be avoided while filing RERA application

One of the major drawbacks in the RERA application process is that once the application form is submitted, it cannot be altered. The online portal does not allow to alter the details once the form is filled. The verifying officer raises the query if he finds any mismatch in the details filled in the online application vis-à-vis the documents submitted then he may ask to resubmit the details on portal. But in certain modules of the application, there is no option to alter the details, hence, a professional need to contact the SRO and get those details changed. This is a very tedious task. Hence, due care should be taken while filing the online application form in the first instance itself to avoid delays.

Some of the common errors which should be avoided by professionals are as follows:

1. Form B declaration should be obtained for all the landowners (if more than 3 then minimum 3 landowners declaration should be submitted)
2. Details of all the landowners should be updated on the portal
3. Complete address of the project (like survey no, hissa no, plot area, address along with pin code etc.) should be filled in the online application form as well as on all the documents and certificates
4. The basic details like survey no, hissa no, plot area, address along with pin code etc. should match with certificates provided by the engineer, architect, advocate, commencement certificate and other documents
5. All the certificates relating to builder/developer/promoter should be on his letter head and duly signed and stamped
6. It should be ensured by professionals that correct plot area and survey no should be filled in the online application form because this cannot be altered later on
7. CA certificate in Form 3 should match with the details submitted in online application

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Content Credit –
CA Arbaz Khan
Chartered Accountant, DISA