Delhi Development Authority (DDA) must register its real estate projects with the regulator to protect the interest of property buyers, Delhi-RERA chairman Anand Kumar has said.
Those who are in real estate development, whether it is DDA or any other such organisations, must register projects with the regulatory authority, he said, adding that it has powers to take action against them if they fail to do so.
Kumar was speaking at an interactive session organised by CII-Delhi State Sub-Committee on Real Estate in association with India Sotheby’s International Realty on Tuesday evening.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, known as RERA, was passed by Parliament in March 2016 and the legislation came into force on May 1, 2016, with 69 of 92 sections notified. The real Estate Regulatory Authority for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Delhi-RERA) was established through a notification in November 2018.
“Anybody who is into the real estate development sector whether it is a development authority like DDA or Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) or any other such organisation, if they are doing plotted development or if they are doing real estate projects, as per section 3, they must get registered with us,” Kumar said.
And if they do not get registered with Delhi-RERA, Kumar said the authority has got enough power to take action against them under sections 59 and 61 of the Act.
“In fact, we have given our orders and judgement asking DDA to register with us and DDA has gone and appealed against our order,” he informed.
Kumar said the DDA will ultimately sell flats to consumers even if it is developing projects from its own fund.
“After they complete the building, they are going to sell these flats to the end users i.e. the buyers. Now, if DDA delays the project, if the cost escalates, who is going to suffer, the buyer. So, keeping that thing in mind and moreover anybody who hands over a building or apartment or etc, he is responsible to maintain the quality for 5 years, as per the RERA Act,” he said.
Considering these factors, Kumar said the DDA must register all their projects with the Delhi-RERA.
“So, we have said so in very clear terms and our order is on the website. The development authorities must own it up, own up their responsibilities,” he asserted.
The issue regarding the importance and need for a completion certificate was also discussed in detail.
“We will urge the government to make the completion certificate a must at the time of property registration, this is very important,” said Kumar.
The Delhi-RERA Chairman also highlighted the recent amendment made in the Act regarding mandatory registration of the project.
“It is now mandatory for builders to register projects with RERA where plot area exceeds 500 square metres, regardless of the number of units constructed on it. Similarly, irrespective of the plot size, if the number of units to be constructed on the plot is eight or more, it should get registered,” said Kumar.
On this amendment, India Sotheby’s International Realty CEO Amit Goyal hoped that the same gets adopted by all developers working in the Delhi market. “This is a critical move to protect the consumer and end home buyer.”