About RERA

The real estate sector has been seeing tremendous growth over the last two decades. But
most of the sector has been unregulated in terms of consumer protection. Most of the
existing laws for consumer protection were only curative and not preventive. There was a
distinct lack of professionalism with no scope for standardisation across the country.
These factors have had a negative effect on the sector and affected the overall potential
growth of real estate in India.
Following the Government of India’s notification of the Real Estate (Regulation and
Development) Act, 2016, the Tamil Nadu Government had established the RERA (Real
Estate Regulatory Authority) and the Appellate Tribunal in June,2017.
Let’s see how RERA has proved to be a significant legislation that brought about several
changes in the real estate sector.

Objectives of RERA
The primary purpose of RERA is to monitor and adjudicate disputes in real estate projects
and to frame rules under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
RERA is tasked with achieving the following objectives:
● ensuring accountability towards allottees
● infusing transparency, and introducing fair-play to reduce frauds and delays.
● introducing standardisation in the real estate sector across India
● imposing responsibilities on both promoters and allottees
● establishing a regulatory mechanism to enforce contracts
● making sure that disputes are fast-tracked
● promoting good governance in the real estate sector.
Responsibilities of RERA
● RERA is responsible for the registration of a real estate project and the real estate
agent.
● It can grant extension of registration, renewal of registration and it also has the power
of revocation.
● RERA maintains a website for public to provide information on:
○ All projects that are registered with RERA, and details of the projects
○ Information about the promoters including their photographs
● Appointment of an adjudicating officer who is a current or former District Judge.
● Any appeals from the orders or decisions of RERA or the adjudicating officer are
heard by the Appellate Tribunal.
Accordingly, it has become mandatory for all real estate projects and real estate agents to be
registered with RERA, in order to make a sale. The exceptions to this rule are
● projects where the land area is less than 500 sq.metres or
● projects where the number of developed apartments is less than 8.
After registration is done, a unique RERA registration number will be provided for each
project. Whenever a developer invites investment, advertises, or offers booking or sale of
any apartment in a project, they have to mention this unique registration number.
A real estate promoter must upload all relevant details of the project on the RERA website.
These include:
● Details of registration
● Types of apartments or plots
● List of approvals
It is important to note that both the promoter and the buyer have to pay equal rates of
interest when there is any default from their side.
RERA address
1 A, First floor, Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road, Egmore, Chennai – 600008
RERA Office hours
10:00 am to 5:45 pm on all working days
Some of the key provisions of RERA are:
Reduced risk of insolvency
A real estate developer or firm must maintain a separate account for each of their projects.
At least 70% of the money received from buyers will have to be maintained in this account
and this amount can be used only for the completion of this particular project.
This ensures that developers do not divert funds from an existing project to new projects or
for other purposes. This rule has greatly reduced the risk of a builder or developer declaring
insolvency and avoiding any liability.
Transparency and accountability
Builders must submit the original plans that were approved by RERA, including any
alteration that they make at a later date. Any minor modification can be made only after the
approval of the competent authority and all such alterations must be disclosed to the buyers.
They must keep the buyers informed with regular updates about the progress of the project.
The promoters or developers are responsible for the veracity of all the information that are
contained in the advertisements for the project or in the prospectus.
Standardised carpet area
Earlier, there was no standard method of calculating the carpet area, and each builder had
their own formula to arrive at the carpet area. RERA has given a precise definition of carpet
area to avoid discrepancies among various builders. This has helped home buyers in a big
way as the cost of a property is usually calculated based on the carpet area.
Rights of buyers
RERA also ensures that buyers are protected from poor quality of apartments. Buyers can
complain to RERA about any structural defect for a period of 5 years from the date of
possession. In such cases, the developer is required to correct the same within 30 days.
In case of delay in delivery, the developer will have to refund the entire amount paid by the
buyer along with the agreed-upon interest rate.
If the buyer decides not to receive the money, they will have to be paid interest on the
amount each month till the actual delivery date.
A buyer need not pay more than 10% of a property’s cost as an advance payment or
booking amount, before finalising a sale agreement.
Appellate Tribunal
It is a quasi-judicial body that is empowered to hear appeals from the RERA. Any appeal that
comes before this body should be heard and disposed of within 60 days of being filed.
If a promoter does not comply with the orders of the Appellate Tribunal, they are liable to pay
a penalty for every day of default. This could extend up to 10% of the estimated cost of the
real estate project.
Real estate sector
Before we conclude that RERA is a one-sided authority that is in favour of home buyers only,
we should realise that it has greatly benefitted the real estate sector.
The implementation of RERA has boosted consumer confidence and given a massive boost
to the real estate sector.
Builders who comply with the provisions of RERA are more likely to attract home buyers,
especially first-time buyers. This leads to a natural increase in demand for real estate.
Overall, RERA has been a useful legislation that has brought about positive changes in the
real estate sector across India.