RERA Grievances: Protecting Your Property Rights in 2024

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Although many people have the desire of owning a home, getting there can be a difficult process. The RERA Act was introduced in 2016 with the goals of protecting buyers and streamlining this procedure. The Real Estate Regulatory Authority, or RERA, is a government program designed to maintain integrity and openness in the real estate industry.

Created in response to declining public confidence in real estate transactions, RERA requires every state to keep up its official website. This website offers channels for expedited grievance resolution and highlights particular state real estate laws.

Homebuyers can use the state's website to file an RERA complaint if they find differences between advertised services and actual delivery. The official websites and the complaint procedure are covered in detail in this article.

Bringing an RERA Case

Who Is Able to Complain Under RERA?

If a builder, developer, promoter, or real estate agent violates any of the rules outlined in the RERA Act, homeowners have the option to submit an RERA complaint against them. It's an easy and simple approach to get your complaints about the property addressed.

Any purchaser of a house may protest if:

1.     The transfer of ownership is not completed on time.

2.     The construction is of low grade.

3.     The property has poor ventilation.

4.     The costs of upkeep are excessive.

5.     Unresolved claims exist regarding the property.

6.     The developer/builder is refusing to give the buyer the cost breakdown of what they will need to spend on the property.

There are two main reasons why RERA cases are filed. Either to withdraw from the project or to demand interest on delayed possession are the options. The builder then returns the money that was paid along with the relevant interest amount. 

Implementation of RERA

The RERA Act's Section 40 outlines the procedures for carrying out the adjudicating officer's or RERA authority's rulings. This money will be recouped from the developer as arrears inland revenue if they fail to comply with the RERA tribunal's rulings, which may include monetary compensation or interest paid on delayed possession. An execution application may be submitted by the impacted party to ensure that the tribunal's orders are carried out. 

Upon application, a hearing is held during which the other party's reasonable explanations for non-compliance are taken into account. If not, it would issue a Recovery Certificate (RC) and enforce the collection of land revenues through collectors. Since the execution application fee fluctuates,

How may a builder file a complaint with RERA?

To effectively register your RERA complaint, adhere to these simple steps. 

Go to the official RERA website of the state first. Now look for the website's complaint registration page.

You will be taken to an RERA complaint form after clicking on the complaint registration page or link. You must provide all the information requested regarding your complaint here.

Please be aware that you will need to provide supporting documentation as well as certain personal information, such as your name, address, and phone number. This is to confirm that the complainant is who they say they are.

After completing the form correctly, you can submit a complaint by paying Rs 1000. You must pay Rs 5000 to an adjudicating officer if you want to file a complaint.

This is a quick and easy online transaction to finish.

What is the status of your RERA complaint?

You can check the status of your RERA case as well as your project's RERA approval on the state-specific RERA website. According to the Real Estate ( Regulation and Development) Act of 2016, each state must have its own specialized RERA portal.

NCDRC cases that are still pending

Formerly, the harmed party could not file the same complaint with RERA if there was a case ongoing at the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. This is so because there are no provisions in the RERA Act that allow for the transfer of ongoing real estate matters to the RERA authorities. However, if the offended party is not pleased with the RERA's ruling, they can reapply with the same complaint. 

The duration of RERA-mandated dispute resolution

According to the RERA criteria, a complaint must be resolved by the rera authority within 60 days of the aggrieved party filing it. Homebuyers' complaints have been swiftly and effectively resolved thanks in large part to the RERA conciliation forum. This reduces the amount of money and time lost on lawsuits.

The advantages of bringing an RERA lawsuit

RERA was created with house purchasers in mind. Consequently, all policies and procedures have been established to fully safeguard the interests of the buyer. Among the advantages of bringing a complaint under RERA are the following:

Both real estate salespeople and builders have contracts that require them to keep all of their promises. Agents who violate this risk having their license revoked or being ineligible to deal in certain real estate transactions.

Sincere responses are given to all RERA complaints, and concerns are resolved as soon as possible through the FastTrack process. 

The other purchasers doing business with the same builder/agent are likewise alarmed when a buyer receives a grievance redressal against a specific customer. 

Since RERA only addresses complaints and concerns pertaining to real estate, it has benefited purchasers by offering dependable resolutions for property disputes.

RERA allows homebuyers to approach consumers to resolve disputes, according to SC.

On November 2, 2020, the Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision, holding that a disgruntled buyer of a house may file complaints with RERA and the Consumer Court. Numerous developers had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the customer's inability to lodge the identical complaint with these organizations. This was rejected, though, and it became necessary to offer prospective homeowners the option of registering complaints under the Consumer Rights Act or the RERA Act.

Grievance redressal mechanisms and RERA

Let's examine the operation of the complaint redressal procedure now that you are aware of how to lodge a complaint under RERA against a building. 

1.     Prior to seeking assistance, the buyer of a property must ascertain whose jurisdiction their complaint falls under and who the appropriate authorities is. Any State Tribunal, RERA authority, or Adjudicating Officer in an Indian state is the appropriate person to receive complaints from you. 

2.     Every state has a resource (online or offline) for filing complaints.

3.     All necessary information on the transaction, including all relevant party details, should be included in the complaint. 

4.     The complainant is subsequently given an RERA complaint number by the authority so they can monitor the status of their case.

5.      After that, the complainant gets a call and is provided all of the necessary document copies. The other party involved should likewise receive these materials.

6.     Subsequently, the complainant or the builder must submit a response to the complaint.

7.     Now, the onus is on the relevant authority to order the builder's acts or what the other party ought to do. If someone disobeys this instruction, they risk facing jail time or a significant financial fine.

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