 "Record rally: Realty project registrations under RERA touch 1.16 lakh in 2 years")
With the enactment of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, there has been a record-breaking rally in project registrations during the two years from November 2021 to November 2023.
The RERA Act during the 2 years saw a surge of 63 per cent in project registrations, which touched the peak high milestone of 1.16 lakh in November 2023, according to data analysed by property consulting firm Anarock. Comparatively, the registered projects stood at 71,307 in November 2021.
To contain the rising real estate prices and safeguard the interest of home buyers, the government established RERA or Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which regulates and tracks the real estate sector in all the states.
The RERA Act makes it mandatory to register a project with RERA, for the launch of any residential or commercial real estate project where the land area is more than 500 square meters. Registering with RERA helps in creating transparency in the implementation of the projects launched.
With 36% of all projects registered under RERA to date across 34 states and UTs, Maharashtra continues to lead the field in project registrations. With a share of 16%, Tamil Nadu is next, followed by Telangana and Gujarat, which have shares of roughly 7% and 11%, respectively.
Since it was put into effect, RERA has been gaining increasing traction, particularly in terms of handling consumer complaints among various states and UTs. According to data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as of November 28, 2023, the relevant state authorities had resolved up to 1,16,300 cases.
"Resolving homebuyer concerns is one of the main functions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, which it has been demonstrably fulfilling," said Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Group. "More than 1.16 lakh consumer complaints have been handled by the various state and union territories' RERA bodies. Over the previous two years, the pace of project and real estate agent registrations was not slowed down."
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Out of this, 38% cases (approx. 44,602 complaints) were resolved in Uttar Pradesh alone, followed by Haryana with 20,604 cases (18%) and Maharashtra with 15,423 cases (13%). The three states cumulatively accounted for nearly 69% of the total disposed cases under RERA in the country.
"In fact, over the past two years, project registrations have increased dramatically by 63%. Also, the RERA authorities of various states and UTs have resolved over 37,397 consumer complaints in this period," said Puri. “Uttar Pradesh has resolved the highest number of cases. Considering how severely Noida and Greater Noida in UP had been impacted by unscrupulous players, this is noteworthy.”
Registrations for projects and real estate agents under RERA have also been increasing steadily. Almost 1,16,117 projects and 82,755 real estate brokers nationwide were registered under RERA as of November 28, 2023. Approximately 71,307 projects and 56,177 real estate agents were registered over the same period in 2021. This represents a 63% and 47% growth, respectively, over the previous two years.
Almost all states/UTs have notified rules under RERA. The North-Eastern state of Nagaland is still in the process of notifying its rules, while West Bengal - which earlier enacted its legislation - was challenged on this by MoHUA before the Supreme Court.
In March 2022, the apex court struck down the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017 (WBHIRA), stating that it overlapped with RERA, which was enacted as a law in Parliament.
Thirty-two states/UTs have set up a Real Estate Regulatory Authority since implementation, and of this at least five are interim. Ladakh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim are yet to establish Real Estate Regulatory Authorities.
Twenty eight States/UTs have set up Real Estate Appellate Tribunal for disposing of consumer complaints, including four as interim. Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, West Bengal and Sikkim are still underway to establish theirs.
Regulatory authorities of 30 States/UTs have operationalized their websites under RERA provisions. Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur are under process to operationalize.
26 States/UTs have appointed adjudicating officers, while 10 States/UTs i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh are yet to do so.