Real estate developers in a bind over Rera, GST

Rera compliance and the GST are pushing up overall costs for developers by five to six per cent

After demonetisation, which almost brought house sales to a halt, real estate developers are grappling with the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (Rera) and the goods and services tax (GST). “Real estate has gone through many down cycles since 1991. But I have never seen three tsunamis together,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, managing director of the Hiranandani group, one of the country’s oldest and largest property developers.

“This is the worst time in the careers of many developers. If you have rental income, you can stay. Otherwise, it will be very difficult,” added Vijay Wadhwa, chairman of the Wadhwa group,