In its first judgment, the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Appellate Tribunal has allowed an appeal by a home buyer who demanded registration of a construction project with RERA, raising hopes of at least 10,000 home buyers, whose projects are out of the regulations in Chennai and other cities in the State.
Buyers who purchased homes in projects exempt from registering with the RERA will not be able to get regulatory benefits, including defect liability period of five years and penal action against builders who fail to hand over project on time.
The tribunal has directed the developer of a property in Kalavakkam on the outskirts of the city to register under the RERA.
“The project was exempted from registering with the RERA. The Directorate of Town and Country Planing has exempted 188 such projects from registration. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has also exempted 266 construction projects,” said an official.
Each of the construction projects has an average of 200 homes, officials said. Following the tribunal’s order, more home buyers are expected to appeal against the recommendation of the CMDA and the DTCP to exempt construction projects from registering under the provisions of the RERA.
Just 280 construction projects have been registered under the RERA in the State in 2017. As many as 222 construction projects have registered in 2018.
Rectification of defects
“Builders who have registered their projects under the RERA have to rectify houses with defects within a period of five years of sale of the property,” said an official.
The order has been pronounced in the case between the home buyer Y. Ravishankar and the developer of a property located in Kalavakkam village in Thiruporur panchayat. “The main contention of the buyer was that the developer had not registered the project under the RERA after the Act come into force on June 22, 2017. When the Act came into force, the project had not been completed,” said an official.
When the buyer complained, the RERA had rejected the complaint. Now, the Appellate Forum headed by Justice B. Rajendran has given a verdict, directing the developer to register the project within 15 days.
The Tamil Nadu Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules notified on June 22, 2017, mandates registration of construction projects with the RERA.
