Important Due Dates and timelines under RERA

The RERA (Regulation and Development) Act of 2016 came into effect on 25 March 2016 after which 7 union territories and 19 states have drafted and introduced the Regulations governing property projects. Developers now have to register their Housing Projects with the relevant Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The article highlights the important due dates and timelines under RERA.

Important Due Dates and timelines under RERA

RERA Advisory

To avoid the hassle of requesting from various promotional project planners to extend the timeline for the completion of their real estate project, regional/union regulatory authorities may issue the following orders/directions in respect of all registered projects when the completion date, updated completion date or extended completion date as registration ends March 25, 2020, or thereafter:

• Regulatory authorities may issue orders/directives to extend the registration/termination date or the revised expiration date or the extended termination period by 6 months due to covid-19 breach by requesting Force Majeure provisions under RERA;
• The regulatory authorities may, in their view, consider extending the deadline for another 3 months, if the situation in their states, for written reasons, requires special consideration to consider force majeure of the current epidemic;
• The regulatory authorities may issue new Registration Certificates with periodic updates to each such housing project as soon as possible; and
• Regulatory authorities may extend the timelines of all compliance as per the provisions of RERA and the laws and regulations framed under it.

Deadlines by Authorities

The promoters should be careful when announcing/determining the expiration date of the real estate project. The expiration date should be determined based on market conditions and circumstances and the Developers’ ability to complete the development of the real estate project within that period. The deadline is considered a deadline, and after an extension of 1 (one) year even if the project is not completed it will eventually lead to the completion of the registration and the relevant Housing Management Authorities in consultation with the relevant Government will take action, as it deems fit to perform the remaining development activities by a competent authority or through a designated organization or otherwise. It is recommended that the resources of the consultant involved in the practice be considered.

Final words

It also appears that a few regulating authorities of real estate limit the end date for a project to formalize a sanctions/building permit system. In our view, if the authorities limit the expiration date instead of the validity of the building permit that expiration date will not apply to the completion of the project as by-laws may allow for the renewal of the legal sentence/building permit received. The developer in these cases may cancel the restricted plan/building permit and may apply for a new building permit or sanction plan, which will indirectly improve project costs and lead to higher consumer prices.