Impacts of interpretations on RERA: A legal analysis

Certain interpretation and implementation issues have had a serious impact on RERA. Here is a bird’s-eye view on recent legal developments in the real-estate sector.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 (RERA), was enacted to cleanse the real estate sector and obviate and alleviate allottee concerns on account of project delays, refund of consideration paid to the builders along with interest, stamp duty and registration charges. Its purpose was to curtail the unfair trade practices and malpractices plaguing the sector. It also aimed to benefit builders by providing a platform for transparency of information, to enable buyers to make informed decisions, thus benefiting all stakeholders in the sector.

Certain interpretation and implementation issues have had a serious impact on RERA; for instance, the provision with respect to the powers of the Authority and Adjudicating Officer (AO) for grant of refund and interest or refund, interest and compensation, either on account of cancellation of booking/allotment of the unit or flat or agreement for sale. These concerns have become so knotted that several matters have travelled from the authority level to the appellate authority, and thereafter the concerned high courts under second appeal and even the Supreme Court.