10 years of RERA: Why are homebuyers still fighting alone?
A report by the Forum for People’s Collective Efforts highlights how homebuyers are often left to fight alone against developers despite the existence of RERA. The study notes that regulators frequently grant extensions to builders while remaining reactive to the needs of affected buyers.
Why it matters
The findings suggest systemic failures in the implementation of real estate regulations, leaving consumers vulnerable to project delays and financial loss.
A homebuyer had paid Rs 91 lakh — 65% of the price of a Rs 1.4-crore flat — in a Karnataka project that was already running on borrowed time.Its RERA registration was due to expire in October 2020. Nine months of Covid relief followed. Then came another year under Section 6 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which allows project deadlines to be extended in limited circumstances. After that, Karnataka RERA gave the project two further continuations under Section 7(3), which allows a regulator to keep a project alive, subject to conditions, instead of revoking its registration.By July 2024, the extra time had run out. The project still had no water supply, sewage-treatment plant or permanent electricity connection.
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