The Real Estate (Regulations and Development) Act was enforced in India on 1st May 2017 and gave a 90 days’ notice to all the states for rule notification. This revolutionary Act has been implemented to empower the homebuyers who have felt victimized at the hands of the builders and developers. With less than a month left for the rule to finally come into play, the aggrieved homebuyers have come into action and are looking forward to the process of filing a complaint against the unscrupulous builders. Here is a quick guide for all the homebuyers who want to file a complaint under RERA.
How To File A Complaint Under RERA
With the implementation of the Real Estate Act, it has become convenient for any aggrieved person to file a complaint against the unscrupulous builder or developer. The procedure for filing a complaint under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act is simple. Different states have their own rules for lodging a complaint against the state builder or developer. But till now, only 18 states have registered and notified their rules for complaint filing. The only condition that’s necessary for filing any complaint under RERA is that the builder or developer should be registered with the state regulatory authority.
Complaints can be filed by the aggrieved buyer under the Section 31 of the Act. Form ‘A’ of Section 31 of the Real Estate Act. The complaint application would include the particulars of the complainant and the respondent against whom the complaint is being made. IT would also include the registration number along with the address and other details of the project for which the aggrieved buyer is complaining or inquiring.
The form would be accompanied by a fee of Rs. 1,000 that would be in the form of a demand draft. The demand draft can be issued from any of the nationalized banks and should be in favor of the State Regulatory Authority. A concise statement of the facts and the grounds for complaint should be mentioned in the application that the applicant is filing. The details of the interim order prayed also need to be added in the application.
When To File A Complaint Under RERA
In case the homebuyer has any type of complaint against the builder or developer, he/she should immediately file a complaint against them under RERA. Ameet Hariani, managing partner, Hariani & Co said, “Complainants under RERA will require complying with the time periods for initiating proceedings, as prescribed in the Limitation Act, 1963. The time periods under this Act vary, based on the specific claims. In addition, in order to seek urgent interim relief, it would be advisable to approach the RERA authority as soon as possible, after the action causing the complaint takes place.”
If the complainant remains unconvinced by the decision made by the RERA Authority, he/she has full right to take the matter to RERA Appellate Tribunal and appeal before them. The time frame for appealing before the Appellate Tribunal is 60 days. If still not satisfied with the judgment, the person can appeal to the High Court within 60 days from the appeal made before the RERA Appellate Tribunal.
What If Your State Has Not Adopted RERA Yet
Out of the 29 States and 7 Union Territories, only 18 States and Union Territories have notified their RERA rules. Aggrieved homebuyers of these states are in a dilemma about filing a complaint under RERA. The homebuyers can continue to file their complaints with the district, state or the national consumer forums in such states. However, if the state later adopts the RERA regulations, the complainant would have to withdraw the case from the consumer forum before filing a complaint with the State Regulatory Authority.
The deadline given to all the state for notifying their RERA rules is 31st July 2017. Most of the states have already notified while the others have created an advanced draft for the registration. Let’s wait for another 20 days to see how RERA empowers the buyers.
Add Comment