RERA Bihar has ordered the confiscation of all properties of the directors of Agrani Homes Private limited and freezing of their bank accounts.

Confiscate property of Agrani directors: RERA

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Bihar has ordered confiscation of all movable and immovable property of the present and previous directors of Agrani Homes Private Limited and freezing of their bank accounts.

The order was passed by the bench of RERA, Bihar chairman Afzal Amanullah and member R B Sinha on February 10. The two were hearing a bunch of complaints filed by the aggrieved real estate buyers, who have made payments to Agrani Homes but have not got possession of the property.

The RERA has also ordered that utilisation of a building constructed on a residential plot in Patliputra area by Ruben Hospital (Ruben Patliputra Hospital Pvt Ltd) be stopped until further orders or an approval from Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) for utilisation of the residential property as a hospital, whichever is earlier. Ruben Hospital has been asked to explain why they were using the building for medical purposes without proper deed as well as authorisation from PMC.

The RERA has also ordered that utilisation of a building constructed on a residential plot in Patliputra area by Ruben Hospital (Ruben Patliputra Hospital Pvt Ltd) be stopped until further orders or an approval from Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) for utilisation of the residential property as a hospital, whichever is earlier. Ruben Hospital has been asked to explain why they were using the building for medical purposes without proper deed as well as authorisation from PMC.

The RERA bench has observed that a part of the money paid by Ruben Hospital for buying the land at Patliputra was used by Agrai Homes for closure of a loan account of Indus Ventures, a firm run by Vijaya Raj Laxmi, wife of Alok Kumar, managing director of Agrani Homes.

The RERA has stated in its order that all moveable and immoveable property of Alok, his wife Vijaya and their son should be brought under the lien of RERA with immediate effect. Similarly, all moveable, immovable properties and bank accounts of all its present and previous directors, their spouses, dependent children and all their power of attorney holders have been frozen.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/confiscate-property-of-agrani-directors-rera/articleshow/80901356.cms

The UP-RERA has levied a penalty of over Rs 1.93 crore to 14 promoters over non-compliance of its orders.

UP-RERA penalises Supertech, Parsvnath, Logix Infrastructure, others

The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-RERA) has levied a cumulative penalty of over Rs 1.93 crore to 14 promoters over non-compliance of its orders under Section 63 of the RERA Act.

Supertech, Parth Infrabuild, Radicon Infrastructure & Housing, IVR Developers, Logix Infrastructure, Harsha Associates, Parsvnath Developers, Green Bay Infrastructure, Green View Cooperative Housing Society, Quality townshipm Rudra Buildwell, Buland Buildtech, Kindle Infraheights, J.S.S. Buildcon have been penalised.

Section 63 of the RERA Act empowers the authority to impose penalties up to 5 percent of the cost of the project for non-compliance of its orders.

The promoters have been ordered by the authority to ensure that the penalty amount is deposited through a demand draft drawn in favour of the authority within 30 days.

Rajive Kumar, chairman, UP-RERA said, “The authority is taking the compliance of orders passed seriously in order to provide justice to the home buyers. In cases of violation of the order speedy proceedings will be taken to complete the hearing before the concerned bench of the authority, impose penalty and ensure recovery on the basis of the findings and recommendations of the bench.”

It was also decided by the Authority that if the concerned promoter does not pay the penalty within the stipulated period, then the recovery certificate will be issued and District Magistrate will be commissioned to recover the amount as arrears of land revenue.

“The penalty will be imposed on a daily basis under Section-63 of the Act. The increase in penalty amount at the same daily rate will continue to happen till the time the promoter deposits the penalty amount and ensures full compliance of the order of the authority,” added Kumar.

So far, a total of Rs. 5.86 crore worth of penalty has been imposed on 24 promoters.

The authority has previously sent Recovery Certificates against two promoters for a cumulative sum of Rs 1.47 crore which have already been sent to District Magistrate, Lucknow for recovery. This decision has been taken by the authority to punish the promoters who are continuously failing to comply with the orders, result of which the allottees are being denied their dues.

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/up-rera-penalises-supertech-parsvnath-logix-infrastructure-others/80718614

Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA), Gurugram has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.25 crore on three builders and also ordered demolition.

Haryana-Rera fines 3 builders Rs 2.25 crore, tells MCG to demolish illegal structures

Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA), Gurugram has imposed a penalty of Rs 2.25 crore on three builders, besides ordering demolition by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram of unauthorised construction. The action has been taken against the builders for advertising and selling their projects without getting them registered under the RERA Act.

The orders were passed by K K Khandelwal, chairman, HRERA, Gurgaon for violation of Section 3 (1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 by SPS Homes Builders and Developers, Vistaar Group and Royal Infra Buildtech. They have been asked to pay penalty of Rs 1 crore, Rs 75 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, respectively. MCG commissioner has been asked to demolish the unauthorised construction.

The main allegation against these builders was that they were advertising/marketing and selling apartments in their projects; SPS Homes (Sector 30), Saffron Homes (Sector 67) and Royal Homes (Sector 39) respectively through online portals and indulging in unauthorised construction.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which came into force on May 1, 2017, states that promoters are required to register the project before advertisement/marketing/selling of any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, in any real estate project.

The authority had taken serious view of the malpractices being carried out by promoters without getting their real estate projects registered with H-Rera, Gurugram.

“Strict action of the authority will send the right signal to errant builders and go a long way in reposing faith of the allottees. Such strict action will also act as a deterrent for other builders who remain non-compliant towards the Act and the directions passed by the authority ,” said an official.

The RERA Act was enacted for regulation and promotion of the real estate sector and to ensure sale in an efficient and transparent manner to protect the interests of consumers.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/h-rera-fines-3-builders-rs-2-25cr-tells-mcg-to-demolish-illegal-structures/articleshow/80519339.cms

RERA Karnataka will impose a fine of Rs 10,000 per month on builders for not filing quarterly updates on the project status.

RERA to levy delay fee on builders across Karnataka

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority-Karnataka (RERA-K) will impose a fine of
wwRs 10,000 per month on builders across the State for not filing quarterly updates on the status of their projects, which is mandatory under the RERA Act. As per statistics available on its portal, the updates have not been uploaded for 811 projects.

RERA-K Chairperson K S Lathakumari told The New Indian Express, “The quarterly updates need to be compulsorily updated by the builders as they give the buyers an idea of the physical progress of the houses. The financial details pertaining to the amount collected as well as the amount spent so far too need to be updated.” She said that this pertains only to the period up to December 2019. “We have given a waiver for the year 2020 for all the projects due to Covid-19. However, the updates have not been filed even for the previous year by the builders,” she said.

A ‘Delay Fee’ of Rs 10,000 per month would be imposed on each project, she said. “A common reason given for not filing quarterly updates was that the job was handed over by them to a consultant or a third party or even an employee who had quit. Some of them do not even know their login ID to update their projects. Hence, we have asked them to apply for it again online and update the reports.”

As per statistics available, 512 projects have not applied for extension on the RERA portal. Of these, 413 projects have not filed quarterly updates even for a single financial quarter. Out of another 515 projects that are ongoing ones, 398 have not filed quarterly updates. Action would be initiated under RERA Act under these provisions: Sections7 (3) revocation, Section 34 (1) and Section 63.

A total of 126 projects are set to get exemption from the penalty. “Of these, a total of 39 projects that had applied for a deadline extension to complete their projects would be allowed to do so and file quarterly updates within a month without delay fee,” the chairperson said. “Another 87 projects have applied for an extension and their applications are pending. Even they would get a month’s time to file their updates without the delay fee,” she added.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2021/jan/19/rera-to-levy-delay-fee-on-builders-across-karnataka-2252000.html

The Uttar Pradesh real estate regulatory authority (UP Rera) has ordered an FIR against a developer for allegedly obstructing a government team from checking for illegal construction at his site.

RERA orders FIR against Mathura developer

The Uttar Pradesh real estate regulatory authority (UP-Rera) has ordered an FIR against a developer for allegedly obstructing a government team from checking for illegal construction at his site in Vrindavan, Mathura.

The authority, with the mandate to safeguard rights of homebuyers, also decided to impose a heavy penalty against the developer for selling flats illegally.

“We had received a complaint that the developer had developed and started selling units in a realty project without obtaining a registration number from us. The developer also obstructed officials doing their job. Therefore, we have ordered filing of an FIR in Vrindavan,” said Rajive Kumar, chairperson, UP-Rera. “The penalty will be 10% of total project cost. We have started the process of imposing the penalty. Our team will calculate the total cost of the project to figuring out the penalty amount.”

The UP-Rera team had visited the site on Wednesday. They had video recorded the incidents that followed. The developer’s staff at the site could be purportedly seen obstructing them with one heard saying, “How can you enter my premises … I do not know what is Rera.” The video was later found published on social media.

This is time the Rera had faced such resistance, an authority officials said. The developer was unavailable for comment.

The confederation of real estate developers association of India said that no project should be sold out without approvals.

“We do not appreciate the act of interfering in officials’ work. To restore the homebuyers confidence the promoters should comply with all rules of regulations,” said Subodh Kumar secretary of CREDAI.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/rera-orders-fir-against-mathura-developer-101610734961940.html

MahaRERA in a recent order directed a builder to pay the owner of a flat in its gateway project Rs 60 lakh for delay.

MahaRERA asks builder to pay buyer Rs 60 lakh for delay

MahaRERA in a recent order directed Conoor Builders to pay the owner of a flat in its Gateway project at Andheri west interest at marginal cost lending rate of SBI plus 2% for a nearly three-year delay in possession. The flat buyer’s lawyers pegged the amount at around Rs 60 lakh.

MahaRERA member, Vijay Satbir Singh, in his order has also stated the builder cannot shift its statutory liability to the land owner as there is no privity of contract between the complainant and the land owner since it is not party to the registered sale agreement executed between the complainant and the respondent.

Sushant Karkera booked a flat valued at approximately Rs 2 crore in 2014. The builder was liable to hand over possession on or before December 31, 2016. However, the complainant, through his representative chartered accountant Ashwin Shah and advocate Sandeep Manubarwala, stated the builder, without giving any intimation, extended the project completion date to December 2019, which was further extended till December 2020 while registering the project with MahaRERA.

Respondent Conoor Builders, represented by advocates Anil D’Souza and Saroj Agarwal, pointed out the project got delayed due to genuine and unavoidable difficulties attributable to land owner, AH Construction. The respondent also stated the complainant was aware that AH Construction was owner as well as promoter-owner of the property as the sale agreement clearly mentioned AH Construction has all obligations to procure requisite permissions for the said building.

However, the complainant contended he had no privity of contract with AH Construction and that he had paid money for the flat to the respondent. The complainant also relied upon earlier SC judgments in case of Vaidehi Akash Housing Pvt Ltd and Goregaon Pearl CHS and stated the owner is not liable to pay interest for delay in possession.

MahaRERA member Singh’s order also stated the complainant was no way concerned with the dispute between the land owner and the respondent.

The order stated if the project was getting delayed, then the respondent should have informed the complainant and should have revised the date of possession in the agreement by executing a rectification deed or should have offered a refund.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/maharera-asks-bldr-to-pay-buyer-rs-60-lakh-for-delay/articleshow/80179440.cms

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets as he lays the foundation stone of Light House Projects across six states through video conferencing, in New Delhi.

Govt committed to delivering on promise of housing for all: PM Modi

The Union government’s policies over the last six years have restored the faith of consumers that they can own homes of their own and rely on laws to support them if builders fail to deliver on time, Prime Minister Narenda Modi on Friday said while laying the foundation stone of the Light House Project under the Global Housing Technology Challenge-India scheme across six states.

The project aims to construct of low-cost houses using alternative global technologies, materials and processes in six cities — Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). About 1,000 houses at each location, along with allied infrastructure facilities, are meant to be constructed in a year’s time.

Six chief ministers were present for the meeting, Shivraj Singh Chauhan from MP, Yogi Adityanath from UP, Biplab Deb from Tripura, E Palanisami from Tamil Nadu, Jagan Reddy from Andhra Pradesh and Hemant Soren from Jharkhand.

Referring to the project, which he described as an incubation centre, the PM said the government was committed to delivering on its promise of “housing for all” by 2022, and was unwavering in its vows to provide affordable housing for the rural and urban poor, and affordable rented accommodation for migrant workers.

The latest project, Modi said, will also strengthen cooperative federalism.

“People were losing hope of owning a house even after putting in everything that they had saved. Houses remained on paper… People had also lost faith whether the law of the land will help them if they got into a dispute with the builder,” he said.

To address these concerns, steps taken by the government over the past six years have made it easy for a hardworking, middle class family to own a house and restored their faith, Modi said.

His reference was to RERA, or the Real Estate Regulation Act, introduced in 2016 to protect the interest of homebuyers from malpractices and builders defaulting on deliveries.

“RERA has helped the people believe in reality projects again and that the projects will be completed. Today, 60,000 real-estate projects are registered under RERA. Thousands of cases have also been solved under the law,” Modi said.

Even as the PM appreciated the efforts made by the states in providing housing for the poor; he criticised previous governments for not prioritising the sector. “Housing plans were not the priority of the central government in the past. They did not care about the details of quality of construction. There was a chalta hai, chalne do (let it be) approach… why shouldn’t the country get new technology, and the houses we build should be chust (swift) and durust (sturdy),” he said.

The Prime Minister also announced the winners of the Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators — Uttar Pradesh topped the list followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tripura.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/farm-law-protests-its-towers-vandalised-in-punjab-reliance-says-will-move-high-court-today/story-sPdZtvf3326NqGk596sj2O.html

Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA), the authority has warned that the hefty penalty could turn even heavier if real estate developers failed to meet the deadline.

Hefty fine awaits realtors skipping Kerala RERA deadline

Real estate developers may have to pay heftier penalties if they fail to keep the December 31 deadline for compulsory registration of ongoing real estate projects in the State.

With many developers yet to register their projects with the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA), the authority has warned that the hefty penalty could turn even heavier if they failed to meet the deadline. After December 31, the penalty will be determined by K-RERA on a case-to-case basis following a hearing, the State regulator said.

“The promoters may take notice that the penalty for non-registration of projects may be extended up to 10% of the estimated cost of the project, as laid down under Section 59 of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016,” K-RERA said in a final notice in this regard issued on December 17.

Already, non-registration of projects carries a penalty of 40% of the application fee which was fixed on October 31 this year following the sluggish response to a K-RERA plea to get the projects registered. This condition is valid only till December 31, when K-RERA will complete one full year.

In its final notice, K-RERA also noted that Section 59 (2) stipulates that “if any promoter does not comply with the orders, decisions or directions issued by this authority in this regard or continues to violate the provisions of Section 3 of the Act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years or with fine which may extend up to a further l0% of the estimated cost of the real estate project, or with both.”

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, requires builders to register projects with the State-level RERA. Registration is also compulsory for real estate agents. K-RERA has so far received around 500 applications from builders. In all, 318 registered real estate projects have been uploaded on the K-RERA website. In all, 107 real estate agents also have registered with K-RERA so far.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/hefty-fine-awaits-realtors-skipping-k-rera-deadline/article33386936.ece

UP RERA clear major backlogs through virtual hearings this year, despite the Covid-19 times

UP-RERA clears backlog by hearing over 24,000 cases online

The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-Rera) has been able to clear major backlogs through virtual hearings this year, despite the Covid-19 lockdown.

Of the 30,956 complaints registered so far, the regulator has already heard 24,026 cases till December 15. And of these, some 5,115 complaints were filed by buyers in Gautam Budh Nagar in 2020 and 1,454 have been disposed of this year itself. The new year is supposed to start with 6,930 pending cases to be heard from previous applications, officials said.

In fact, UP-Rera started hearing cases from September 4, 2018. At the end of that year, the regulator had registered 9,601 cases and disposed of 7,089 in 2019.

In 2019, the numbers increased exponentially. By mid-December 2019, UP-Rera had 21,848 total registered cases and had disposed of 14,876 cases. The regulator opened 2020 with 6,972 pending cases.

The Greater Noida office of the regulator formally started their online hearing process from May 18. “Since May 18, we have conducted hundreds of hearings online. Virtual hearings helped us speed our work and we have received positive feedback from applicants.,” Balvinder Kumar, member, UP-Rera, told TOI.

Source: https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/up-rera-clears-backlog-by-hearing-over-24000-cases-online/79790305

RERA has been introduced to solve the problem of trust deficit between builders and home buyers.

RERA Act introduced to remove trust deficit between builders, homebuyers: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that there was a trust deficit between builders and home buyers, and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act was introduced to remove this problem.

While inaugurating the construction of the Agra Metro project via video conferencing, Modi said, “People with wrong intentions brought disrepute to the entire real estate sector, upsetting our middle class.”

The prime minister said that there was a trust deficit between the builders and the home buyers, and the RERA law was introduced to remove this problem. He added that some recent reports showed that middle class homes were getting completed quickly after the introduction of this law.

He also said that all-round development, from modern public transport to housing, was going to make life easier in cities.

Noting that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was inaugurated from Agra, the prime minister said that more than one crore houses have been approved for the urban poor under this scheme.

Modi said help is being provided to middle class families of the city to buy houses for the first time. He said so far, more than 12 lakh urban families have been given help of about ₹28,000 crore to buy houses.

The prime minister said infrastructure like water and sewer are being upgraded in several cities under the AMRUT mission, and help is being given to local bodies to make public toilets better in cities and to implement a modern system of waste management.

“Dreams of today’s new India are big (‘badhe’) and enormous (‘viraat’). But, visualizing the dreams is not enough, courage is needed to fulfil them. When you move ahead with courage and dedication, no obstacle can stop you. The youth of India and smaller cities are displaying this courage and dedication,” he said.

“The role played by metro cities in the 20th century is now being played by smaller cities like Agra,” the prime minister said.

He said that metro rail coaches are being made in India under the Make in India mission. When it comes to the matter of metro network, India is becoming self-reliant, he said, and added that Agra is the seventh city of Uttar Pradesh to have the metro rail facility.

“Agra has an age-old identity. Now, a new dimension of modernity is getting attached to it. The city which has treasured history of hundreds of years is all set to march in tune with the 21st century,” Modi said.

“In the past six years, the speed and scale with which work has been done on the metro network in UP and in the country, shows the identity (‘pehchaan’) and commitment of the government,” he asserted.

Modi also remarked that cities of western UP have everything, which is needed for self-reliance.

“The farmers here have a tremendous potential. In the matter of animal husbandry, this region is a leader in the country. There is a huge scope for the dairy and food processing industry here, and this region is also moving ahead in the service and manufacturing sector,” he said.

He added that with modern infrastructure and modern facilities, this potential of western UP is increasing.

The first Rapid Rail Transport System (RRTS) is being constructed between Delhi and Meerut, he said, adding that a 14-lane expressway between Delhi and Meerut will soon serve people.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/rera-act-introduced-to-remove-trust-deficit-between-builders-homebuyers-pm-modi-11607346808812.html