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.