What did MahaRERA say about which real estate projects are eligible for RERA registration?
According to the MahaRERA circular dated October 22, 2024, citing RERA law, section 3(2)(a) specifies which projects are required to obtain RERA registration. “When the area of land proposed to be developed is less than or equal to five hundred square meters or the number of apartments proposed to be developed does not exceed eight inclusive of all phases,” according to the MahaRERA circular citing the RERA law.
What it means is that a real estate project would be eligible for RERA registration in Maharastra only when it has a plot of land greater than 500 square meters and must have nine or more apartments.
MahaRERA Clarifications on RERA Registration
- “Real estate projects where the land area proposed to be developed is less than or equal to five hundred square meters will not require MahaRERA project registration, irrespective of whether the number of apartments/units proposed to be developed is less or more than eight apartments/ units, as the case may be, that include all phases.
- “Real estate projects where the number of apartments/units proposed for development is less than or equal to eight apartments/units including all phases will not require MahaRERA project registration, irrespective of whether the land area proposed for development is less or greater than five hundred square meters.
What it means is that the real estate project must meet both the conditions of total area and number of apartments to qualify for RERA registration.
What is the impact of this clarification on RERA registration on consumers?
Experts decode the impact of these clarifications on which real estate projects can receive RERA registration issued by MahaRERA through the circular dated October 22, 2024.
Clarification on RERA registration – Read what the experts say
Experts are of the view that the clarifications on which projects can be registered under RERA have far-reaching implications in the lives of common people who want to buy a house.Here’s what the experts say:Akshat Pande, Managing Partner, Alpha Partners: The impact of the clarification issued by MahaRERA on the consumers seeking to purchase any unit in the exempted projects will be that such projects will be outside the ambit of the provisions of the RERA and therefore, the checks and balances, safeguards and other provisions prescribed in the RERA. The law will not apply to such consumers. Typically, this will mean that consumers of such projects will have less visibility into completion schedules and will not have the same resources that are available to unit purchasers of registered projects.Rishiraj Bhatt, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas: The Order will help the allottees/consumers to better understand (i) whether a real estate project they are considering should be registered with MahaRERA or not and (ii) in case of a plotted development, what would constitute a commencement and completion certificate. certificate. As a result, allottees/consumers can adequately safeguard their interests by making an informed decision before investing in a real estate project, before making milestone-linked payments and before taking possession of their apartment/unit/land. In view of the above circular, for example, even if a builder is constructing five apartment units on a 2,500 square meter plot, he will not need to be registered with MahaRERA as the number of units is less than eight.
Rohan Marathe – Senior Associate, ALMT Legal: People staying in small, outdated residential buildings and planning to opt for redevelopment or self-development of their projects to suit the needs of their growing families and future generations may experience positive ripples of this order. In Mumbai, we also see this in cases where 2-3 families, in the 1970s and 1980s, acquired land from the collector to come together and build small apartment buildings for their families. These people may now wish to expand and remake existing structures in the interest of their needs and the condition of the buildings. In this context, this order will pave the way to ensure that small-scale projects that may be primarily aligned with one’s needs are not subject to the rigors of RERA registration and the accompanying structures. However, this order completely removes the Act’s large-scale protection for buyers who want to purchase apartments in smaller buildings and may therefore result in small-scale projects undertaken by families or future developers being commercially unviable.
Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulation (UDCPR)
In the circular MahaRERA also clarified certain aspects regarding the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulation (UDCPR). MahaRERA, citing the RERA Act, said that as per Section 3(2)(b) of the RERA Act, where a developer has received a completion certificate for a real estate project before the commencement of RERA, the following clarifications are issued:
- “Considering the provisions of the UDCPR, the clarification regarding what constitutes a certificate of commencement and what denotes a certificate of completion for real estate projects drawn up will be as follows:
- Final approval in accordance with the land subdivision plan on Form D-3 of the UDCPR or approval of a similar nature with non-agricultural permit (when necessary) will be considered as a certificate of commencement for plotted real estate projects.
- The certificate issued by the corresponding competent authority informing the promoter and/or the engineer/structural engineer/authorized supervisor of the real estate project drawn up; and/or the copy of the acknowledgment of receipt submitted to the corresponding competent authority regarding the self-certification of the promoter; that the conditions imposed in the final approval granted to the land subdivision design on Form D-3 of the UDCPR (or in the approval of a similar nature) are met or in cases where a non-agricultural permit is necessary, the receipt of the intimation of the Tahsildar given in acknowledgment of receipt of intimation of date of commencement of non-agricultural use after completion and execution of all conditions which have been imposed by the competent authority concerned along with Form 4 duly submitted and signed by the project architect. in accordance with Rule 3 of the Regulations shall denote the completion certificate for real estate projects drawn up.
“In the above mentioned cases, there is no need to submit the MahaRERA project registration certificate for registration of Sale Agreement/Sale Deed as such real estate projects are exempted from registration under section 3(2) of the Act. This Order shall come into force with immediate effect,” MahaRERA said in the order.
Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulation (UDCPR) – Expert opinion
Experts say it is now clear what constitutes a completion certificate for plotted projects, that is, projects in which a large area of land is divided into smaller plots for sale.
Rishiraj Bhatt, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas: Since the competent authorities concerned (local/planning authority) do not issue commencement certificate or occupancy certificate/completion certificate for the plotted development projects, MahaRERA had issued an Order in the year 2022 clarifying what would constitute commencement and the completion of the planned development. projects. MahaRERA under this Order has provided further clarifications on the same aspects and has also taken into account the provisions of the UDCPR as to what constitutes a commencement certificate and what a completion certificate denotes for plotted real estate projects.
Anushtha Rathod, Associate, ALMT Legal: Firstly, these clarifications will come as a relief to those who obtained the completion certificate and also the commencement certificate before the RERA Act was enacted, by clarifying what exactly constitutes a ‘commencement certificate’ and a ‘completion certificate’ for real estate projects drawn up under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations for the State of Maharashtra (“UDCPR”), especially in the context of Form D-3 below. The clarification, now, brings complete clarity to the anomaly that otherwise existed.
Akshat Pande, Managing Partner, Alpha Partners: The order of the MahaRera office dated October 22, 2024 provided clarification on the commencement certificate and completion certificate within the meaning of the UDCPR. It has been clarified that the commencement certificate means the final approval given to the land subdivision design in Form D-3 of the UDCPR and the certificate issued by the relevant competent authority informing the promoter and/or the licensed engineer/structural engineer/ Supervisor of the actual project traced that the conditions imposed in the final order have been met.
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