5 Latest Developments In Karnataka RERA

In Karnataka, the permanent authority has not been formed yet and the interim authority is currently the functional body chaired by Dr. J. Ravishankar. Meanwhile, homebuyers see this delay in forming the permanent authority as a laxity on part of the government but the interim authority has rolled out some important decisions to protect the homebuyers against erring developers. Know them.

If you are a homebuyer in Bengaluru, you might be hunting for information regarding developments in the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA). Here is what you must know:

Sub-registrar’s will turn away defaulters

So far, registering your property at the sub-registrar’s office may have been easy even if your project was not registered with the state RERA. Not anymore. The K-RERA has directed all sub-registrar offices not to register any flat- whether in a new or ongoing project

if it does not have a RERA registration number. From a guidance value of property angle as well, this number becomes important, confirmed KV Trilok Chandra, inspector general of registration body. As of now, K-RERA boasts only 1,600 projects and 3,000 agents who have a RERA number and homebuyer groups had urged the government to protect them from fraudulent developers.

 RERA is watching

The K-RERA portal has displayed a list of 1,017 projects (as of December 6, 2018) across the state that have not been registered with the authority so far. RERA claims that these projects are under investigation and that the public is warned that if they invest herein, it would be at their own risk. The list is updated on every Friday at 1 pm based on the result of notices that have been served to these builder firms. Citizens have also been encouraged to step forward and report any ongoing and unregistered project in the state.

What if project’s registration has expired?

The developer is required to apply for fresh registration as per K-RERA’s mandate and the process should start three months prior to the expiry of registration. Projects are registered for a period of four years but may vary, after which they need to renew their registrations. The portal displays the names of 597 such projects where registration renewal is pending. If you are investing in any of these projects, you may want to do your own due diligence.

Vigilance wing

It is not just K-RERA who is out to pull up defaulting developers but based on complaints from homebuyers, the authority has proposed an additional vigilante wing. This wing, unline the adjudicating officers of RERA will have the power of police and reluctance to implement RERA orders will have defaulters face the charges more effectively. Previously, a RERA order to a developer directing him to hand over property to the homebuyer along with the penalty had been dishonoured.

Call for a permanent authority

In Karnataka, the permanent authority has not been formed yet and the interim authority is currently the functional body chaired by Dr. J. Ravishankar. Meanwhile, homebuyers see this delay in forming the permanent authority as a laxity on part of the government. On the other hand, the number of unauthorised constructions in Bengaluru has grown especially in lake-bed areas and on stormwater drains. The judiciary had to intervene lately in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) directing the government to take action against officials who are allowing unauthorised constructions in their area.