Even a few years ago, we used to see news reports every day about people losing their hard-earned money and life’s savings while buying homes. This happened mainly because the real estate sector in India did not have a proper regulatory body. The RERA Act, 2016, was passed keeping in mind the interests of homebuyers and, at the same time, to speed up development in this sector. But it takes time for people to understand and practise such new and important rules and regulations as RERA.
After nearly two and a half years since RERA came into effect across the country, the Centre’s aim of enforcing it in every state to regulate the Indian real estate sector seems to have picked up momentum. According to data shared by ANAROCK Property Consultants, there has been a 40% growth in project registrations under RERA in just one year across the country — about 45,307 projects were registered as of October 5, 2019, against around 32,306 projects at end-September 2018.
The states with the maximum number of project registrations in early-October 2019 include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Altogether, these five states account for a significant 81% share, with nearly 36,576 projects registered. Among them, Maharashtra tops the list, with nearly 22,455 project registrations.
Interestingly, a year ago, Assam, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu and Puducherry saw no project registrations under RERA. This year, these states have cumulatively seen property registrations of nearly 154 projects.
The northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim — which had refrained from registrations earlier — will soon officially notify their RERA rules. West Bengal is the only state which has notified its own real estate law under the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Authority (WBHIRA).
Real estate agent registrations
Agent registrations have also increased in this one-year period. Data trends suggest 54% growth in agent registrations under RERA across states and UTs. Besides Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, which already top the list in overall RERA implementation, such states as Haryana and Punjab have also seen a significant number of registrations of real estate agents. Punjab, for instance, witnessed 1,772 agent registrations in October 2019, while Haryana saw registration of 1,673 agents.
High-scoring states
Maharashtra is among the largest states in terms of real estate development and the successful implementation of RERA is, in itself, an accomplishment. The gradually improving performance of the state’s real estate sector sets the benchmark for other states to emulate.
Since its inception, MahaRERA has been consistent in bridging the trust gap between developers and homebuyers. With several steps taken to regulate the real estate sector, Maharashtra continues to be the blue-eyed boy of RERA implementation:
- As on October 5, 2019, Maharashtra saw registration of 22,455 projects and 21,429 agents
- Gujarat saw 6,119 projects and 1,029 agent registrations
- In Karnataka, 2,906 projects and 1,559 agents were registered in October 2019, while, in Uttar Pradesh, it includes 2,710 projects and 3,264 agents
- Madhya Pradesh saw a total registration of 2,386 projects and 619 agents
- Other states catching up on project registrations include Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which saw the registration of 1,074 projects, 1,095, 1,154 and 1,263 projects, respectively
Dispute & grievance resolution
Authorities across states/UTs have helped settle 27,970 cases in the country by early-October 2019, with the highest number of cases (11,596) solved in Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for a 41% overall share. Maharashtra comes next, with 5,817 cases disposed of, Haryana with 2,480 cases and Madhya Pradesh with 2,465 cases resolved so far. Gujarat clocks in with 1,259 solved cases, Karnataka with 1,513 and Odisha with 727 cases, among others.
