SAHAKARSUTRA

Will the Real Estate Act make it easier for aggrieved home buyers to take errant builders to task? We examine the procedure for filing complaints against builders, and how the RERA compares, with other consumer protection laws that are already in place After the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), home buyers are optimistic that the new law will protect their interests. However, the moot question is, whether people know how to file a complaint or a case, under the new RERA rules. “Complaints can be filed under Section 31 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, either with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority or the adjudicating officer. Such complaints may be against promoters, allottees and/or real estate agents. Most  state government rules, made appurtenant to the RERA , have laid out the procedure and form, in which such applications can be made. In the case of Chandigarh UT or Uttar Pradesh, for instance, these a...

Upon the death of an owner, will the rights in the property be transferred to a nominee or the successor to the property? We examine what the current legal standing on the issue is, after a landmark judgement from the Bombay High Court A legal question that has been put to test time and again before various courts, is whether the rights of nominees prevail over those of successors, in respect of various subjects of nomination, such as financial instruments, shares in a cooperative society, etc. A division bench (two-judge bench) of the Bombay High Court, comprising of Justice Oak and Justice Sayed, recently upheld the rights of successors over nominees. The court stated that the nominees are appointed, to ensure that the subject matter of the nomination is protected, until the legal heirs or legal representatives of the deceased take appropriate steps, such as obtaining probate of the will of the deceased or letters of administration of the estate of the deceased, to claim thei...

Soon, private housing societies that are over 30 years old and wish to undertake redevelopment can claim an additional 15% built-up area per flat at no extra charge. "This will translate into one extra room per flat," said state urban development secretary Nitin Kareer, unveiling the features of the new development plan.  The incentive will apply to nearly 40,000 private  housing societies in Mumbai , activists say. But critics are not impressed as they feel the move does not go far enough and may still not attract builders interested in redeveloping private societies. Developers hope to exploit maximum  FSI  (going up to 3.37) permitted in redevelopment to earn a profit from the free sale component of a project. Initial investments include buying additional FSI for the project. Then FSI of 1.3-1.5 is generally utilised to rehouse existing occupants and remaining 1.8-2 FSI is kept for the sale component. Bigger plots yield a chunkier free sale component, translating...

A Geographical Information System (GIS) will be available on the  Maharashtra  Real Estate Regulatory Authority ( MahaRERA ) website to enable such a search. MahaRERA will be a year old on May 1. The GIS facility will mark the occasion, MahaRERA authorities said. “The new feature will enable mapping of registered projects. This, in turn, will allow prospective buyers to get an idea of projects in their area of interest, details and amenities in the vicinity,” MahaRERA secretary Vasant Prabhu said.  The GIS will add more to the project’s profile than a developer advertising about his RERA registration, he added. Chief minister  Devendra Fadnavis  has been advocating GIS mapping of all registered projects since last year. However, technical issues delayed the launch. All the 16,000 registered projects will be GIS mapped, Prabhu added. The RERA Act has made it mandatory for new and ongoing projects to register with the regulator. It has created a database of...