7.12.17

HC upholds Rera



In a victory for home buyers, the Bombay high court has upheld the constitutional validity of the Real Estate (regulation and development) Act and its applicability to ongoing projects across states. The law intends to make home-buying a transparent and speedy transaction with powers of redressal.

The judgment, however, offered a breather to builders too. It expanded the Rera authority’s powers to grant more time in exceptional cases to a builder to complete a project. The additional time is meant to be granted in compelling circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

A division bench of Justices Naresh Patil and R G Ketkar gave separate but concurrent findings. The extension would go beyond the statutory one-year extension after the deadline for completion, which the Act requires the project’s promoter to mention during registration.

The HC pronouncement is the first such verdict in the country on challenges raised by builders in various high courts. The Supreme Court had in September tasked the Bombay HC to set the path while staying hearings in other courts on similar challenges.

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