How is RERA a Blessing for Home Buyers?

The Real Estate Regulation & Development Act (RERA) will lead to the entire transformation of the real estate sector. Being enforced on May 1, 2017, the act will be a blessing for home buyers all over the country. Under RERA, the interest of home buyers will be protected. Thus, buying a home will be easier than before. The government has brought about several changes in the real estate law. The main motive behind all these changes is the ultimate goal of 2022 – “Housing for All”

The government looks forward to making the consumer the king. They are working on the best interest of the consumers. If you are looking forward to buying a home, real estate law will protect you from unethical practices undertaken by the developers. It’ll help to regulate the real estate sector which was largely unregulated in the past. The consumer, before RERA, had to knock on the doors of civil and consumer courts with their grievances. The introduction of RERA has changed all of that.

Here’s how the real estate law benefits the buyers:

No unnecessary penalties:

Builders usually used to keep a catch in the agreement which involved lopsided penalties. The penalty levied on a buyer for a delay in payment was levied between 18%-24% which is a huge amount. With the introduction of RERA, such unethical practices have met its end. It has set a standardized rate of interest to be paid by the both the parties in case of delays.

No fake promises to be given:

Buyers are often fooled into buying a home which doesn’t match the plan which was shown to them. Under this, the developers would change the plans, change configuration along with the pre-decided amenities without notifying the buyer. This would, in turn, lead to the loss of trust and money in this case. Under RERA that’s not the case anymore. These developers have to report on a timely basis and provide a deadline.

Transparency along with accountability:

RERA has made it mandatory that a developer must register with the regulator over a project if the real estate project land is over 8 apartments or 500sq.mt. Transparency will be provided to the buyers with the registration of these bills. Developers have even made accountable for the projects that are started. A buyer can track the development of a property which he has invested in thus getting a fair insight into the development.

Funds cannot be misused:

It’s been a long practice by the developers to gather funds from the investors and roll it into some other project or use it for personal purposes. Under RERA, funds collected for a particular property has to be used for the development of that property only. Thus it would help the buyers as there’s no chance of funds being misused.

Settling disputes:

A Real Estate Appellate Tribunal is a body which looks after settling a dispute. A buyer can simply approach the body and pay INR 5,000. The body will adjudicate the case within 60 days. The complaints must be solved within 60 days.

House prices stabilization:

The primary motive of RERA is to prevent people from paying excessive Home Loan rates. Apart from that protecting the interest of the consumers as well as stabilizing the housing prices is what the government is aiming.

These were the major changes that were brought in the real estate market with the introduction of RERA. This is a beneficial time to get a Home Loan and seek not only interest benefits but as well as the support lent by the government. All of this has been a blessing for home buyers.