Six years of MahaRERA: 41 lakh houses under construction in Maharashtra, says chairman

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The MahaRERA chief said there are 1.6 crore citizens waiting for possession of these houses, which are being built with an investment of Rs 14 lakh crore.

Speaking at the event, Ajoy Mehta, Chairman of MahaRERA said, "The younger generation is into experience. Things are changing, people do not want to be stuck. So, rental housing is coming. The uberisation of real estate is going to come, and we are looking at how we regulate that." (Picture credits: Mehul R Thakkar)

There are 1.6 crore citizens waiting to take over 41 lakh houses that are currently under construction in Maharashtra, at a total investment of Rs 14 lakh crore, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) Chairman Ajoy Mehta said on May 9.

He was speaking at a conference organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India – Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (CREDAI – MCHI), the apex body of real estate developers, to mark the sixth anniversary of the MahaRERA real estate regulatory body.

Mehta said regulation in the real estate sector was very much needed and that the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) Act was introduced at a time when data showed the average delay in real estate projects was 27 months in Mumbai, around 47 months in Delhi, and 20 months — the lowest — in Pune.

"This was the kind of delay in 2017 for which the government had the data in front of them. Homebuyers here were not sure whether they were going to get their homes, where their money had gone, what happens to their interests. The homebuyers’ EMIs had started,” said Mehta.

66% of litigation over land and property

According to Mehta, the data before the government at that time showed that 66 percent of the ongoing litigation in courts was related to land and property. "So, these disputes were there, and the government had to act," he said

90% of states under RERA

"Today I can say that 90 percent of the states in India have RERA, which regulates the real estate market. For the banks, we have the Reserve Bank of India (RBI); for equity markets, we have the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). And similarly, we have RERA for the real estate market. In the real estate space, there is promise of the future. Therefore, the thought process is that the government must regulate and monitor this space."

Registering a project will not be simple anymore

Addressing the developers, Mehta said the process of registration would not be simple anymore and that MahaRERA would scrutinise all proposals intensely. "We try to locate all of those things from where disputes are coming. We are now monitoring those things and that is making a few people very uncomfortable. But I am very comfortable, and unless I sort that out, disputes will not end,” he said.

“Registration is not going to be simple anymore. It will not be like you submit a project in an envelope and we will stamp it. We are going to scrutinise, and scrutinise it intensely. It takes time and a lot of people are complaining that it is taking a lot of time, but that time will be required. I am not apologetic, I owe you an explanation, but not an apology. Developers need to train their staff and do the proper work for a registration."

Quarterly progress reports

According to Mehta, quarterly progress reports (QPR) will be monitored closely. "Take the example of January 2023: more than 700 projects were registered, but more than 500 developers have not filed QPRs three months after registration. These QPRs have to be filled every three months. We started issuing notices, and later people came running to us that we have not started work yet,” he said.

“I would like to tell everyone that even if you have not started doing work, it does not mean you do not do the necessary compliance. You file and upload a report that we have done nil work. But compliance will be required and report filing will have to be done," said Mehta.

Designated accounts to be monitored

As per Section 4 (2) (D) of RERA Act, 2016, promoters are required to open a separate account in a scheduled bank exclusively for a project. Under the RERA regime, 70 percent of the amounts released from real estate project allottees (buyers) is to be deposited in a separate RERA designated no-lien, no-charge bank account to cover the cost of land and construction for the specific project.

In this context, Mehta said, "Every project should have a separate designated account, and that has to be done. We are not going to allow non-compliance here. We have developers who are asking for time to fall in line and ensure a separate account for the project, and I am fine with it. Developers can take time, but they will have to do this compliance.”

“We want to make a system where it is not RERA that will ask developers to do compliance, but it is the people, citizens and homebuyers that will compel developers to comply and do their business," he emphasised.

Speaking to young developers at the conference, Mehta said, “There have been instances when many people ask me where the real estate space is heading. What will happen in real estate in the future?”

Addressing the point, he said, "One trend that we find world over is that 45 to 60 percent is rental housing. You will be surprised to know that even in India, in Karnataka, 46 percent of the people have rental housing. Mumbai is only 20 percent, therefore rental housing is going to boom in a big way. It is coming.”

“How do you regulate the rental market? What are the kinds of agreements that will come in the rental market? We, as a lawmaker, as a policymaker, will look at how rental markets are going to shape up," he added.

"The younger generation is into experience. Things are changing, people do not want to be stuck. So, rental housing is coming. The uberisation of real estate is going to come, and we are looking at how we regulate that,” he said.

People are no longer just buying space and products anymore but are purchasing systems and services, he said. “There is student accommodation, old-age homes, and young couples having homes. But they need services, and here people are not just looking at a house, but also at services. So, housing will now start aligning itself with services that we need, and services will become more predominant than the house itself."

Source: moneycontrol.com

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