The applicability of the RERA Act depends on the factors, one of which is the planning area; one must know the concept of planning area as per the RERA Act, 2016. The real estate projects which are ongoing on the date of commencement of the RERA Act and the completion certificate have not been issued. The promoter must make an application to the Authority for registration of the said project within a period of 3 months from the date of commencement of this Act.
What is the Planning Area in RERA?
According to Section 2 (zh) of the RERA Act[1], the “planning area” means a planning area or a development area or a local planning area or a regional development plan area or any other area specified as such by the appropriate Government or any competent authority. It includes any area designated by the appropriate Government or the competent authority to be a planning area for future planned development under the law relating to Town and Country Planning for the time being in force and as revised from time to time.
Read our article:Guide on RERA Registration for Real Estate Agents
Prior Registration mentions the Planning Area of Real Estate project
A promoter must not advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building, in any real estate project or part of it, in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established.
The Authority, in the interest of allottees, for projects which are developed beyond the planning area but with the requisite permission of the local authority may, by order, direct the promoter of such project to register with the Authority. They must apply to such projects from that stage of registration, where the real estate project is to be developed in phases. The promoter shall obtain RERA registration under this Act for each phase separately.
The other duties of the real estate agent are as follows:
Related Provisions Regarding Planning Area
Regarding the Act’s ambit, there is no distinction between an ongoing project and a future project, i.e., both ongoing and incomplete projects and the future projects are covered under the Act.
- Section 3(1)first proviso provides that the promoters of all ongoing projects which have not received completion certificate will need to register their project with the Regulator Authority within 3 months of its commencement. Section 3(1) also provides that all projects within a ‘planning area’ will require to be registered with the Authority. However, section 3(1) second proviso gives the powers to an Authority ‘in the interest of allottees’ to order or direct the promoter to register projects beyond the planning area, which has the local’s requisite permission authority.
- According to section 3(2), the following projects do not require to be registered under the Act:
- where an area of land proposed to be developed does not exceed five hundred square meters or the number of apartments proposed to be developed does not exceed eight, inclusive of all phases
- where a promoter has received completion certificate for a real estate project prior to commencement of this Act
- for the purpose of the renovation or repair or re-development, which does not involve marketing, advertising selling, or new allotment of any apartment, plot, or building, under the real estate project.
- Section 4 of the Act provides all details and information and undertaking to be provided by a promoter to an Authority for registration of the project. The mechanism for the registration i.e., the requisite forms to be filled, the fees to be paid, etc. are to be determined by the Rules made by an appropriate Government.
In addition, the promoter is required to append additional documents as specified in the Rules. If an application for the registration of the project is not complete as required under the Act, the Authority can grant an opportunity to the promoter to complete the application in all respects. However, in case of the non-compliance, the Authority has the power to reject the application, only after giving an opportunity to the promoter of being heard.
- According to section 4, the validity of the registration granted to a project must be for the period declared by the promoter under section 4(2)(l)(C), at the time of making the application for registration, within which he would complete the project.
- Section 4(2)(l)(D) provides that the promoter shall maintain a ‘separate account’ for every project undertaken by him wherein seventy percent of the money received from the allottees shall be deposited for the purposes of construction and land cost. The account has to be self-maintained and not an escrow account requiring the Authority’s approval for withdrawal.
- Section 5 of the Act provides that the Authority has to decide on the application within 30 days of its receipt. It further provides that in case the Authority fails to make a decision within a period of 30 days, the project shall be deemed to be registered.
Conclusion
Without obtaining RERA registration, the real estate agent must not facilitate the sale or purchase of or act on behalf of any person to facilitate the sale or purchase of any plot, apartment or building in a real estate project or part of it, being the part of the real estate project registered, being sold by the promoter in any planning area. Our team at Corpbiz, help our clients in obtaining licenses without any problem and unnecessary effort.
Read our article:All You Need To Know About RERA Registration Process
