Summary of this article
Over 75% state RERAs skipped annual reports.
Missing data weakens buyer protection.
Focus must shift to project completion.
The Forum for People’s Collective Effort (FPCE) has recently raised serious concerns about the transparency and accountability harboured by the Indian real estate regulatory framework. Being a national homebuyers body, the concerns raised by FPCE allege that more than 75 per cent of state Real Estate Regulatory Authorities either have never published their annual reports, have stopped releasing them, or have failed to keep them updated, despite this being a mandatory legal requirement.
As per a report by Hindustan Times, the FPCE argues that the widespread non-compliance is undermining the purpose of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The act is ideally set to protect and improve the homebuying experiences in the housing sector. Without timely and reliable annual reports, the group says, there is no credible data to evaluate and examine whether the real estate sector has improved in some areas or not. This also means there is a lack of knowledge in knowing project completion, fairness and adherence to commitments.
The organisation further warned that if attention stays segmented on the number of projects registered under RERA, without tracking whether those projects are completed or not, it is bound to create a misleading image for the homebuyers. It is cautioned that this approach risks homebuyers’ confidence and money.
The Forum also emphasised that the absence of transparent reporting contributes to false perceptions among homebuyers. Many assume that RERA registration alone guarantees timely delivery and amenities as promised, which is not the case. Without publicly available annual reports, buyers can not accurately point out the performance of the regulators or the developers, even to ensure a smooth homebuying process.
The body brought several states to light, which have never issued or released a single annual report ever since the inception of RERA, including states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Goa. In addition to this, states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana have initially published the reports but later stopped releasing this public data.
Ultimately, the organisation warned that unless the focus shifts from project registrations to actually ensuring project completion, the housing sector could face a wave of stalled housing projects in the future. As per the group, what truly matters for homebuyers is not how many projects are actually registered under the state RERAs, but how many are actually completed on time.
