PUNE: The Maharashtra’s real estate regulatory authority has resolved 15,423 consumer complaints since the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act seven years ago, putting it among the top three states in addressing homebuyers’ grievances, a report from the ministry of housing and urban affairs has revealed.
The report showed that real estate authorities in various states and UTs collectively resolved 1.16 lakh consumer complaints in the seven-year period ending November this year. “Of these, the UP’s real estate authority resolved 38% or 44,602 complaints received by it, followed by Haryana (20,604) and Maharashtra (15,423),” the report stated.
According to the Centre’s data, 32 states and UTs have a functional real estate regulatory authority. Ladakh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim are yet to establish such authorities to address homebuyers’ complaints.
The top three states cumulatively accounted for nearly 69% of the total complaints disposed of under RERA in the country, property consultant Anarock said. “Resolving homebuyers’ concerns is one of the main functions of the real estate authorities under RERA. Over the past two years, the pace of projects and real estate agent registrations has not slowed down,” Anarock chairman Anuj Puri said.
A total of 1.16 lakh projects have been registered with the real estate regulatory authorities across the country so far, the data showed. “Maharashtra registered the highest number of projects under RERA at 36%, followed by Tamil Nadu (16%), Telangana (11%) and Gujarat (7%),” the report showed.
In fact, registrations of projects and real estate agents under RERA have also been increasing steadily. Nationally, 1.16 lakh projects and 82,755 real estate brokers have been registered under RERA till November 28, 2023, marking a 63% and 47% growth, respectively, over the previous two years, Anarock stated.
President of Forum of People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE) and member of the Central Advisory Council (CAC) of RERA Abhay Upadhyay, however, had a different take on the data. “Simply addressing consumer complaints does not guarantee relief for homebuyers. It is in public domain that many builders are not complying with the directives/orders issued by RERA authorities, forcing homebuyers to navigate through various other platforms, including higher judiciary platforms, to enforce the orders. It is disheartening that the report has not delved into the specifics,” he said.
A complainant said, “Though the adjudicating officer passed the order in my favour three months ago, it is yet to be implemented by the developer. The developer now plans to move the high court.”
Conciliation forum settles 30% disputes
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) Conciliation Forum has settled almost 30% of the disputes it received in the past three years.
Of the 4,885 complaints received since 2021, the 52 benches of the Conciliation Forum in the state resolved 1,343 disputes between homebuyers and developers amicably, a MahaRERA official said. Around 876 cases are in the hearing process before the benches across the state.
As a part of the regulatory authority, the Conciliation Forum was constituted in March 2018 to enable parties in dispute to appear before expert conciliators to resolve problems and mitigate misunderstandings despite filing cases in MahaRERA.
The forum consists of representatives from Credai-Pune Metro, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, a leading consumer body, and other promoters’ associations.
