India's phantom flats will get their owners

By Faizan Haidar

A cracker of a Diwali gift of sorts awaits thousands of homebuyers in Noida and Greater Noida as builders are readying to start offering possession earlier than expected, even before obtaining the occupancy certificate from the local authority, in a region which is dotted with long-delayed projects.

Builders are planning to make use of an order issued by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) of Uttar Pradesh on September 16 saying if the authority fails to issue occupancy certificate or raise objection within a week of receiving application, they can start offering possession and agreement with the authority to buyers.

An estimated 15,000-20,000 buyers are expected to move into their new homes in the coming days due to this notification, Balvinder Kumar, member, UP RERA, told ET.

Developers including Logix Group and Migsun Group are likely to start offering possession to homebuyers soon without waiting for the occupancy certificate, according to people aware of the matter.

As per the rules, a builder needs to apply for occupancy certificate after completing the project and can offer possession to buyers only after receiving it. The builder then applies for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the authority after clearing all dues and on receipt, the buyer can go ahead with the registry or the tripartite agreement between the builder, owner and authority to sub-lease the property.

“The objective of RERA is to ensure buyers get the flats on time,” said Kumar. “We have noticed that there was unnecessary delay in giving the occupancy certificate and then giving the NOC. We have asked the authority that a buyer who has made full payment should not suffer in both the cases and he should be given possession and be eligible for the registry if the builder is fulfilling certain conditions.”

As a result, builders who have finished their projects are expected to offer possession to buyers soon.

“This is great news for customers who are waiting to get their homes just before the festive season,” said Vishal Gupta, vice president-North at the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai). “It also ratifies the longstanding demand of Credai to hold the development authority as a stakeholder who is accountable to the customer. We hope to have positive sales in the festive season.”

Migsun Group hopes to deliver 2,000 units by the end of this financial year, said its managing director Yash Miglani. “Possession in many of the completed projects gets delayed due to non-receipt of occupancy certificate. In this context, we welcome the decision of RERA wholeheartedly. This will help end-users a great deal,” he said.

Miglani said all stakeholders including developers and government authorities should adhere to strict deadlines. “There should be a mechanism for checks and balances. We sincerely hope this is just the beginning and time frames for various works will follow in the coming days,” he said.

According to BN Singh, district magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar, under whose jurisdiction these properties are located, the provisions were there in the rule, and following RERA’s notification, the authority will start executing agreements and once all dues are cleared, final registries will be done.

It is a welcome step towards empowerment of customers, said Amit Modi, director, ABA Corp. “Many a time projects get delayed as some of the approvals take way too long. Invariably, it also results in cost overruns. The ultimate sufferer is the customer,” he said. “Accordingly, it has been a long-pending demand of the industry that there should be a strict time frame for all kinds of approvals as it will go a long way in timely completion of projects.”