Unregistered housing projects a challenge to Karnataka RERA enforcement

While cracking the whip on builders not complying with new real estate norms, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Karnataka is facing a tough task in dealing with unregistered housing projects over which it has no direct control. The authority has gathered information from various sources and confirmed that there are 1,294 unregistered projects across the state, of which over 800 are in and around Bengaluru. While there is no direct way to enumerate unregistered projects, the authority depends on sources, including newspaper reports and advertisements, web portals, complaints from buyers and official records of urban local bodies. RERA has issued notices to all unregistered projects, and 488 project promoters have provided satisfactory explanations and found to be exempt from the RERA Act. Replies from 251 project promoters, however, did not satisfy RERA officials and they have been slapped with a second notice. A RERA official said project promoters would be called for a third-party hearing by the adjudicating officer and and if found guilty, they’ll be liable for punishment under Section 59 of RERA Act that includes imprisonment and penalty up to 10% of project cost. More than 500 unregistered projects, however, have not responded to the notice and RERA officials are charting out the next course of action.