Builders in Goa may get more time to register under RERA

With the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) coming into force elsewhere in the country on May 1, the state ministry for urban development has finally moved to notify the rules under the legislation that was passed in May 2016.

Sources said the state is expected to notify the regulations latest by July 31. Even TOI had on May 2 quoted town and country planning (TCP) minister Vijai Sardesai saying the Act would be notified in three months. According to the original provisions of the Act, builders had to compulsorily register their projects with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority by July 31, failing which all unregistered works would be deemed unauthorised. Also, Section 85 of the Act says once the RERA regulations are notified and the authority formed, every real estate project with an area over 500 sqm will have to register with the authority within three months of the notification. Since Goa is one of the few states to have failed to notify the RERA rules and appoint the authority till date, the government is expected to give developers additional time to register their projects. Goan builders will get three months from the date of notification to register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Urban development minister Francis D’Souza told STOI he had sent the file seeking the notification of rules to the chief minister’s office. “I have made a noting in the file saying builders will not need to register till July 31. From July 31 onwards, all under-construction projects and projects that have not received occupancy certificates will have to register with the authority,” he added. “As decided earlier, a one-man authority with urban development secretary Sudhir Mahajan, has been formed under RERA,” the minister said.