The government said that due to the reverse migration of labourers, including construction workers, to their native places during the pandemic and break in the supply chains of construction material, construction activities of real estate projects across the country were adversely impacted.
However, the exact details of the quantum of job losses and financial losses in the real estate sector are not maintained centrally by the government. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) had issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories (UTs) and their regulatory authorities for extension of the completion date or revised/extended completion date for all real estate projects registered under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 [RERA] for a period of 6 months, and further extension of 3 months as per the situation
The government said that in order to give relief to homebuyers, developers and other borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India permitted lending institutions to grant a total moratorium of 6 (3+3) months on payments falling due between 1st March, 2020 to 31st August, 2020.
Moreover, infusion of Rs 75,000 crore for Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs), Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and Rs 18,000 crore additional outlay for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban have also helped in the revival of the construction and realty sector.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was enacted in March, 2016 to ensure regulation & promotion of the real estate sector in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of homebuyers.
Under the provisions of the RERA, as on 2nd April, 2022, 31 States/UTs have established Real Estate Regulatory Authorities, 28 States/UTs have established Real Estate Appellate Tribunals, 78,225 real estate projects and 61,551 real estate agents have been registered under RERA. Some 87,633 complaints have been disposed off by the Real Estate Regulatory Authorities across the country.
