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In yet another good news for home-buyers, the Supreme Court ruled last week that all housing projects, including those which are not registered under the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA), need to display the sanction plan at the site of the project.
Due to certain loopholes in the implementation of RERA by the States, if a project was not registered under RERA, the developers were not required to comply with Section 11 (3) (which insists on mandatory display of the sanction plan). However, now every project, be it registered under RERA or not, will have to comply with the Supreme Court order, said Aditya Parolia, a Supreme Court lawyer. RERA makes it mandatory for the promoter to make available the information on sanction plan and layout plans along with specifications at the time of the booking and provide stage-wise time schedule of completion of the project, including the provisions for civic infrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity. Earlier, developers used to take booking amount from home-buyers without getting the approval for building, and environmental clearance was often applied for later. There were cases in the past in which the layout plans were changed substantially from what were promised, Parolia added.
After the verdict, a developer now needs to display the sanction plan in the office, attach the copy of sanction plan with the builder buyer agreement and enlarged format of the sanction plan at the site of the project. The developer can also give the RERA link where the prospective home-buyer can see the plan.
If a developer fails to comply with the apex court’s order, he will have to face monetary punishment and can even be sent to jail, Parolia said.
‘Plus point’
“This order of the Supreme Court has added one more plus point in the entire process. In the west, displaying a sanction plan at the project site is normal. Earlier, only the authorities had the locus standi to come and inspect the site but after the SC’s verdict, home-buyers also have the same right,” said Rahul Maroo, Senior Vice-President, Omkara Realtors.
On October 5, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Sanjay Kishan Kaul gave the ruling in the case of Ferani Hotels Pvt Ltd v/s the State Information Commissioner Greater Mumbai & Others.
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