Its three weeks since the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) came into effect in Maharashtra but only 6 projects and 500 agents have so far registered under the new regulatory regime across the state.

Under the new rules, developers, projects and agents have 90 days to register after the RERA Act came into effect on May 1. The new regulatory regime is expected to end many troubles for home buyers as it brings transparency in the entire system. However, registrations of projects and agents has been happening at a snail’s pace.

Speaking to BusinessLine about why progress has been so slow, Gautam Chatterjee, Chairman, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority said “This (slow pace of registration) is something that the developers will be able to explain. They are telling us that they need more time to understand the procedure and hence that is the reason. We are expecting the numbers to pick up in another 7-10 days.”

Responding to concerns about the regulators ability to handle a large number of applicants, Chatterjee said “The entire procedure is online and as of now we haven't faced any major glitches but we are bracing ourselves for a growing number of registrations as time passes.”

However, the developer community has expressed skepticism about the 3 month registration window.When asked about why developers are taking so long to register in spite of preparing for the introduction of RERA for a year, Mayur Shah, President-elect of developer body CREDAI-MCHI said “Developers are slowly understanding the process. Registration is not a small process, there is a document which has to be submitted along with ten times as many supporting documents viz. project cost, sanctioned plan, proposed plan etc. and many stakeholders have to be consulted for the same. We feel that 90 days is a short time. Developers don't want to take a risk of submitting inaccurate information.

Once this is done you will see developers registering. We have also had seminars by those who have already registered for those who haven’t.”

Boman Irani, Vice President of CREDAI National, said “90 days is not enough but we will push as much as possible. We are having discussions with the authorities and in the fraternity. There are issues like the treatment of co-promoters and how AOPs (Association of Persons) will be registered. These are being continuously brought to the knowledge of the authorities who are upgrading the registration forms. There are a lot of aspects which we still don't have clarity about. By 15th of June we will have a good number of projects starting to register.”

The slow pace of registrations is only one of the many problems that the industry is expected to face due to RERA. When asked about how long it could take for the system to stabilize, Irani said “We can only hope that it doesn’t take more than 1 and a half to 2 years.”

The writer is interning with BusinessLine, Mumbai Bureau

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