Dispute resolution mechanisms in housing sector: A study of impact of real estate (regulation and development) act, 2016
- Nagarlok: Quarterly Journal of Urban Affairs
- 55(2), Jun, 2023: p.115-132
Shelter is one of the three basic requirements of humans, along with food and clothes. Food is necessary for human survival, but housing also offers security and influences one's quality of life. Buying a house is the dream of every person. Significantly, housing is the most expensive basic need for human beings. People spend all of their life savings on a home. To further add to the misery, builders/promoters are cheating home buyers in various ways like builder-buyer agreements favouring the builder, and materials used for construction found to be of poor quality. Builders deviate from the promises made in the agreement, possession is not given even after full payment is made by the buyers. Every day it comes to the news that thousands of home buyers are stranded due to the corrupt practices of builders/developers. In view of the above, the Central government enacted the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) to protect the interest of home buyers and bring uniformity and standardisation of business practices and transactions in the real estate sector. It aims to bring greater accountability towards consumers and tries to reduce fraud and delays in housing projects. However, even after six years of passage of RERA, effective implantation across all states still remains a concern. Therefore, it is vital to analyse the existing dispute resolution mechanism under the RERA. The research paper tries to analyse the impact of the new regulator for the housing sector, the lacunae in the implementation of the Act and how the present structure can be made more effective in fast track dispute resolution. – Reproduced
RERA act 2016, Home buyers, Complaint, Real estate developers, RERA compliance, Appellate tribunal, RERA authority.