10 Major Benefits of the New RERA Act for Property Buyers
The real estate industry is among the most competitive industries due to numerous developers offering the dream of owning a home to millions of prospective buyers. As a result, the challenge of attracting customers’ undivided attention became even more rigorous, leaving significant gaps in promise and delivery.
To regulate the ever-competitive real estate market, the Real Estate Regulatory Act, or RERA, was enacted in 2016 to ensure transparency, accountability, and property protection for home buyers. Throughout its years of existence, it has played a vital role in protecting the rights of property buyers while maintaining a transparent code of conduct throughout the buying journey.
In this article, we will look at 10 ways RERA helps property buyers with its regulations and guidelines.
Enhanced Transparency
RERA ensures utmost transparency in every real estate transaction by making it mandatory for builders and developers to provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive information about the project so that buyers can make an informed decision while purchasing any property.
Developers are required by law to disclose details like project plans, layout, timeline, and all legal permissions. All this data further empowers buyers while building trust in the project.
Standardised Carpet Area Calculation
RERA has standardized a nationwide measurement of carpet area on which real estate developers can sell properties. It denotes the actual usable area within walls rather than the space before finalizing the entire layout of the property.
Making the measurement of property space a standard across the nation has significantly reduced any discrepancies across various builders to help buyers compare two properties in a better way. Not only that, but it also prevents buyers from paying unnecessary charges for balconies and common areas.
Promptness in Project Delivery
One of the biggest impacts RERA has had on the real estate industry is strictly enforcing the project delivery timeline for developers to help buyers set realistic expectations for the possession of the property.
Developers must follow the communicated project deadline to deliver on the promised date. Any possible delays in delivering the property result in developers paying compensation to homebuyers, thus establishing accountability, and reducing the stress of a buyer while investing in their dream property.
Establishing Escrow Account
To ensure the funds are utilized only for their intended purpose during property development, RERA ensures that builders put a certain percentage of funds for property development in the escrow account.
Such a provision makes sure that the funds invested in the property development are being used for their intended purpose, thus preventing the diversion of funds. It adds further security to buyers by reducing delays in project completion and incurring additional costs.
Eliminating False Advertising
RERA regulations ensure that developers cannot add misleading information while promoting the property. All the information included in the promotional material must be accurate and recorded with RERA to prevent customers from being victims of misleading advertisements.
Whether it’s the actual living space in the property or various amenities provided by the developers, they must offer the most accurate information so that customers can get what they were promised.
Expediting Grievance Redressal
RERA has established a specialized grievance redressal mechanism to address the issues of homebuyers. Any buyer can file an official complaint against developers for non-compliance or financial or emotional distress.
A dedicated body of adjudicating officers and appellate tribunals appointed by RERA can efficiently resolve property disputes to offer a swift resolution to buyers’ grievances, thus building trust among property buyers by protecting their rights.
Structural Defect Liability
The developer’s accountability to buyers doesn’t end with the possession of the property. RERA holds developers accountable for any structural defects for a certain period after completion.
In the event of any damage to the structural integrity of the property during this period, RERA can mandate that developers rectify it within a certain period. This further safeguards customers from incurring any additional expenses on top of the actual price of the property.
Mandatory Consent for Any Changes
Under RERA, developers cannot make any changes, alterations, or modifications to the property plan on a whim. They must obtain official consent from homebuyers to make any changes to the property’s layout and specifications.
With this, customers have the right to know about any possible changes to be made by the developer and to prevent changes that might affect the value or functionality of their purchased property.
Clarity of Carpet Area Pricing:
RERA mandates builders to clearly disclose carpet area pricing to make cost calculations more transparent. Buyers can get more clarity on the pricing structure for a better comparison.
This makes the property buying experience more rewarding for buyers as it eliminates the confusion in calculating costs and allows them to make more informed decisions while choosing the right property that matches their requirements and budget.
Right to Information
RERA empowers buyers with the right to know every crucial detail of the real estate project they want to invest in. It allows buyers to make sound decisions by helping them get the most accurate, real-time information and cost calculations without any discrepancies or misleading advertisements.
It’s a powerful tool for property buyers to get the best deal on property and assurance of safety from financial, physical, and emotional harm during the buying process. Buyers can demand factual data on the properties’ ongoing process, timeline, actual pricing, and much more to make comparisons between real estate projects and make the best purchase decision..
Conclusion
RERA has brought monumental change to the real estate industry since its inception. The benefits of the new RERA Act go beyond simply keeping developers accountable for the completion of the project within the set timeline and to the highest safety standards. It has become an empowering tool for buyers that helps in decision-making and ensures that everyone gets a fair deal on every property purchase.
