RERA: Has Karnataka bowed to the real estate lobby? Activists, home buyers left in shock

At a time when the Union Government's Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) looked like it may make things better for home buyers, the announcement by the Karnataka government came as a body blow

To recap, the Centre suggested a version of the RERA which was completely buyer friendly. But it left it up to the states to implement the regulation as tweaking it to their needs. 

Much like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, Karnataka's RERA appeared in an amended form, which seemed to help builders instead. 

For example, Karnataka's RERA excludes those have projects that are considered 60 per cent completed. A whole host of existing projects, sometimes through loopholes, have managed to get themselves declared as '60% done' - though the on-ground situation may be far from it. 

Amendments like these appear to be nothing more than the 'Real Estate Lobby' pushing the state government to tweak the rules to suit their needs.

"The central government has cleared this bill in the Rajya Sabha, and the Act was supposed to be implemented across all states. Karnataka government got the draft in October 2016, but it did not make any progress. And now they have tweaked the rules, which they are not supposed to do. They have overruled the RERA act. It is nothing but a reflection of the real estate lobby. We will challenge this tweaking of state government to suit builders,"  said, SN Shankar, Convener, Fight For RERA Karnataka Chapter.

Echoing similar sentiments of Shankar, Sanjay Ajit Nayak, a home buyer and core committee member of the 'Fight For RERA' Karnataka Chapter says the Karnataka government has said that the RERA will be implemented on the lines Rajasthan and Gujarat Model, but this is not the case. 

"The builder would be responsible for repairs for five years in case he is covered under RERA. If he/she fails to complete on time and any damage is noted within few years of time. Just to escape strict rules like this, the builders will use the 60 per cent blanket," said Nayak and added he would wait for a few days and see the final notification before moving the court.

Incidentally, the Karnataka state has not even formed the Appellate Tribunal and Regulatory Authority to look into the smooth implementation and functioning of RERA. 

The formation of this tribunal is left to the Chief Justice. The involvement of the Chief Justice in the selection panel is to ensure transparency, but the government has delayed this process too.

Criticising the government for harassing the public through the real estate lobby, NR Suresh, Convenor of UnitedBengaluru - a forum for the rights of Bengaluru citizens - says, "By not following the Central Act in letter and spirit, the government is least bothered about its citizens, who have invested their life earnings for their dream home/site. As always the government is protecting the interest of builders lobby.  They should have known that exemption of ongoing projects (Consumer Rights) defined in RERA Act will not stand legal scrutiny. Consumers will oppose this rules and approach courts to protect their rights."

• RERA
• RERA in Karnataka
• Karnataka
• Builders Lobby