NEW DELHI: Housing and urban affairs ministry on Friday issued an advisory asking all state Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) to grant a four-month extension in registration and completion timelines of eligible real estate projects delayed due to the “prevailing West Asia situation”. The move, however, could end up benefiting defaulting builders while adversely affecting homebuyers.Referring to the finance ministry’s April 29 office memorandum, which stated that the “ongoing West Asia situation should be treated as war” for invoking the force majeure clause in govt contracts, housing ministry said Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) also provides for extension of project registrations in the event of war.Officials said that while several govt departments invoked the finance ministry’s circular soon after it was issued to provide relief to stakeholders in their respective sectors, the housing ministry has done so more than three months later.The ministry said it had received several representations from the real estate sector stating that the geopolitical situation in West Asia had disrupted global supply chains, leading to shortages of construction materials and delays in project execution.Citing Section 7(3) of the RERA Act, the ministry said the Authority may, instead of revoking a project’s registration, allow it to remain in force on such terms and conditions as it considers appropriate in the interest of allottees.It advised state RERAs to issue suitable orders extending the registration and corresponding completion timelines of projects whose original, revised or extended completion dates fall on or after Feb 28. To avoid the need for individual applications from developers, it suggested that state RERAs issue a common order or direction covering all eligible projects.While real estate industry bodies welcomed the advisory, homebuyers questioned both its timing and intent.Parveen Jain, president of NAREDCO, said the advisory was a timely and pragmatic step, adding that the geopolitical situation in West Asia had significantly affected the availability and cost of construction materials, resulting in unavoidable project delays.Abhay Upadhyay, a long-time homebuyers’ rights activist, said that while the advisory cited provisions of the RERA Act, it did not clarify under which provision the ministry was empowered to direct all state RERAs to grant a blanket extension. He added that while the Centre repeatedly comes to the rescue of builders over delays of a few months, homebuyers continue to wait for years for possession of delayed projects. He added that it was the second time, after Covid pandemic, that the ministry has issued a “blanket advisory to provide relief to builders”.In UP, the move is expected to benefit 1,199 ongoing projects, including 301 in Noida and 148 in Ghaziabad.
