Set delivery deadlines for facilities and amenities in housing projects: MahaRERA to developers

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Uncertain wait to avail facilities and amenities, promised by developer at the time of booking the flat, will no more be a reason to sulk for home buyers.

Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has made it mandatory for the developers to specify the date of delivery of the same in the Agreement for Sale in the form of an Annexure at the time of registration.

Move binding

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Annexure-I will be part of the Agreement for sale document, registered with the government. This move will make it binding on the developers not to violate delivery of the facilities and amenities as committed to the homebuyers. These include swimming pool, tennis court, badminton court, theatre, club house, gymnasium, table tennis area, squash court, giant chess area, garden, senior citizen zone, jogging track, juice bar, children play area, among others, pointed out a MahaRERA official.

"Usually, larger housing projects are spread over multiple phases and in such instances, often, multiple amenities are made available only on completion of the last phase. To ensure residents in the earlier phases are aware about the availability of the facilities and amenities, it now is mandatory to provide a phase-wise and date-specific information of the same. As this provision is of importance for the homebuyers, MahaRERA has ensured to make it non-negotiable. An order to this effect has been issued by MahaRERA and is applicable to all the registered housing projects with immediate effect," the official said.

Previous agreement non-negotiable

Previously registered Agreements for Sale will continue to be non-negotiable with regards to multiple provisions that have larger ramifications. These include force majeure clause, defect liability period to protect the rights of the homebuyers in case of subpar or faulty construction, carpet area of the apartment, Conveyance Deed, Allotment letter and Parking provisions. Additionally, from now on, it will be mandatory to provide a comprehensive detail of the facilities and amenities in Schedule-II of the Agreement for Sale.

"In the eventuality of any major revisions or changes or corrections or relocation of the specified facilities and amenities or public areas, an approval from MahaRERA is a must. Without such an approval, any and all changes will be considered invalid and illegal. It will also be mandatory for the developers to obtain consent of two-third of the residents if changes are about Location and Numbers of Families and Amenities. In other words, developers will not be able to make changes unilaterally," the official added.

Public opinion sought

In April-end, MahaRERA had published a draft order on the subject with the goal to invite suggestions and opinions from varied stakeholders up to May 27. Based on the feedback received and discussions with various experts, several new aspects have been included in the final proposed order. It has also been made mandatory to provide details of the expected date of Occupancy Certificate (OC) for the project, size of the facilities and amenities, whether it is a project in itself or acquired, if they are free of Floor Space Index or not under as per the rules and regulations of the local planning bodies.

"The developer is also mandated that Annexure-I should include if the proposed facilities and amenities be provided either in the building and/ or in the common areas and/ or in the layout, proposed completion date, proposed date of handover to the society or residents association, proposed date of OC, how many and which all facilities and amenities will be provided," the officer added.

Additionally, it will also be mandatory to provide details of recreational grounds and playing grounds within the project, as declared by the local planning bodies. Furthermore, disclosure of details of the types of lifts installed with regards to passenger, service, stretcher, goods, fire evacuation and any other along with their capacity and speed per meter per second will also be compulsory.

To prevent this, safeguard deceit of homebuyers and to enhance the developer's accountability, transparency, and orderliness, MahaRERA has mandated that these details be included in the appendices (Annexure-I) of the Agreement for Sale, the officer concluded.

MahaRERA Chairman Ajoy Mehta

When advertising their new housing projects, developers often promote a variety of attractive facilities and amenities alongside the actual apartments, such as a swimming pool, badminton court, tennis court, theatre, gymnasium, senior citizen area, etc. In practice, the Agreement for Sale typically includes details about the price of the apartment, construction linked payment plan, and penalty in case of a default in payment. However, there is no mention of when the proposed facilities and amenities will actually be made available. MahaRERA has observed that many homebuyers have been affected by these shortcomings and has taken a serious note of this issue. After providing all stakeholders ample opportunity to express their views, it has now been made mandatory to specify the delivery timeline of all the promised facilities and amenities in the Schedule II of the Agreement for Sale. The Schedule II will have to provide the details comprehensively, a model format has also been made available for the same. Any changes or modifications to these details will require MahaRERA's approval. Moreover, any changes to the location or number of facilities and amenities will require consent of two-thirds of the homebuyers.

"This is yet another crucial decision by MahaRERA to legally empower homebuyers and safeguard their investments. Previously, MahaRERA has underscored the rights of homebuyers with regards to various important aspects within the housing projects, such as parking, Standardized registration of Agreement for Sale and Allotment Letter. Now, the uncertainty over availability of facilities and amenities has been eliminated, as the homebuyers will also have information on the timelines of these facilities and amenities, same as they have details about the apartment. As a result, this will enhance transparency while entering into the transaction. The new provisions will ensure that the developers, just as they are obligated to deliver apartments within the stipulated time frame, will also be bound to provide the facilities and amenities within the specified time frame," said Ajoy Mehta, Chairman MahaRERA.