Here are 10 key things to know about RERA Act

With an aim to address grievances of buyers and to bring transparency in India's real estate sector, the government is planning to implement RERA Act starting from May 1 this year.

The upper house of Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha had passed the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA Act) in March 2016, which is primarily aimed at bringing in transparency to the sector and is being touted as a pro-consumer law. 

So, if you are planning to buy a flat then you should wait till May 1 this year when the RERA Act comes into force as the new law is going to reshape the entire realty sector with the transparency and accountability it brings, The Economic Times reported.  

According to HDFC Securities report dated April 13 this year, RERA Act will drive transparency, reduce cost of capital, improve liquidity and lead to significant re-rating.

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Here are 10 key things you should know about the RERA Act: 

1. The act make its compulsory for a state to establish a State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, cited The Economic Times report. This government body could be approached by buyers for redressal of grievances against any builder. 

2. All ongoing and under-construction realty project is supposed to come under the regulator's ambit which means registration is mandatory for all commercial and residential real estate projects where the land is over 500 square metres or includes eight apartments.

3. If the real estate developer fails to register a property it will attract a penalty which may be up to 10% of the project cost, and a repeat offence could land the developer in jail

4. The real estate developer will have to place 70% of the money collected from a buyer in a separate account to meet the construction cost of the project.This will put a check on the general practice by a majority of developers to divert the buyer's money to start a new project, instead of finishing the one for which money was collected. This will ensure that construction is completed on time.

5. Under the new act, every phase of apartment will be considered a standalone real estate project, and the promoter will have to obtain registration under this Act for each phase separately

6. Real estate developer will have to sell the property to buyers on carpet area and not on super built-up area which will become illegal under the new law 

7. The law ensures that realty project is completed in time and if it gets delayed the new law will make the developer liable to pay the same interest as the EMI being paid by the consumer to the bank back to the consumer

8. It provisions the maximum jail term for a developer who violates the order of the appellate tribunal of the RERA of three years with or without a fine. 

9. Post project sales service if the buyer notices any deficiency in the project the buyer can contact the developer in writing within one year of taking possession

10. The new law states that the developer cannot make any changes to the plan that had been sold without the written consent of the buyer which in turn will stop the practice of developers escalating the cost of projects 

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