No officer in place to address buyer compensation plaints

CHANDIGARH: Nine months after the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (Rera Act) became operational and eight months after the Haryana real estate (regulation and development) rules, 2017 were notified, home buyers in the state are awaiting the appointment of an Adjudicating Officer.

The Rera Act and state Rera rules provide for an adjudicating officer in every state authority to adjudicate on buyers’ complaints, seeking compensation for the loss incurred against a defaulting builder.

WHAT IS THE OFFICERS’ ROLE

For the purpose of adjudging compensation under sections 12, 14, 18 and section 19, “The Authority shall appoint in consultation with the appropriate government, one or more judicial officer as deemed necessary, who is or has been a district judge to be an adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry,” the act stipulates. The Haryana Rera rules also provide for, “Any aggrieved person may file a complaint with the adjudicating officer for interest and compensation as provided under sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 in Form ‘CAO’.”

The aggrieved person under Section 12 of the Act includes one who made an advance or deposit on the basis of incorrect or misleading advertisement made by a promoter, and suffered losses because of it.

DELAYS ARE ENDEMIC Possession delays have become endemic in the state’s housing sector. For providing compensation in cases of delayed possession, the Rera Act, under Section 18, allows allottees to file a complaint with the adjudicating officer seeking compensation from the builder for it. This section also provides for compensation in case of any loss caused to the buyer due to defective title of land on which the project is developed.

Abhay Upadhaya, the national convener of the Fight for Rera, an association of home buyers, said, “The authority should appoint the officer at the earliest for delivering timely justice to the home buyers.”

“An adjudicating officer is a an essential condition of the Rera Act. Complainants are feeling crippled as this important part of the Act and state rules is still to be implemented,” said Himanshu Raj, a Chandigarh based advocate.

KK Khandelwal, chairman, Haryana Rera (Gurgaon), said, “The matter of appointment of adjudicating officer will come up in the next meeting of the authority slated this week.”

Rajan Gupta, chairman, Haryana Rera (Panchkula), said, “The Panchkula authority has been just made. As and when these decisions are taken, we will let you know.”