RERA — what it does and does not cover

What RERA is

रेरा क्या है

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 — RERA — was enacted to regulate the sale of real estate projects, protect purchasers, and establish a regulatory authority and appellate tribunal in each state. Rajasthan has its own authority constituted under the Act.

It changed the promoter–purchaser relationship substantially. For an agent, two things follow: your own registration obligations, and your ability to tell a client accurately whether the protections apply to what they are buying. Very often they do not, and saying so plainly is more valuable than implying otherwise.

Thresholds, rules, fees and procedures under RERA are set by the Act and by state rules, and are amended. Verify the current position with the Rajasthan RERA authority on official gov.in / nic.in sources before advising anyone. This is not legal advice.

Project registration

परियोजना पंजीकरण

A promoter must register a project with the authority before advertising, marketing, booking or selling in it. The Act sets a threshold below which registration is not required — commonly stated as land proposed to be developed not exceeding five hundred square metres, or not more than eight apartments including all phases. The Act also permits a state government to reduce that threshold, so the applicable figure must be checked for the state in question.

Registration brings disclosure. The promoter files project details, approvals, layout and plan sanctions, the timeline for completion, and details of the land title, and the authority publishes them. For a purchaser, a registered project means there is a public file to read before committing.

The main protections

मुख्य सुरक्षा

The escrow requirement

A prescribed proportion of the amounts realised from allottees for a project must be deposited in a separate account and used only for that project's construction and land cost — the figure in the Act is seventy per cent. The purpose is to stop money collected for one project funding another, which was the mechanism behind a great many stalled developments.

Carpet area

The Act defines carpet area and requires sale on that basis. Before RERA, projects were commonly sold on "super built-up" area calculated in ways that varied between promoters, so purchasers could not compare prices meaningfully. Defining the unit of sale was one of the Act's more quietly significant reforms.

Defect liability

Where a structural defect, or a defect in workmanship, quality or provision of services, is brought to the promoter's notice within five years from handover, the promoter is obliged to rectify it without further charge, within the period the Act prescribes.

Timelines and interest

The declared completion date becomes an enforceable commitment, with consequences for delay, and the Act provides for interest and for the allottee's remedies including withdrawal in defined circumstances.

Agent registration

एजेंट का पंजीकरण

The Act requires a real estate agent to be registered with the authority in order to facilitate the sale or purchase of a plot, apartment or building in a registered project. Acting without registration where registration is required exposes you to penalty.

This is the provision that turns brokerage from an informal trade into a regulated one, and it is the reason Level 6 opens with registration rather than with selling. Practical points:

• Registration is with the authority in the state where you operate.
• It applies to facilitating transactions in registered projects. Its relevance to a given piece of your business depends on what that business is.
• Registered agents carry obligations — maintaining records, not making false statements about a project, and providing information the Act requires.
• Requirements, fees, documents and renewal periods are set by state rules and change. Check the current position with the Rajasthan authority.

What RERA does not cover

रेरा किन पर लागू नहीं

This is the part that matters most in agricultural land work, because most of what you will handle sits outside the Act entirely.

How to use this with a client

क्लाइंट को कैसे समझाएँ

1. Establish first what is being bought — agricultural land, a plot in an approved layout, or a unit in a project.
2. Say plainly whether RERA applies to that transaction.
3. Where it does, direct them to the public registration file and read it with them.
4. Where it does not, be explicit that the protection comes from title diligence and approvals, and that this is work someone has to do.
5. Confirm your own registration position for the work you are doing.