RERA can only act on errant developers if you complain

If you thought the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) will hold developers responsible for irregularities in a construction project on its own, you are wrong. Without your complaint, errant developers can even get away scot-free, as the authority lacks a mechanism to identify the number of ongoing projects in the state, whether registered or not. So developers will be held accountable only if there are complaints about them for RERA to check the issues.

A complaint from the buyer or a citizen is required for RERA officials to act on a builder's alleged wrongdoing. Vasant Prabhu, Secretary of RERA, said, "We will act on complaints from buyers and citizens. Affected parties will be given a hearing and addressing their problems will be our aim, whereas anonymity of citizens complaining about a sale without registrations will also be completely taken care of. We want citizens to come forward and tell us their issues related to construction."

There are two ways to complain on the website of RERA. In one, the aggrieved party can register a complaint by paying fees of R 5,000 along with the documents of purchase. The residents will be given a hearing and after verifying the documents submitted by the developer during the registration process, final orders will be uploaded. But even if you are not an aggrieved party, you can still complain by logging on to a citizen's forum available on https://maharera.mahaonline.gov.in/ The forum will also see complaints of citizens regarding developers who have not registered with RERA, but are still carrying out sale.