Now, UP-RERA to hear cases in full bench to resolve flat owners’ issues

In order to speed up the process of addressing homebuyers’ issues, a full bench of the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-RERA) will be conducting joint hearings of complaints, instead of individual hearings.

It will be for the first time that a full bench will start adopting the practice in order to deliver speedy justice in cases such as late delivery of flats, deficiencies in construction and harassment by builders.

The move is aimed at saving the court’s as well as homebuyers time. In such cases, individual benches are often known to deliver different judgements, thus inviting criticism from homebuyers as well as developers.

The UP-RERA’s full bench is set to hear 79 complaints of Supertech Limited homebuyers on Monday.

“We will start the process of hearing similar complaints in bulk against developers at our full bench to settle issues without any hassle to the aggrieved persons. The full bench will hear complaints twice in a week at our Greater Noida office. The full bench has the mandate to hear complaints under all sections of the RERA Act, while single benches hear cases under section 31 only,” said Rajive Kumar, the chairman of the UP-RERA.

The UP-RERA had initiated addressing issues related to the realty sector on September 3,2018. So far, it has received at least 40,000 complaints, out of which at least 34,000 have been settled.

The Union government passed the RERA Act in the year 2016, with an aim to safeguard the rights of investors and homebuyers, and to address issues faced by the real estate sector. However, it is yet to have directive powers to instruct local authorities to implement the order. As a result, many cases do not reach their logical conclusion.

The full bench has set a target to address around 1,600 complaints made by homebuyers against developers. The UP-RERA has four benches headed by retired bureaucrats and each bench hears cases individually. But from Monday, all the four benches will sit simultaneously to address cases and expedite settlements.

Homebuyers in Gautam Budh Nagar district have welcomed the move as it is expected to resolve several long-pending cases.

“We have observed that different judgements in similar cases lead to confusion among aggrieved homebuyers. Now, similar complaints against a developer will be resolved at one go and will help in implementing the court orders on the ground,” said Manish Kumar, senior vice-president of the Noida Extension Flat Owners’ Welfare Association (NEFOWA).

“The move will bring relief to homebuyers who are seeking refund in cases where developers have failed to deliver the flats,” added Kumar.