In view of the country-wide lockdown on account of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has decided to extend the validity period for registration of real estate projects, whose date of completion or for that matter extended completion date gets over on or after March 15, for a period of three months, it said in a statement
“MahaRERA shall accordingly issue project registration certificates, with revised timelines for such projects, at the earliest,” it said.
The authority has also extended the time limits of all statutory compliances in accordance with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 that were due in March, April and May to June 30.
It noted that due to the lockdowns, the supply chains for obtaining construction material have been disrupted and labour force may have migrated back to their home states. Due to these circumstances, real estate projects across Maharashtra will take some time to restart work.
In order to aid government efforts in controlling the damage of COVID-19 and ensure that completion of MahaRERA registered projects does not get adversely affected, it has been decided to issue this order, it said.
The real estate sector has welcomed the order.
“This is a proactive step by MahaRERA and is a welcome step,” said. Niranjan Hiranandani, President (Nation), NAREDCO.
While these announcements take care of the immediate timeframes and deadlines, the real estate industry hopes that any further delays as a result of the pandemic will also be taken into account, and similar action will be initiated by MahaRERA, he said.
“This announcement will provide a major relief to home developers as it provides the much required extra time for completion and delivery of the project,” said Rohit Poddar, Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development and Joint Secretary, NAREDCO Maharashtra.
Shishir Baijal, CMD, Knight Frank India, said the “deferment of deadline by the MahaRERA is a good decision given the current conditions. The government has given some respite to the residential real estate sector, which will be feeling the impact of this lockdown. While we hope that this crisis will be over soon, steps such as these will help reduce the severity of the lockdown in short term.”
(Source: Moneycontrol)
