We all dream of buying a decent home for ourselves, a lot of investment is made towards fulfilling this dream. It was the case earlier that the builders lobby were not transparent with their clients when it came to the selling procedure of their projects. Clients were often duped by builders and they had very limited rights when it came to the whole real estate investment process. Each builder followed their own process to secure clients, there was no uniformity whatsoever.

As a measure to safeguard the rights of home purchasers the RERA or Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was formed.  This act protects them from unfair practices of the builders. Real estate developers in Goa have opted to make themselves come under the purview of this legislation in order to secure the trust of the clients. To put it in a straightforward manner, builders and developers cannot sell any new project without first registering their project with the RERA. In Goa we have a Real Estate Regulatory Authority to regulate real estate development if buyers face any hassles against the builder in their dealings they can approach this body with their complaints. 

Also Read: Top 10 Areas For Buying a Villa in Goa

RERA has made it mandatory for all builders to get all approvals from different agencies of the government before they can commence with any project. Real estate companies will be given a registration number by the regulator which is needed to be mentioned in every property sale. The RERA authority has all the power to ensure that proper procedure is followed, if not it can impose penalties and imprisonment. 

RERA Benefits to Home Buyers:

• All details of every project have to be displayed on the website of the authority.
• Buyers have to only pay for carpet area of residential or commercial space and not for lift, balcony, stairs and lobby.
• Under the legislation projects need to be completed on time since 70% of the money from customers is kept in a separate account.
• If there is a delay in completion of the project the builder has to pay 2% above SBI’s Marginal cost lending rate to the buyer.
• If there is any defect in the building within 5 years it is the builder’s responsibility. 
• RERA applies to both residential and commercial properties.
• Any project with a plot size of 500 sq. mt or having 8 apartments must be registered with the RERA Authority.
• Original approved plans of every project must be submitted to RERA authority.
• Any violation of terms of RERA will attract an imprisonment of up to 3 years for the developers and up to 1 year for agents and buyers.
• No developer can advertise, sell, offer, market or book any plot or apartment without registering it under the RERA authority.
• If any person has an issue with dealings in a RERA registered project he or she may file a complaint with RERA for any violation of the provisions of the Act.

It is best that one does their due diligence before going in for a property and looks up for RERA registered builders in Goa and checks out all the necessary details on the RERA portal online. RERA projects in Goa will be a safer option for purchase and any eventualities will be regulated and controlled by the RERA authority.