Govt extends deadline for realty projects by six months

In a relief to real estate developers, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that the deadline for completion of projects will be extended by up to six months, treating the coronavirus outbreak as an event of 'force majeure' under the realty law RERA.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will issue an advisory to real estate regulators of all states and Union Territories, to treat COVID-19 as an act of god so that 'force majeure' clauses under RERA can be invoked for providing relief to builders in completion of projects.

The relief will be given to all the registered projects under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, called RERA, expiring on or after March 25, the date from which national lockdown to control coronavirus came into effect.

The real estate industry has been demanding that the deadline for completion of projects should be extended by at least six months as construction work came to a halt due to lockdown.

Announcing the decision, Sitharaman said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will advise States and their regulatory authorities to "treat COVID-19 as an event of Force Majeure under RERA".

The regulators can extend the registration and completion date suo motto by six months for all registered projects expiring on or after March 25 without individual applications, she said.

The authorities can give further extension of three months if needed.

The regulators should issue fresh project registration certificates automatically with revised timelines. The timelines to comply other statutory compliances under the RERA, should be extended accordingly.

"These measures will de-stress real estate developers and ensure completion of projects so that home buyers are able to get delivery of their booked homes with new timelines," the minister said.