“What is the possession date”?

This is the most pertinent question which real estate investors or end users have in their mind when they are buying into an under-construction property.

The real estate industry has been quite infamous for construction problems, delays in construction projects, not delivering what was promised at the time of booking and in the majority of the cases, giving delayed possession and in certain cases not delivering at all !

Delayed possession always escalates the cost for customers who are paying rent for the property which is currently occupied and are also paying EMIs for a housing loan with the help of which the under-construction property is bought.

Now what options do customers have in case they find themselves in the above situation?

Keeping in mind regular occurrences of customers losing out on timely possession or no possession, the central government of India formulated Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA) which came into force on 1st May 2017. RERA is a Central Act and majority of the states have implemented RERA albeit with certain modifications.

Under RERA, the developer/ builder needs to exclusively mention the possession date and if the builder delays the project due to reasons totally under his control, he would need to pay a compensation for delayed possession of flats.

How to handle disputes with builders?

A customer who has been deprived of timely possession can approach the Real Estate Regulator under RERA and file a case with the Regulator.

In case the customer happens to be from Maharashtra, he can first approach the Conciliation Forum formed to sort out the grievances of the customer amicably before reaching the Regulator.

Maharashtra is the only state in the country as of now to form a Conciliation Forum .The Forum consists of 8 builders, who are members of developers’ bodies including the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) and National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO). There are also  15 representatives of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat and Grahak Panchayat Pune to safeguard homebuyers’ interest.

No customer books an apartment expecting to go through the hassles of approaching authorities in case of delayed possession. However, with RERA in place, its honest and strict implementation would help customers who are trapped in mess.

About REMI

The Real Estate Management Institute- REMI is a leading educational institute in India that provides programs specially designed for the real estate industry. REMI was established with a vision to ‘Skill India to Build India’ to contribute to industry development through training programs and to facilitate individual careers, as well as enhance leadership for existing real estate professionals.

REMI currently provides certification programs, executive courses and customized training workshops specially designed for the real estate industry. Our programs are run using the Socratic style of teaching, as we offer world-class best practices and a global curriculum to enable new entrants, early-stage professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders adapt to the evolving regulatory regime.

REMI is a pioneer in the field of real estate education in India having trained 2400+ People since our inception. REMI has over 320+ Corporate Association, 180+ Affiliated Visiting Experts and offers 100% Internship and Placement through a dedicated Career Development Centre (CDC). We are constantly exploring new dimensions and partnerships to help us stay ahead. Some of our partnerships include collaboration with The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), USA, Ganpat University in Ahmedabad, Practicing Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association (PEATA), Habitat for Humanity, among others.

Our flagship Certifications in Business Management and Housing Finance (BMF 201), the Broker Certification Program (BCP 201),the Owner Developer Program (ODP) are just the tip of the iceberg. Our ability to curate industry-relevant programs with experts and thought leaders is our specialty. We currently offer 30+ programs for real estate.