UP Rera to launch star­-rating for builders based on their track record

Regulator Realty authority says it will assess builders and rate them so that homebuyers can make an informed choice. Currently, homebuyers have no data to check the antecedents of the builders and they fall prey to false promises made by dubious builders.

The Uttar Pradesh real estate regulatory authority (UP Rera) on Wednesday said it will rate builders after assessing their track record with reference to completing the projects on time.

UP Real Estate Regulatory Authority on Wednesday met Noida authority officials and discussed issues faced by the realty sector, at Indira Gandhi Kala Kendra, Sector 6. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Currently, homebuyers have no data to check the antecedents of the builders and they fall prey to false promises made by dubious builders.

“We have decided to start rating system from 1 to 5 stars, depending on the past performance of the builders. We will provide information about builder’s financial position and its failed projects to the prospective buyers. This will enable homebuyers to make a proper selection of the property,” said Balvinder Kumar, UP Rera member.

There are 500 housing projects in Noida and Greater Noida against which homebuyers have filed complaints. According to Rera, there are over 3,000 complaints which are yet to be addressed by the authority, of which 80% are from Noida and Greater Noida.

The real estate regulator is also in the process of hiring a private agency to monitor the projects and will seek updates where the builder has not been able to meet the deadline for the project completion.

“As per Rera norms, a builder has to submit the progress report of the project, every quarter with Rera. Due to shortage of staff, physical verification of all such reports is not possible. Now, we are hiring a private agency which will check the housing projects to corroborate the quarterly reports filed by builders registered with us. This way, we will be able to monitor the projects in a proper manner,” said Kumar.

The real estate authority has also directed its office to identify projects whose completion period as per records has been over and seek updates from the developers.

As per Rera norms, a builder has to set aside 70% amount for construction work and deposit it in a separate escrow account. “We will monitor escrow accounts of the builders through the private agency and try to ensure that these funds are not diverted to other projects. Diversion of funds is the major cause of delay in the projects,” said Kumar.

“On Wednesday, Rera bench 1 comprising authority chairman Rajive Kumar and member

Kalpana Mishra, and bench 2 comprising Rera members Balvinder Kumar and Bhanu Pratap Singh met at Greater Noida Regional Office. Eleven cases were listed for bench 1 and 89 for bench 2. Waiting area has been set up for both benches. In 12 cases, we had postponed the date of hearing and informed the complainants about the status by SMS,” said SK Verma, deputy secretary, Rera.

Due to piling up of cases, the two benches of UP Rera in Greater Noida have decided to function thrice a week instead of two hearings per week.