RERA Himachal Pradesh

Over the course of last decade or so, the real estate sector in India has expanded dramatically. This is particularly true for the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh, which is steadily becoming a modern state after a surge in investments in infrastructure. The industry was further given a boost when the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Housing for All initiative was launched by the Government of India. However, despite these impressive facts and reforms, the real estate sector, from the perspective of consumers, is still unregulated. Even though laws for consumer protection exist, they only serve as a curative measure rather than preventive.

The Need for RERA in Himachal Pradesh

Owing to a lack of professionalism and control in the realty sector, there was a need to establish a state-wise, authoritative body whose sole purpose would be to deal with matters concerning real estate. The idea was to give consumers a suitable platform for grievance redressal and have their complaints heard under the purview of law.

It was with this intention that a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) was established in every state, as per the Real Estate Act, 2016. Some of the main objectives of this Act are mentioned below:

• Govern the sector professionally to promote confidence among investors
• Protect the interest of customers
• Introduce transparency in the sector, and reduce delays & frauds
• Ensure that there is accountability in the sector
• Establish an efficient grievance redressal mechanism
• Set up an Appellate Tribunal to hear the pleas against the verdicts of RERA
• To have builders & developers register their ongoing and new projects, and publish the project information the relevant RERA website.

Prospective buyers are no longer at the mercy of developers. With RERA now in place, they can approach the Authority confidently and voice their concerns. Needless to mention, if the customer has been cheated, whether it is related to a delay in delivery of the property or any other issue, then he/she can withdraw from the project and demand a compensation.

In case the builder is not complying, then the customer can approach the RERA and file a complaint.

This sort of control and governance is something that the real estate industry previously lacked. The formation of RERA in every state has already started to transform the industry, although it is yet to pick up the pace. Nonetheless, it is on the right path and the next couple of years should produce the expected outcome.

How to Register a Real Estate Project with the Himachal Pradesh RERA?

Registering a real estate project with RERA Himachal Pradesh is a time-consuming process. There are seven pages to be filled and more than 10 different documents are to be uploaded to the portal. The following is the comprehensive, step-by-step guide to be followed to register a real estate project.

Step 1: Visit the official RERA Himachal Pradesh site at http://www.hprera.in/WebSite/Home

Step 2: If you are registering a real estate project for the first time, then you need to first register as a ‘Promoter’. Click on ‘Register’ at top of the page and select ‘Promoter’.

Step 3: Once there, fill in the details and upload the necessary documents. Click on ‘Save’ at the end to successfully create your profile. You can now proceed with project registration.

Step 4: Head to the main page and select ‘Registration’. Select ‘Real Estate Project’ and then click on ‘Apply New Project’ or ‘Apply Ongoing Project’, depending on the requirement.

Step 5: You will then be directed to a page where you will need to sign in to your Promoter account, provided you are not logged in. You can now proceed with your project registration.

Step 6: As mentioned earlier, there are seven distinct pages that you need to fill. They are:

1. Promoter Profile - This is where you need to fill the personal details and the relevant financial information.
2. Project Details - This section is for entering the project information such as location, size and ownership.
3. Sanctioned Project Plan - In this section, you need to enter the details of the sanctioned project like sanctioned plan, type of the project, structural stability certificate, et cetera.
4. Civic Facilities - In this section, a checklist of facilities will be provided and you need to select the relevant ones. For example, if your project uses renewable energy or has septic tanks installed, then you need to select the corresponding options.
5. Project Professionals - This is where you need to enter the names of the professionals included in the project. Along with the name, you also need to upload their respective certificates.
6. Project Fee - The project fee is calculated depending on the type of the project and the size of the land. The payment is to be made through online banking.
7. Project Declaration - This is the Form ‘B’ where you need to go through an Affidavit cum Declaration and verify all the relevant documents.

The ‘Project Declaration’ page is an important one. This is where you verify all the information before submitting your form, so make sure that you read the contents of this page carefully.

You can also save the form as a draft and get back to filling it at a later time. However, to submit your form, you need to click on ‘Final Submit’.

Remember - do this only when you have verified all the details.

Once you submit the form, the process for obtaining the certificate of project registration will commence.

Documents Required for Real Estate Project Registration

The following documents need to be uploaded to the Himachal RERA portal along with the registration form. Prepare these documents well in advance to avoid any inconvenience during the application process.

Property-Related Documents

• Allotment letter, agreement for sale, possession letter, and conveyance deed in favour of the allottee
• Project professional details and the respective certificates
• Civic facilities checklist
• Structural liability certificate
• Project plan, sanctioned plan, location plan
• Himachali Agriculturist Certificate/ ’Section 118 of H.P.T & Reform Act, 1972’ certificate

Personal Documents

• PAN card, Aadhaar number
• Passport size photo
• Income-tax return acknowledgement report (Last 3 years)
• Annual financial report, comprising profit & loss account, balance sheet, cash flow, directors’ report and auditors’ report
• Details of the bank account where security deposit is maintained
• Ownership document of the land
• Most recent revenue documents such as Tatima, Jamabandi, demarcation report and non-encumbrances report

How to Register as a Himachal Pradesh RERA Real Estate Agent?

The process to register as a real estate agent with HP RERA is fairly similar to the one involved in registering a real estate project. However, the process of registering as an agent does not require a lot of documents and can be done in little time.

Step 1: Visit the HP RERA website at http://www.hprera.in/WebSite/Home

Step 2: Click on ‘Register’ at the top of the page and then select ‘Agent’. You will be then asked to fill in basic details to complete the sign-up process. Alternately, you can also select ‘Registration’ followed by ‘Real Estate Agent’ and ‘New Registration’ to sign-up.

Step 3: Once you have signed-up, you can proceed with filling your real estate agent registration form. Unlike the project registration form, there are only two tabs to be filled here. They are:

1. Registration - This is where you need to enter your basic information and upload the required documents.
2. Fee - This is where you need to add the payment details.

Step 4: After all the relevant boxes have been filled, the last step is to verify all the information. Once the information has been checked, click on ‘Final Submit’ option to start the process of obtaining your Real Estate Agent Registration Certificate.

Documents Required for Real Estate Agent Registration

• PAN card, Aadhaar number
• A copy of resolution regarding authorisation
• Address proof of place of business
• Details of registration in other State/UT
• Experience certificate

RERA Registered Projects in Himachal Pradesh

Considering that the implementation of RERA in Himachal Pradesh is still in its early stages, not many developers have registered their projects. So far, only 10 projects have been registered on the RERA HP portal, and all of them have been mentioned below. Nonetheless, this tally is set to increase as time goes by.

RERA Registered Agents in Himachal Pradesh

So far, only five agents have registered on the RERA HP Portal. However, as more people become aware of this Act, this number is likely to increase in the coming months.

In case of any additional queries related to the Act and its rules, or if you are looking to check the status of your application, you can visit the official RERA HP website at http://www.hprera.in/WebSite/Home. You can also browse the FAQ section for more information and get in touch with the officials for further clarifications.