Nearly a decade after the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was enacted and implemented across states from 2017, scrutiny is shifting from developers to the regulator as well. The shift follows recent sharp observations by the Supreme Court, where the chief justice of India questioned whether real estate regulatory authorities were effectively protecting homebuyers. Against that backdrop, a homebuyer advocacy body has allaeged that most state regulators are not publishing mandatory annual reports required under the law. What appears procedural could determine whether India can truly assess if RERA improved delivery and buyer protection. Kailash Babar explains:What are RERA annual reports and why were they mandated?Section 78 of RERA requires every state RERA to publish an annual report describing its functioning. The disclosure requirement was central to the law's design. RERA sought to replace opaque practices with measurable oversight, and the annual report acts as the regulator's performance audit. In February 2023, the Union housing ministry circulated a standard reporting format to enable comparison across states. The reports are expected to disclose not only project registrations and complaints but also completion status, enforcement of orders and action against defaulting developers.What is the allegation now?Forum for People's Collective Efforts (FPCE), a homebuyer advocacy organisation, claims more than 75% of RERA authorities have either never published annual reports, discontinued them after initial years or are not updated. Only a small number of states have reports available up to FY24, while some large markets published earlier reports but later stopped. The group also says even where reports exist, the ministry's prescribed format has not been followed, limiting meaningful comparison. The claims have not yet been independently confirmed by the ministry or state regulators.Why is this significant beyond compliance?RERA's performance is often discussed using the number of projects registered and complaints disposed. However, these measure activity rather than outcomes. Annual reports are meant to reveal whether projects were completed on time, whether refund and compensation orders translated into payments and whether possession orders resulted in home handover. A complaint can be disposed through an order, but relief exists only when the order is enforced. Without enforcement data, the law's effectiveness cannot be objectively assessed.What risks does this pose for the housing sector?India has previously faced widespread housing delays. A government-appointed committee led by Amitabh Kant identified around 412,000 stressed housing units nationwide. RERA was introduced as a structural response through escrowed project funds and disclosure norms. If completion and enforcement data remain unavailable, policymakers cannot determine whether the sector’s recovery reflects genuine improvement in delivery discipline or merely another launch cycle. Registrations track supply introduction, but completion reflects sector health. Why does this matter for policy and regulation?The implications extend beyond homebuyers. Governments rely on delivery data for tax policy and planning, while lenders depend on completion records to assess risk. Consistent reporting would reveal whether delays are financial, regulatory, or litigationdriven and whether repeat defaults occur. RERA was intended to replace trust with transparency. If regulators themselves cannot be evaluated, the framework risks functioning more as a registration system than an accountability mechanism.
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