Delays in Real Estate Project Registration Spark Complaints from Engineers

Tamil Nadu’s real estate sector is stuck with reports that it often takes up to three months for construction projects to get registered with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Engineers and developers have complained about the lengthy process, attributing bureaucratic holdups to slow approval of new projects.

RERA was launched to regulate the industry and safeguard homebuyers and mandates that all construction projects of 5,381 square feet and more be registered. This registration shall take place upon obtaining the approvals from respective government departments. However, engineers have complained that the process has been unnecessarily drawn out when documents have been available.

Earlier developers had to separately submit all documents for project approval to RERA. However, in a recent change to the system, construction permitting departments have begun to submit these documents directly to RERA through an online platform. This was meant to make things smoother and minimize delays.

Yet despite this move to a digital solution, complaints continue that registration is taking a matter of months. Sources say the delay is due, in very large part, to negligence on the part of the officials managing the process of registration.

As the industry is getting increasingly frustrated, there are several requests to RERA to streamline the process and speed up the registration time frame. If the delays are not addressed, they could pose an obstacle to new real estate developments and have consequences for the housing market in Tamil Nadu.