The Real Estate Regulatory Authority or RERA is in focus again. Recently, the Supreme Court made blunt observations about the role of RERA and its importance. The apex court remarked that the time has come for all states to reconsider the structure and composition of RERA, observing that the body appears to be merely “facilitating” errant builders rather than holding them accountable. The apex court has raised concerns over whether real estate regulatory authorities are adequately safeguarding the interests of homebuyers. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the very individuals RERA was meant to protect are now deeply disillusioned. “Better abolish this institution, we don’t mind that,” the Chief Justice remarked. Almost ten years after the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force and was rolled out across states in 2017, attention is increasingly moving from developers to the functioning of the regulator itself. In this context, a homebuyer advocacy group has alleged that several state regulators have failed to publish the annual reports mandated under the law. Has RERA improved project delivery? What are RERA reports and why are they important for protecting homebuyers? We take a look:
Understanding the importance of RERA annual reports
Fundamentally, the objective of RERA was to move away from opaque practices toward transparent and measurable regulatory oversight, with the annual report serving as an evaluation of the regulator’s functioning. The reports should ideally have information not only on project registrations and complaints received, but also on project completion status, enforcement of regulatory orders, and action taken against developers who fail to comply with the rules.According to an ET report, Section 78 of RERA makes it compulsory for every state regulator to release an annual report which details its activities and performance. This is a key element of the legislation’s framework. In early 2023, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs issued a reporting format to allow for consistent comparison across states.Discussions around RERA’s performance usually centre around metrics such as the number of projects registered and the volume of complaints resolved. However, these indicators reflect activity rather than actual outcomes. Annual reports are intended to provide insight into whether projects were completed within timelines, whether orders related to refunds and compensation resulted in actual payments, and whether possession directives ultimately led to homes being handed over to buyers.A complaint may be marked as resolved once an order is issued, but genuine relief exists only when that order is implemented. In the absence of enforcement-related data, it becomes difficult to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of the law.
What’s the row about?
The Forum for People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE), an organisation representing homebuyers, has alleged that more than 75% of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities have either never released their annual reports, stopped publishing them after the initial years, or failed to keep them updated.According to the group, only a limited number of states have made reports available up to FY24, while some major real estate markets issued reports earlier but subsequently discontinued the practice. FPCE has also said that in several cases where reports have been published, the format recommended by the ministry has not been followed, making meaningful comparison across states difficult.
What are the implications of the alleged lapses?
India has, in the past, grappled with significant delays in housing projects. A government-appointed panel chaired by Amitabh Kant had identified nearly 412,000 housing units across the country as stressed.RERA was introduced as a structural remedy, incorporating mechanisms such as escrow-linked project funding and mandatory disclosures. However, if data on project completion and enforcement remains unavailable, policymakers are left without a clear basis to judge whether the sector’s apparent recovery reflects a genuine strengthening of delivery standards or simply the beginning of another cycle of new project launches, according to the ET analysis. While registration figures indicate the addition of supply, completion statistics provide a more accurate measure of the sector’s underlying health.The consequences extend beyond the interests of homebuyers alone. Governments depend on reliable delivery data to shape taxation decisions and urban planning strategies, while financial institutions use completion records to evaluate lending risk. Regular and standardised reporting could help identify whether delays arise from funding constraints, regulatory hurdles, or litigation, and whether certain developers repeatedly default. RERA was designed to move the sector from a system based on trust to one grounded in transparency. If regulators themselves cannot be assessed, the framework risks operating primarily as a project registration platform rather than a true mechanism of accountability.
