BENGALURU: The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) has stated that landowners and promoters share equal responsibility, and both shall be deemed promoters and jointly liable for the functions and responsibilities specified under Section 2(zk) of the RERA Act, 2016.
In a judgment pertaining to a complaint lodged by BS Susheela Ramamurthy, who owns two acres of land in Dodda Kallasandra village in Bengaluru South taluk, K-RERA made it clear that the complainant, being a landowner, cannot seek any relief or remedy against the promoter. “We are of the considered view that no scope is left for further discussion when the complaint itself is not maintainable. In view of the above discussion, this complaint deserves to be dismissed,” the RERA order reads.
As per Section 2(zk) of the RERA Act, 2016, a promoter is a person who constructs or causes the construction of an independent building or a building consisting of apartments, or converts an existing building or part thereof into apartments for the purpose of selling all or some of the apartments to other persons, and includes their assignees. A promoter is also a person who develops land into a project, whether or not the person also constructs structures on any of the plots, for the purpose of selling all or some of the plots in the said project to other persons, with or without structures thereon.The complaint before K-RERA concerned the builder’s failure to complete the project on time and the alleged misuse of funds meant for construction purposes. The complainant stated that the development works in the project, Maangalya Park Avenue, originally launched by Pioneer Developers and subsequently transferred to the respondents, Maangalya Ventures Private Limited, remained substantially incomplete even after the respondents had collected money from allottees and borrowed a sum of Rs 22 crore.
Welcoming the K-RERA judgment, Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, Sanchalak of Karnataka Home Buyers Forum, said that landowners have equal responsibility under the RERA Act as builders. “The K-RERA order gives a clear direction, stating that landowners cannot misuse RERA in disputes between themselves and builders,” he said.
