Karnataka RERA: Projects that applied for OC before RERA came into effect need not be registered

The Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (KRERA) has clarified in a ruling that projects that applied for Occupancy Certificates (OC) before the state RERA Act came into effect are not required to register under KRERA.

This clarification came during a case involving Hamilton Homes, a residential project by SJR Prime Corporation, in south Bengaluru’s Electronic City, where homebuyers had filed complaints about registering incomplete flats. Of the 359 flats, 120 remained unfinished to date.

 

Although the developer applied for an OC in 2016 and received it in May 2017—just weeks before KRERA was implemented—buyers argued that essential infrastructure such as water supply and sewage treatment were missing until well into 2018. Despite these concerns, KRERA referenced a Karnataka High Court order, stating that projects with OC or partial OC applications submitted before the Act’s enforcement are exempt from registration.

Dismissing the complaint filed by the homebuyer, KRERA said on April 2 that the order was not maintainable.

The case

In this case, the buyer booked a flat in the project Fiesta Homes, located in Electronic City, in 2012.

“Out of 359 flats, 120 are incomplete to date in terms of basic works like tiling, painting, CP fittings, etc. Only 162 flats have been registered, less than 60% of all the flats,” a buyer who filed the complaint, Balaji SR, told KRERA.