Reassessing The Real Estate (Regulation And Development) Act, 2016: A Jurisprudential And Regulatory Critique Of Implementation, Federal Fragmentation, And Consumer Protection Paradigms
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 18
- 1 min read
Ayush Kumar, Symbiosis Law School, Pune
ABSTRACT
This research paper attempts a critical analysis of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, looking at its normative ambitions as well as the shortcomings in the implementation from both doctrinal and theoretical perspectives. RERA sought to create transparency, protect the consumers, and hold parties accountable in India’s historically opaque real estate sector. The possibility of several weaknesses in its implementation exists. Issues arising out of issues concern fragmented federalism, structural loopholes, lack of consumer representation, and excessive accountability on developers. It is argued that the centralized structure of RERA and the excessive discretion vested in the States lead to an inconsistent enforcement and regulatory arbitrage, which, in turn, undermines the objectives it set out to achieve. Equally, because it remains outside the umbrella of any urban planning or housing policy, its potential to effect change is virtually negligible. Therefore, the paper concludes that although RERA is to be considered a reform, its implementation still requires extensive repositioning to place it within an equitable and sustainable urban governance context.
Keywords: Real Estate, RERA, regulatory reform, consumer rights, federalism, urban governance.
