A homebuyers’ forum has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns about the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, claiming even 10 years after the law was enacted it has failed to address malpractices it was meant to, including the misuse of homebuyers’ money, one-sided nature of buyer-seller agreements and project delays.In its letter on October 26, the Forum for People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE), which was one of the campaigners behind the RERA, acknowledged the law led to the registration of an increasing number of projects, but its objectives were “far from being achieved”.The root cause, according to the forum, was that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority—set up in 2016 under the act—had been entrusted with the conflicting responsibilities of both promoting the sector and protecting homebuyers.The forum suggested a mandate overhaul, allowing the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to continue looking after the promotion of the sector, while entrusting the Department of Consumer Affairs with the sole responsibility of protecting homebuyers’ interests.“We fully recognise that RERA has brought a large number of projects within a registration framework and introduced important disclosure requirements. But registration and disclosure alone cannot be the measure of success when violations continue and homebuyers struggle to obtain effective remedies,” FPCE president Abhay Upadhyay wrote in the letter.“A family that has invested its lifetime savings needs a completed home and enforceable rights – not merely a project registration number.”The letter noted that during CAC meetings and discussions with ministry officials, the forum repeatedly raised concerns that projects were being registered without proper document scrutiny, sanctioned plans, amenity disclosures, promoter declarations, or proposed agreements to sale.Story continues below this adOne major issue they flagged was that in cases where homebuyers are ordered refunds or compensation following prolonged proceedings under the RERA, they have to wait for years for the amount to be transferred. “Justice is not delivered merely because an order has been passed,” the forum said.They gave specific example of the often “one-sided” nature of builder-buyer agreements, sayingthey raised the issues at a CAC meeting in 2023, and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) chairman recommended that each state authority audit the agreements, but there is no improvement.The forum added, “There is still no robust mechanism to examine outstanding liabilities, unexecuted orders and the past compliance record of a promoter before registering a new project.”Story continues below this adThey also red-flagged the conflict of interest that may arise from former RERA chairpersons accepting positions with a builders’ organisation.Citing its own report submitted to the ministry in September to mark the 10 years of the RERA, the forum said, “On a conservative estimate built on the Ministry’s own RERA data, approximately Rs. 12.44 lakh crore of homebuyers money – about 3.8% of India’s annual GDP – is trapped in delayed projects, affecting some 27.6 lakh families.“This is no longer merely a question of individual homebuyers awaiting possession. When capital on this scale remains blocked, the consequences extend to household savings, financial institutions, consumption, employment, investment and confidence in the sector itself,” it said.