The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is an Act of the Parliament of India which seeks to protect home-buyers as well as help boost investments in the real estate industry. The Act came into force from 1 May 2016. One of the salient features of this act is that it establishes the State Real Estate Regulatory Authority in each stateto undertake the responsibility of the day to day implementation of the Act and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder.
The RERA Act also provides for the constitution of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal. The Real Estate Appellate Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body, which is empowered to hear appeals fromthe orders / decisions / directions of the Regulatory Authority or the Adjudicating Officer,as the case may be. It is established under section 43 of the RERA Act.
The Real Estate Appellate Tribunal comprises one chairperson and two or more full-time judicial and technical members. The qualifications for the post of chairperson are a retired High Court judge while for the judicial member they are is a qualified advocate with an experience of twenty years or more. The technical member should have at least twenty years’ experience in urban development, housing and infrastructure. A bureaucrat having rank of Additional Secretary and above in the Government can also be appointed as a technical member. Therefore, a reliable structure for hearing and disposal of appeals has been provided for by the Act.
The provisions for filing an appeal before the appellate tribunal have been laid down in Section 44 of the RERA, 2016.The appeal has to be filed within a period of sixty days ‘from the date on which a copy of the direction or order or decision made by the Authority or the adjudicating officer is received’. However, the appellate tribunal is empowered to entertain an appeal even if it is filed after the expiry of sixty days if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing it within that period. Section 44 also specifies the general procedure to be followed for every appeal. It states that ‘the Appellate Tribunal may after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders, including interim orders, as it thinks fit.’ A copy of every order made by it has to be sent to the parties and to the Authority or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be. Section 44 also provides that the Appellate Tribunal should endeavour to dispose of the appealas expeditiously as possible but not later than sixty days from filing the appeal. Where the appeal could not be disposed of within sixty days, the Appellate Tribunal has to record its reasons in writing for not disposing of the appeal within that period.If a party seeks to adjourn the proceedings, it must provide valid reasons for doing so failing which the request will be rejected.
Under Section 53 of the RERA Act, the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal has the powers to regulate its own procedure. It is not bound to adhere to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.The form of an appeal and the fees to be paid are to be prescribed by every state appellate tribunal itself. Therefore, the rules prescribed in this regard vary from state to state.
For the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal of UP, the procedure for filing an appeal has been laid down under Rule 25 of the UPRERA Rules, which states that every appeal before the tribunal shall be accompanied by a fee of rupees one thousand in favour of the Appellate Tribunal. With respect to documents, the rule states: ‘Every appeal shall be filed as per Form ‘L’ along with the following documents: (a) An attested true copy of the order against which the appeal is filed; (b) Copies of the documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in the appeal; (c) An index of the documents.’ Additional powers of the Appellate Tribunal under Rule 30 of the UPRERA Rules include the power to call upon such experts or consultants from the fields of economics, commerce, accountancy, real estate, competition, construction, architecture or engineering or from any other discipline as it deems necessary, to assist the Appellate Tribunal in the conduct of any inquiry or proceedings before it.
Administrative powers of the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal have been specified under Rule 31. However they are not limited to the specific powers mentioned therein. Rule 31 clause (o) states any other powers that may be required for the efficient functioning of the Appellate Tribunal and enforcement of the provisions of the Act and these Rules.