ITS UNFAIR & FRAUDULENT TRADE PRACTICE TO SALE APARTMENTS ON SUPER AREA: HARYANA RULES

GURUGRAM (TECHNO REPORTER): The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HARERA), Gurugram, has termed the sale of the property in the super area as “fraudulent and unfair trade practice” asserting that the sale of an apartment or building would be done only on carpet area.
Addressing a press conference, KK Khandelwal, Chairman of HARERA, asserted that the definition of the super area as provided in various builder-buyer agreements was vague and there were wide variations in the definitions. “The practice of the sale of real estate on super area basis is misleading, ambiguous, opaque and gives rise to confusion and complexities and at times result into avoidable litigation,” he said.
To ensure the sale of plot, apartment, or building, as the case may be, or sale of real estate project, in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector, these regulations have been made by the Authority.
Carpet area: Khandelwal stated that before the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into existence there was a lack of a legal description for the term “carpet area”. The Act provided specific/concrete definition of carpet area which now has addressed the vagueness and uncertainty in this regard.

The definition of carpet area as provided under section 2(k) of the Act means the net usable floor area. Following have been excluded from the definition of carpet area: externals wall, service shafts, balcony; verandah, and open terrace.
However, the internal partition walls of the apartment are not excluded as they form a part of the integral structure i.e., carpet area. The definition of carpet area has now been made transparent and leaves no scope for any ambiguity categorically specifying the property, he asserted.

All walls which are constructed or provided on the external face of an apartment shall be regarded as “external wall”. All walls or independent columns constructed or provided within an apartment shall be regarded as “internal partition wall”.

In case of ongoing projects where the promoter has allotted real estate units on a super area basis prior to coming into force of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, he shall disclose what all components exactly constituted super area and also whether the super area as promised in the builder buyer agreement entered into between the allottee and the promoter has actually assigned existed as per builder buyer agreement or not. This is to prevent any fraud with the allottee when the unit is sold on a super area basis. In the case where the conveyance deed of the units has not been executed, the promoter shall also indicate carpet area in addition to the super area and its details/constituents, Khandelwal said No conveyance deed of a real estate unit shall be registered except on the basis of carpet area, he said, adding that in cases where the real estate unit was allotted to the allottee prior to the Act coming into force, the promoter shall at the time of registration of the conveyance deed has to make disclosure of all the components constituting the super area.

However, the conveyance deed shall be registered only on a carpet area basis. Sameer Kumar, Member, HARERA, briefed that any agreement for sale on any other basis except on carpet area shall amount to indulgence in unfair trade practice/fraudulent practice by the promoter and shall attract appropriate action as per the relevant provisions of the Act.

The real estate agents shall facilitate the sale or purchase of an apartment or building in any real estate projects on a carpet area basis and not on a super area basis or on any other basis. If any real estate agent is found indulging in sale/purchase on super area, he shall be presumed to be engaged in unfair trade practice, and his/her registration to act as a real estate agent may be revoked or/and penal proceedings may be initiated against him as per provisions of the Act.

Total price/cost will remain unaltered even if the unit is to be registered on a carpet area basis. It will not alter the sale consideration. He further said the revenue authorities are expected to notify collector rate only on a carpet area basis as now the sale on any other basis is illegal, Sameer Kumar said.

Khandelwal made it clear that regulations shall be applicable to all real estate projects, irrespective of the fact that they are registered/registerable or exempted from registration. Any sale of real estate project on any other basis except on carpet area basis after Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, coming into force shall be declared as null and void by the Authority.