RERA vs consumer court: Where should homebuyers file complaints? Here's what experts say

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) gave homebuyers a dedicated forum to resolve disputes with developers.

But it also created a common question for buyers with pending cases: should they stay with consumer courts or move to RERA?The dilemma was highlighted in a Magicbricks report through the case of Aarti Singh, who booked a 2BHK flat in Greater Noida in 2007 and was promised possession by 2010.

After repeated delays, she approached a consumer court in 2015.

With RERA coming into force soon after, she was left wondering whether to continue there or shift her case to the new regulator.Legal experts say RERA has not replaced consumer courts."The doors of consumer courts will always remain open for homebuyers for redress of their grievances," Sudip Mullick, Partner at Khaitan & Co, told Magicbricks.According to Mullick, complaints relating to matters covered under Sections 12, 14, 18 and 19 of RERA that were already pending before consumer forums can be withdrawn with the forum's permission and refiled before the adjudicating officer under RERA, who would determine compensation.However, there is no legal bar on continuing before consumer forums.Industry experts point out that while RERA bars civil courts from hearing matters under its jurisdiction, consumer forums remain outside that restriction."Consumer forums have not been excluded from the purview of the Act," Anshul Jain, Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield, said in comments carried by Magicbricks.He noted that buyers can move eligible complaints involving advance payments, sanctioned plans and possession delays from consumer forums to RERA if they choose.Hardeep Sachdeva, Senior Partner at ABZ & Partners, cited Section 88 of RERA, which states that the law operates in addition to other legal remedies."Hence, consumer forums are not civil courts as proposed to be barred in RERA (section 79).

Further, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation has also clarified that the consumer forums have 'not been barred from the ambit of RERA'," he said.Experts, however, caution against pursuing the same dispute before multiple forums.A MahaRERA order rejected complaints filed by six homebuyers after it found similar proceedings were already pending before the Bombay High Court."We must keep in mind that as a thumb rule, our laws do not permit forum shopping.

Hence, an aggrieved party can only approach one of the two tribunals for disputes over the same matter," Sachdeva said.Not all cases can be transferred automatically either."Only certain matters can be transferred.

If it's a transferrable matter then it would be transferred as it is.

Proceedings would start from the stage that has been completed.

However, in some cases there may be de novo hearing," Mullick said.He added that RERA has powers to investigate matters on its own and is expected to be administered by sector specialists.Another issue flagged by experts relates to insolvency proceedings.

As noted in the Magicbricks report, lawyer Saravpreet Gurna said some builders could try to buy time by seeking protection under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code."Some builders could attempt to escape the rigorous requirements under RERA by applying for insolvency under the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 and buying some time till the restructuring process is on," he said.However, compliance under RERA remains mandatory and regulators can recalibrate project timelines even after restructuring.The broad takeaway is that homebuyers can approach either RERA or consumer forums for eligible disputes.

The choice depends on the nature of the case, but experts advise buyers to avoid parallel proceedings and carefully evaluate which forum is better suited to their grievance.Ready to Make a Smarter Property Decision? Build Your Legacy with TOI Homes.