Registration of properties came to a standstill in the city on Monday after the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) directed all sub-registrars not to register new properties that contravened the maximum number of dwelling units permitted on a certain plot size under the Unified Building Bye Laws for Delhi, 2016 (UBBL).
RERA also asked the civic bodies not to clear building plans that had more than the permissible number of dwelling units mandated by UBBL according to the plot size.
The RERA order said that all building plans sanctioned by the civic bodies, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Cantonment and Delhi Development Authority, after September 15 should clearly indicate the total number of dwelling units being constructed as well as the number of dwelling units on each floor.
“The promoter or builder or collaborator selling these dwelling units shall clearly mention the number of dwelling units approved by the civic body concerned in the ‘agreement of sale’ and ‘sale deed’,” the order said, adding that the officer concerned would be liable for appropriate disciplinary action against all violations.
The sub-registrars stopped registering new properties on Monday to await guidelines from the office of the divisional commissioner. A meeting of sub-registrars was held in the office of the deputy magistrate (southeast) on Monday to discuss the issue. “The divisional commissioner is likely to hold a meeting with the RERA chief on the matter. Only when there is clarity will we receive the guidelines specifying the modalities of registering properties. Until then we will withhold the registration of all sale deeds,” said a registry official.
More than DDA colonies, cooperative housing societies and single units on freehold properties, the order is likely to affect constructions in unauthorised colonies where several floors and multiple units are regularly built on smaller plots. The impact of the order will also be felt on builder floors and buildings in planned localities.
Under UBBL and according to the Supreme Court’s order in 2008, plots up to 50 sq metres with 90% maximum ground coverage and FAR of 350 can have three dwelling units. Plots of 50-100sqm can have four dwellings, while those of 100-250sqm and 250-750sqm can have five units. There can be seven units on plots measuring 750-1,000sqm and 1,000-1,500sqm and 10 units for 1,500-2,250sqm and 3750sqm and above with 50% ground coverage and a FAR of 200.
The RERA orders were issued on September 11, though the sub-registrars received them only on November 17. The sub-registrars put up copies of the order at numerous locations in their offices to inform the perplexed people about the new rule.
“The order is shocking for a city where the middle-class buyer opts for a 50-250sqm flat. The AAP government’s RERA notification is biased as it allows increased FAR and dwelling units for rich people’s plots of above 250sqm,” alleged Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.
In response, an AAP government source pointed out that RERA fell under the purview of the central government, so the Delhi BJP should ask its own party, instead of Delhi government, why this was happening. “It should stop misleading the public,” said a government source.
There are 29 sub-registrars in the capital. In 2021, 1.1 lakh sale deeds were registered in Delhi with the number increasing to 1.26 lakh in 2022.