Implementation of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act-2023 has taken a backseat with many apartments in the state capital lacking the Occupancy Certificates (OC) in the absence of which registration of residents’ association is not allowed under the Act.
As per the data, there are about 1,116 residential buildings registered with the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) so far out of which only 55 buildings have got the OCs, which does not consist of even 5% of the total registered buildings.
The occupancy certificate is a proof that the building has been constructed following due procedure with valid building plan, fire safety and environmental norms. In fact, the document is a testament that a residential building is safe to stay.
One of the modalities of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act-2023 is that the building must have an OC following which the registration of the residents association could be taken up with the competent authority.
Registration of residents or allottees association is important to define the ownership of residents in a particular building. This way the management of a buildings common area and other mutual facilities is streamlined under the Act.
“Occupancy Certificate is issued by the planning authorities after completion of a project. Without OC, the promoter should not give possession and the buyer cannot stay in a building,” explained real estate expert Bimalendu Pradhan. He said the irony is laws related to OC have never been followed by anyone and in violation of various laws, the electricity department continues to provide power connection, the promoter gives possession and the sub-registrars register the apartments.
The new Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 incorporated all provisions mentioned in the Central RERA. Hence, from now onwards without OCs, registration of apartment cannot take place, he said. It can be noted here that the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act of 2023 came into being in November last year. It provides exclusive ownership of an apartment and its common areas in the name of the individual owners and resident associations respectively.
“The Act is introduced for the benefit of homebuyers but it is sad that govt is showing its apathetic nature while implementing it. The builders should be penalised for not having the OCs so that the implementation of the Act could go on,” social worker Alok Kar said.