Kerala High Court: RERA Redevelopment Registration Exemption Not Available if Original Project Required Registration

In a significant ruling under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), the Kerala High Court has clarified that the exemption from registration available to renovation, repair, or redevelopment projects cannot be invoked where the original project itself was required to be registered under the Act.

The judgment came in a batch of writ petitions filed by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) and its Project Director challenging interim orders passed by the Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) concerning the Chander Kunj Army Towers project in Kochi.

Background of the Dispute

The controversy arose from complaints filed by homebuyers (allottees) of the Chander Kunj Army Towers project located at Silver Sand Island, Vyttila, Kochi. The complainants approached K-RERA alleging grievances related to the project.

K-RERA, through a common interim order, held that the complaints were maintainable under the provisions of the RERA Act. Aggrieved by this finding, AWHO approached the Kerala High Court seeking to set aside the authority's decision.

AWHO's Argument

AWHO contended that the project was exempt from mandatory registration under Section 3(2)(c) of the RERA Act, which provides an exemption for projects involving renovation, repair, or redevelopment that do not involve marketing, advertising, selling, or new allotment of apartments, plots, or buildings.

On this basis, AWHO argued that the complaints filed before K-RERA were not maintainable.

Homebuyers' Stand

The allottees, supported by the Union of India, opposed the petitions. They argued that the project had already been determined to require registration under the RERA Act. Consequently, the exemption under Section 3(2)(c) could not be claimed.

They further pointed out that an earlier judgment involving the same project had already upheld K-RERA's direction requiring registration, after finding that the project qualified as an "ongoing project" under the Act.

Significance of the Judgment

This ruling provides important clarity on the scope of the redevelopment exemption under the RERA framework. The judgment makes it clear that developers cannot rely on the renovation, repair or redevelopment exemption to avoid registration where the original project itself falls within the category of projects that require registration under the Act.

The decision also reinforces the rights of homebuyers to seek remedies before RERA authorities in respect of projects that are otherwise required to be registered.