‘Advertisement” means any document described or issued as advertisement through any medium and includes any notice, circular or other documents or publicity in any form, informing persons about a real estate project, or offering for sale of a plot, building or apartment or inviting persons to purchase in any manner such plot, building or apartment or to make advances, or deposits for such purposes.
“Appellate Tribunal” means the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal established under Section 43;
( It is relevant to read the Section 43 along with 2(f) for proper understanding)
SECTION 43
(3) Every bench of the Appellate Tribunal shall consist of at least one Judicial Member and one Administrative to Technical Member.
4) The appropriate Government of two or more States or Union territories may, if it deems fit, establish one single Appellate Tribunal.
Provided that, until the establishment of an Appellate Tribunal under this section, the appropriate Government shall designate, by order, any Appellate Tribunal Functioning under any law for the time being in force, to be the Appellate Tribunal to hear appeals under the Act;
Provided further that after the Appellate Tribunal under this section is established, all matters pending with the Appellate Tribunal designated to hear appeals, shall stand transferred to the Appellate Tribunal so established and shall be heard from the stage such appeal is transferred.
(5) Any person aggrieved by any direction or decision or order made by the Authority or by an adjudicating officer under this Act may prefer an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal having jurisdiction over the matter.
Provided that where a promoter files an appeal with the Appellate Tribunal, it shall not be entertained, without the promoter first having deposited with the Appellate Tribunal at least thirty per cent of the penalty, or such higher percentage as may be determined by the Appellate Tribunal, or the total amount to be paid to the allottee including interest and compensation imposed on him, if any, or with both, as the case may be, before the said appeal is heard.
Explanation – For the purpose of this sub-section “person” shall include the association of allottees or any voluntary consumer association registered under any law for the time being in force.
“Interest” means the rates of interest payable by the promoter or the allottee, as the case may be.
Explanation – For the purpose of this clause –
(i) the rate of interest chargeable from the allottee by the promoter, in case of default, shall be equal to the rate of interest which the promoter shall be liable to pay the allottee, in case of default;
(ii) the interest payable by the promoter to the allottee shall be from the date the promoter received the amount or any part thereof till the date the amount or part thereof and interest thereon is refunded, and the interest payable by the allottee to the promoter shall be from the date the allottee defaults in payment to the promoter till the date it is paid.
“Estimated cost of real estate project” means the total cost involved in developing the real estate project and includes the land cost, taxes, cess, development and other charges.
“Agreement for Sale” means an agreement entered into between the promoter and the allottee.
“Occupancy Certificate” means the occupancy certificate, or such other certificate by whatever name called, issued by the competent authority permitting occupation of any building, as provided under local laws, which has provision for civic infrastructure such as water, sanitation, and electricity.
“Commencement Certificate” means the commencement certificate or the building permit or the construction permit, by whatever name called issued by the competent authority to allow or permit the promoter to begin development works on an immovable property, as per the sanctioned plan.
“Local authority” means the Municipal Corporation or Municipality or Panchayats or any other Local Body constituted under any law for the time being in force for providing municipal services or basic services, as the case may be, in respect of areas under its jurisdiction.
“External development works” includes roads and road systems landscaping, water supply, sewerage and drainage system, electricity supply transformer, sub-station, solid waste management and disposal or any other work which may have to be executed in the periphery of, or outside, a project for its benefit, as may be provided under the local laws.
“Internal development works” means roads, footpaths, water supply sewers, drains, parks, tree planting, street lighting, provision for community buildings and for disposal, water conservation, energy management, fire protection and fire safety requirements, social infrastructure such as educational health and other public amenities or any other work in a project for its benefit, as per sanctioned plans.
“Development” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means carrying out the development of immovable property, engineering or other operations in, or, over or under the land or the making of any material change in any immovable property or land and includes re-development.
“Planning Area” means a planning area or a development area or a local planning area or a regional development plan area, by whatever name called, or any other area specified as such by the appropriate Government or any competent authority and includes any area designated by the appropriate Government or the competent authority to be a planning area for future planned development, under the law relating to Town and Country Planning for the time being in force and as revised from time to time.
“Sanctioned plan” means the site plan, building plan, service plan, parking and circulation plan, landscape plan, layout plan, zoning plan and such other plan and includes structural designs, if applicable, permissions such as environment permission and such other permissions, which are approved by the competent authority prior to start of a real estate project.
“Prospectus” means any document described or issued as a prospectus or any notice, circular, or other document offering for sale or any real estate project or inviting any person to make advances or deposits for such purposes.
“Company” means a company incorporated and registered under the Companies Act, 2013 and includes, –
(i) a corporation established by or under any Central Act or State Act;
(ii) a development authority or any public authority established by the Government in this behalf under any law for the time being in force.
“Architect” means a person registered as an architect under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972.
“Engineer” means a person who possesses a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an institution recognized by the All India Council of Technical Education or any University or any institution recognized under a law or is registered as an engineer under any law for the time being in force.
“Person” includes, –
(i) an individual;
(ii) a Hindu undivided family;
(iii) a company;
(iv) a firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 or the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, as the case may be;
(v) a competent authority;
(vi) an association of persons or a body of individuals whether incorporated or not;
(vii) a co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operative societies;
(viii) any such other entity as the appropriate Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf.
“Family” includes husband, wife, minor son and unmarried daughter wholly dependent on a person.
“Common Areas” mean –
(i) the entire land for the real estate project or where the project is developed in phases and registration under this Act is sought for a phase, the entire land for that phase;
(ii) the stair cases, lifts, staircase and lift lobbies, fire escapes, and common entrances and exits of buildings;
(iii) the common basements, terraces, parks, play areas, open parking areas, and common storage spaces;
(iv) the premises for the lodging of persons employed for the management of the property including accommodation for watch and ward staffs or for the lodging of community service personnel;
(v) installations of central services such as electricity, gas, water and sanitation, air-conditioning and incinerating, a system for water conservation and renewable energy;
(vi) the water tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and all apparatus connected with installations for common use;
(vii) all community and commercial facilities as provided in the real estate project;
(viii) all other portion of the project necessary or convenient for its maintenance, safety, etc. and in common use.
“Building” includes any structure or erection or part of a structure or erection which is intended to be used for residential, commercial or for the purpose of any business, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other related purposes.
“Carpet area” means the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment.
Explanation – For the purpose of this clause, the expression “exclusive balcony or verandah area” means the area of the balcony or verandah, as the case may be, which is appurtenant to the net usable floor area of an apartment, meant for the exclusive use of the allottee; and “exclusive open terrace area” means the area of open terrace which is appurtenant to the net usable floor area of an apartment, meant for the exclusive use of the allottee.
“Apartment” whether called block, chamber, dwelling unit, flat, office, showroom, shop, godown, premises, suit, tenement, unit or by any other name, means a separate and self-contained part of any immovable property, including one or more rooms or enclosed spaces, located on one or more floors or any part thereof, in a building or on a plot of land, used or intended to be used for any residential or commercial use such as residence, office, shop, showroom or godown or for carrying on any business, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other type of use ancillary to the purpose specified.
“Real estate project” means the development of a building or a building consisting of apartments, or converting an existing building or a part thereof into apartments, or the development of land into plots or apartment, as the case may be, for the purpose of selling all or some of the said apartments or plots or building, as the case may be, and includes the common areas, the development works, all improvements and structures thereon, and all easement, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto.
“Real estate agent” means any person, who negotiates or acts on behalf of one person in a transaction of transfer of his plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, in a real estate project, by way of sale, with another person or transfer of plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, of any other person to him and receives remuneration or fees or any other charges for his services whether as commission or otherwise and includes a person who introduces, through any medium, prospective buyers and sellers to each other for negotiations for sale or purchase of plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, and includes property dealers brokers, middlemen by whatever name called.
Promoter” means, –
(i) a person who constructs or causes to be constructed an independent building or a building consisting of an apartment, or converts an existing building or a part thereof into apartments, for the purpose of selling all or some of the apartments to other persons and includes his assignees;
or
(ii) a person who develops the land into a project, whether or not the person also constructs structures on any of the plots, for the purpose of selling to other persons all or some of the plots in the said project, whether with or without structures thereon; or
(iii) any development authority or any other public body in respect of allottees of –
(a) building or apartments, as the case may be, constructed by such authority or body on lands owned by them or placed at their disposal by the Government; or
(b) plots owned by such authority or body or placed at their disposal by the Government, for the purpose of selling all or some of the apartments or plots; or
(iv) an apex State level co-operative housing finance society and a primary co-operative housing society which constructs apartments or buildings for its Members or in respect of the allottees of such apartments or buildings; or
(v) any other person who acts himself as a builder, colonizer, contractor, developer, estate developer or by any other name or claims to be acting as the holder of a power of attorney from the owner of the land on which the building or apartment is constructed or plot is developed for sale; or
(vi) such other person who constructs any building or apartment for sale to the general public.
Explanation – For the purposes of this clause, where the person who constructs or converts a building into apartments or develops a plot for sale and the persons who sells apartments or plots are different persons, both of them shall be deemed to be the promoters and shall be jointly liable as such for the functions and responsibilities specified, under this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder.
Allottee in relation to a real estate project, means the person to whom a plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, has been allotted, sold (whether as freehold or leasehold) or otherwise transferred by the promoter, and includes the person who subsequently acquires the said allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise but does not include a person to whom such plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, is given or rent.
