In India, the real estate sector is lopsided in
favour of the builders. Resultantly, the homebuyers, at times,
encounter challenges despite conducting due diligence before
booking their respective flats.
Homebuyers can take legal recourse and seek relief by
approaching the appropriate forum under the Consumer Protection
Act, 1986 (CPA), Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016
(RERA) or the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC). All the
remedies available under CPA, RERA and IBC are concurrent. It is
only in the event of a conflict that IBC will prevail over
RERA.
Prior to the enactment of RERA, the homebuyers, who were not
investors, approached the consumer forums under CPA for relief.
This was an efficacious remedy in an era when most of the builders
did not get over-leverage, and the financial sector was not hit
with the murkiness of the real estate market.
