CUTTACK: Orissa high court on Wednesday extended its stay order till March 26 on the notification of the housing and urban development department issued on Feb 1 to remove ambiguities in the application of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023.
The HC imposed the interim restriction on the operation of the notification on Feb 12 in response to a petition that sought intervention as it allowed non-application of the legislation in the case of apartments completed before the commencement of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act in the state — prior to Feb 25, 2017.
Bimalendu Pradhan, a resident of Bhubaneswar, filed the petition. Advocate Mohit Agarwal represented him.
The two-judge bench of acting Chief Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice V Narasingh adjourned the hearing on the petition to next Wednesday and extended the interim stay order after the state govt sought more time to reply on the legal validity of the Feb 1 notification.
The bench expected the state govt and Inspector General of Registration to file their responses by then.
The petition contends that in the Act, there is a clear bar for registration of an apartment if it does not have an occupancy certificate and if the association of allottees has not been formed and registered.
“The impugned notification has been issued clearly to favour certain builders who have been duping the innocent buyers by selling them incomplete flats which have not received occupancy certificates and apartments where no association of allottees has been formed as has been annexed in the writ petition. The impugned notification is unreasoned and arbitrary without disclosing what problems were faced by allottees,” the petition alleged.
According to the Feb 1 notification, the Act, which came into force on June 28, 2023, was enacted to consolidate and streamline laws related to apartment ownership and management. One of the major objectives of the Act is to safeguard the interests of the allottees by ensuring appropriate rights over common areas and facilities.
However, it has come to notice that apartment owners are facing difficulties in registering sale deeds due to perceived ambiguities in the Act’s application. There is a misconception that the Act has retrospective effect, leading to inconsistencies in registration processes. Registration officers are reportedly interpreting the provisions of the OAOM Act and RERA Act differently, causing disparities in decision-making across cases, the notification said.
Accordingly, to address these concerns and remove any ambiguity, the department clarified that the notification is issued for the guidance of all concerned.
“Without prejudice to any existing Acts and Rules, it is hereby clarified that registration authorities shall not deny the registration of any apartment citing provisions of the OAOM Act if the apartment was completed before the commencement of the RERA in the state — prior to Feb 25, 2017. Accordingly, the department of revenue and disaster management will be requested to issue suitable instructions to the registration officers to facilitate the registration of such apartments,” the notification clarified.
Source Homevior.in
