West Bengal’s HIRA vs. Center’s RERA

Legal documents are required for buying any property and there need to be rules and regulations that need to be followed for the same. This is mainly done by central organizations that oversee the functioning of these important rules and they are universal across the country or the state.

Given this scenario, it becomes imperative that we learn about West Bengal’s HIRA vs. Center’s RERA. HIRA is an abbreviation for Housing and Industrial Regulation Act 2017 that is given by the West Bengal government and RERA is the abbreviation for Real Estate Regulation and Development Act, 2016 and this is given by the Central Government of Delhi.

This article helps you in comparing these two regulating authorities and analyzing their differences. This will help you in seeing where these authorities are the same and where they differ. After reading this article, you will be in a much better position to see for yourself where they stand vis a vis each other. This will definitely hold you in good stead when you want to buy a new house for yourself.

Read on to find out the differences between West Bengal’s HIRA and Center’s RERA. This will give you a comprehensive understanding of the same and will help you immensely in your future life.

1. Regulating Authority’s Power

The RERA has more encompassing powers than the HIRA when it comes to the power of these authorities. The RERA allows the authority under question to make a suo moto reference in the unpleasant situation of a violation of the Act to the CCI that means the Competition Commission Of India. This facility is not available in HIRA. This shows that the ability to make a suo moto reference is available only with RERA and is not available with HIRA. Thus, we see that RERA has more power than HIRA in this regard.

2. Construction Materials

The authorities that have made been instituted by RERA can get the construction materials that are used for the purpose through recommendations with the government. On the other hand, the HIRA only has the power to make recommendations of construction materials for the state. This is how it is different from the RERA. Construction materials are also important for making new buildings and both RERA and HIRA provide you with important tips and guidelines for procuring the same.

3. Implication of Garage

Under RERA, a garage is defined as a place that is covered on the top and has three walls surrounding it. This means that open parking spaces or spaces with no roof are not counted in this fray. On the other hand, in HIRA the implication of garage means that any kind of parking space and this includes open spaces as well. Hence, HIRA is more inclusive and all-encompassing than RERA. This is because parking space is a necessity as all residents will have cars and they need a vacant space where they can keep the same in a safe and secure condition.

4. Courts That Can Try Offences

RERA has certain restrictions when it comes to courts that are trying cases. Here only magistrates of the first class or metropolitan magistrates can try such cases. Any person below that rank cannot try these cases. On the other hand, HIRA does not allow any way in which you can seek redress for grievances as compared to RERA. Thus, we see that the courts can help in a major way when you want to get grievance redressal and RERA certainly offers more benefits than HIRA.

5. Areas For Planning

Under RERA there is the concept of areas of planning where only the areas that are demarcated by the regulatory authority can be used for the same. On the other hand, there is no such restriction for HIRA. Thus for HIRA, there is no such restriction for the areas of planning. This makes HIRA much more inclusive and all-encompassing then RERA.

6. Events Of Force Majeure

According to RERA, the force majeure items are limited to natural calamities like fire, flood, drought, cyclone, earthquake and the man-made violence of war. This limits and restricts these calamities to other events that may be prescribed too and this makes it completely open to interpretation. Thus, we see that the events of force majeure are more encompassing in HIRA than in RERA. Hence, it is clear that HIRA is much better than RERA in this regard.

7. Offense Compounding

Under RERA, people can provide compounding of offenses that are punishable under the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973. They also provide additional punishment for the same only keeping in mind that they should not exceed the maximum fine that is suggested by RERA. On the other hand, there is no such facility under HIRA that allows for compounding of offenses. In this way, the RERA provides more penalties for offense compounding than HIRA.

8. Compensation Of Compound Or Interest

Generally, there can be some dispute for calculation of compound or interest. An adjudicating officer is appointed for the same. He or she fixes the rate of the amount of interest or compensation that has to be paid by the property developer or the real estate agent. On the other hand, the HIRA allows only the regulatory body to decide on the compensation of compound or interest. It does not give the facility of the role of the adjudicating officer to perform this same task.

9. Superseding Authority

The RERA allows the President or the Governor to supersede the authority of the controlling body. On the other hand, the HIRA allows the West Bengal government to supersede the same authority. Thus, the superseding authority changes with the change in the regulating body.

Final Conclusion

From the above, we can see that there are many differences between West Bengal’s HIRA and Center’s RERA. While most of them are based on monetary considerations, there are some that are based on regulatory classifications too. Here we have provided the information in digestible bits so that you can get a comprehensive understanding of the same. This will help you make an informed decision about how to go about handling the rules and regulations of the concerned bodies.