The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that the Real Estate
Regulatory Authority (Rera) should be abolished as it only helps defauliting buiders, and
asked the states to reflect on the real purpose of such an institution.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and
Justice Joymalya Bagchi made the oral observation while hearing an appeal
against a Himachal Pradesh High Court order that had stayed a state government
notification to relocate the state's Rera office from Shimla to Dharamshala.
"All states should now think of the people for whom the
institution of Rera was created. Except for facilitating builders in default,
it is not doing anything else. Better to just abolish this institution,"
CJI Kant said.
The High Court had last year stayed the state government’s move
to shift the Rera office, noting that the decision was taken "without even
identifying an alternative office location". It also stated that the
transfer of 18 outsourced employees to other boards and corporations, as per
their request, "would render the functioning of Rera defunct".
The Supreme Court, however, set aside the High Court’s order and
permitted the state government to shift the Rera office to Dharamshala, along
with relocating the appellate tribunal.
"With a view to ensure that persons affected by Rera orders
are not inconvenienced, the principal appellate is also moved to
Dharamshala," the apex court said.
Rera, introduced in 2016, was designed to tackle project delays,
enhance transparency and protect homebuyers. Until last year, each state and
union territory had its own Rera website. However, in September 2025, the
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched a unified Rera portal, bringing
together data from across states and union territories.