The government seems to take up a decisive step on the loss suffered in the real estate sector as an urgent meeting of Central Advisory Council (CAC) constituted under the provisions of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), was held on Thursday.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

The meeting was held to discuss the impact of the pandemic COVID-19 and consequent nationwide lockdown on the real estate sector and to treat it as an event of ‘Force Majeure’ (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) under the provisions of RERA.

There was a demand for providing special relief for the real estate sector so that the sector is able to cope up with the adverse impact of the current crisis.  COVID-19 has already disrupted construction activities due to reverse migration of labour at large scale and disruption of the supply chain of various construction materials.

Puri shared his appreciation for all stakeholders of Real Estate Sector- including Developers’ Association for taking necessary measures to provide food, shelter, medical facilities and wages to their workers during this crisis and Regulatory Authorities for providing full support and assistance to the real estate sector.

After detailed deliberations, the Housing Minister assured all the participants that the matter will be considered keeping in view the interests of all stakeholders.

He further said that Ministry will soon issue an advisory to all RERA/States about the special measures that need to be taken to safeguard the interest of homebuyers and all other real estate industry stakeholders.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MOHUA; AK Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs; Principal Secretaries and Chairpersons of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities of several States, representatives of Homebuyers, Real Estate Developers, Real Estate Agents, Apartment Owners’ Associations, CREDAI, NAREDCO, Financial Institutions and other stakeholders participated in the meeting.