Orissa HC stays Odisha Govt’s apartment registration notification

Orissa High Court on Wednesday temporarily suspended a previous notification of the Odisha government concerning the sale and purchase of apartments constructed before Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) came into being.

The notification, which was circulated by the State's Housing & Urban Development (H&UD) department on February 1, had granted permission for the registration of apartments built before the promulgation of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2017.

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“Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 2023 was enacted by repealing the Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 1982. The new Act did not have any additional compliance. While selling a flat, an occupancy certificate, a society registration certificate, and a declaration are the minimum things required,” petitioner Mohit Agrawal said when contacted.

“Recent notification of the Odisha government on registration of apartments built prior to the creation of RERA mentioned that the new Act will not apply to these apartments. However, Odisha Apartment Ownership Act, 2023, clearly states that it is applicable to all apartments whenever they are constructed (be it before or after the formation of RERA),” petitioner Agrawal further said to OTV.

“In a sense, the State government notification was wrong. We had cited how government officials tried to override a previous legislation passed by the State Legislature, through an executive instruction. On that ground, the High Court accepted our petition for hearing and issued a stay order,” the petitioner expressed.

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With the High Court's decision, the State government is currently unable to proceed with actions based on this notification.

“We will go through the court order and then file our appeal,” Odisha Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra stated.