2. Definitions.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) "adjudicating officer" means the adjudicating officer appointed undersub-section (1) of section 71;
(b) "advertisement" means any document described or issued as advertisementthrough any medium and includes any notice, circular or other documents or publicityin any form, informing persons about a real estate project, or offering for sale of a plot,building or apartment or inviting persons to purchase in any manner such plot, buildingor apartment or to make advances or deposits for such purposes;
(c) "agreement for sale" means an agreement entered into between the promoterand the allottee;
(d) "allottee" in relation to a real estate project, means the person to whom a plot,apartment or building, as the case may be, has been allotted, sold (whether as freeholdor leasehold) or otherwise transferred by the promoter, and includes the person whosubsequently acquires the said allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise but doesnot include a person to whom such plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, isgiven on rent;
(e) "apartment" whether called block, chamber, dwelling unit, flat, office,showroom, shop, godown, premises, suit, tenement, unit or by any other name, meansa separate and self-contained part of any immovable property, including one or morerooms or enclosed spaces, located on one or more floors or any part thereof, in abuilding or on a plot of land, used or intended to be used for any residential or commercialuse such as residence, office, shop, showroom or godown or for carrying on anybusiness, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other type of use ancillary to thepurpose specified;
(f) "Appellate Tribunal " means the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal establishedunder section 43;
(g) "appropriate Government" means in respect of matters relating to,—
(i) the Union territory without Legislature, the Central Government;
(ii) the Union territory of Puducherry, the Union territory Government;
(iii) the Union territory of Delhi, the Central Ministry of Urban Development;
(iv) the State, the State Government;
(h) "architect" means a person registered as an architect under the provisions ofthe Architects Act, 1972;
(i) "Authority" means the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established undersub-section (1) of section 20;
(j) "building" includes any structure or erection or part of a structure or erectionwhich is intended to be used for residential, commercial or for the purpose of anybusiness, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other related purposes;
(k) "carpet area" means the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding thearea covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony orverandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but includes the area covered by theinternal partition walls of the apartment.
Explanation.— For the purpose of this clause, the expression "exclusive balconyor verandah area" means the area of the balcony or verandah, as the case may be, which is appurtenant to the net usable floor area of an apartment, meant for the exclusiveuse of the allottee; and "exclusive open terrace area" means the area of open terracewhich is appurtenant to the net usable floor area of an apartment, meant for the exclusiveuse of the allottee;
(l) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Real Estate Regulatory Authorityappointed under section 21;
(m) "commencement certificate" means the commencement certificate or thebuilding permit or the construction permit, by whatever name called issued by thecompetent authority to allow or permit the promoter to begin development works on animmovable property, as per the sanctioned plan;
(n) "common areas" mean—
(i) the entire land for the real estate project or where the project is developedin phases and registration under this Act is sought for a phase, the entire land forthat phase;
(ii) the stair cases, lifts, staircase and lift lobbies, fir escapes, and commonentrances and exits of buildings;
(iii) the common basements, terraces, parks, play areas, open parking areasand common storage spaces;
(iv) the premises for the lodging of persons employed for the managementof the property including accommodation for watch and ward staffs or for thelodging of community service personnel;
(v) installations of central services such as electricity, gas, water andsanitation, air-conditioning and incinerating, system for water conservation andrenewable energy;
(vi) the water tanks, sumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and allapparatus connected with installations for common use;
(vii) all community and commercial facilities as provided in the real estateproject;
(viii) all other portion of the project necessary or convenient for itsmaintenance, safety, etc., and in common use;
(o) "company" means a company incorporated and registered under theCompanies Act, 2013 and includes,—
(i) a corporation established by or under any Central Act or State Act;
(ii) a development authority or any public authority established by theGovernment in this behalf under any law for the time being in force;
(p) "competent authority" means the local authority or any authority created orestablished under any law for the time being in force by the appropriate Governmentwhich exercises authority over land under its jurisdiction, and has powers to give permission for development of such immovable property;
(q) "completion certificate" means the completion certificate, or such othercertificate, by whatever name called, issued by the competent authority certifying thatthe real estate project has been developed according to the sanctioned plan, layoutplan and specifications, as approved by the competent authority under the local laws;
(r) "day" means the working day, in the concerned State or Union territory, as thecase may be, notified by the appropriate Government from time to time;
(s) "development" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, meanscarrying out the development of immovable property, engineering or other operationsin, on, over or under the land or the making of any material change in any immovableproperty or land and includes re-development;
(t) "development works" means the external development works and internaldevelopment works on immovable property;
(u) "engineer" means a person who possesses a bachelor's degree or equivalentfrom an institution recognised by the All India Council of Technical Education or anyUniversity or any institution recognised under a law or is registered as an engineerunder any law for the time being in force;
(v) "estimated cost of real estate project" means the total cost involved indeveloping the real estate project and includes the land cost, taxes, cess, developmentand other charges;
(w) "external development works" includes roads and road systems landscaping,water supply, seweage and drainage systems, electricity suply transformer, sub-station,solid waste management and disposal or any other work which may have to be executedin the periphery of, or outside, a project for its benefit, as may be provided under thelocal laws;
(x) "family" includes husband, wife, minor son and unmarried daughter whollydependent on a person;
(y) "garage" means a place within a project having a roof and walls on three sidesfor parking any vehicle, but does not include an unenclosed or uncovered parkingspace such as open parking areas;
(z) "immovable property" includes land, buildings, rights of ways, lights or anyother benefit arising out of land and things attached to the earth or permanentlyfastened to anything which is attached to the earth, but not standing timber, standingcrops or grass;
(za) "interest" means the rates of interest payable by the promoter or the allottee,as the case may be.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this clause—
(i) the rate of interest chargeable from the allottee by the promoter, in caseof default, shall be equal to the rate of interest which the promoter shall be liableto pay the allottee, in case of default;
(ii) the interest payable by the promoter to the allottee shall be from thedate the promoter received the amount or any part thereof till the date the amountor part thereof and interest thereon is refunded, and the interest payable by theallottee to the promoter shall be from the date the allottee defaults in payment tothe promoter till the date it is paid;
(zb) "internal development works" means roads, footpaths, water supply, sewers,drains, parks, tree planting, street lighting, provision for community buildings and fortreatment and disposal of sewage and sullage water, solid waste management anddisposal, water conservation, energy management, fire protection and fire safetyrequirements, social infrastructure such as educational health and other public amenitiesor any other work in a project for its benefit, as per sanctioned plans;
(zc) "local authority" means the Municipal Corporation or Municipality orPanchayats or any other Local Body constituted under any law for the time being inforce for providing municipal services or basic services, as the case may be, in respectof areas under its jurisdication;
(zd) "Member" means the member of the Real Estate Regulatory Authorityappointed under section 21 and includes the Chaiperson;
(ze) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette and theexpression "notify" shall be construed accordingly;
(zf) "occupancy certificate" means the occupancy certificate, or such othercertificate by whatever name called, issued by the competent authority permittingoccupation of any building, as provided under local laws, which has provision for civicinfrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity;
(zg) "Person" includes,—
(i) an individual;
(ii) a Hindu undivided family;
(iii) a company;
(iv) a firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 or the Limited LiabilityPartnership Act, 2008, as the case may be;
(v) a competent authority;
(vi) an association of persons or a body of individuals whether incorporatedor not;
(vii) a co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operativesocieties;
(viii) any such other entity as the appropriate Government may, bynotification, specify in this behalf;
(zh) "planning area" means a planning area or a development area or a localplanning area or a regional development plan area, by whatever name called, or anyother area specified as such by the appropriate Government or any competent authorityand includes any area designated by the appropriate Government or the competentauthority to be a planning area for future planned development, under the law relatingto Town and Country Planning for the time being in force and as revised from time totime;
(zi) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(zj) "project" means the real estate project as defined in cluase (zn);
(zk) "promoter" means,—
(i) a person who constructs or causes to be constructed an independentbuilding or a building consisting of apartments, or converts an existing buildingor a part thereof into apartments, for the purpose of selling all or some of theapartments to other persons and includes his assignees; or
(ii) a person who develops land into a project, whether or not the personalso constructs structures on any of the plots, for the purpose of selling to otherpersons all or some of the plots in the said project, whether with or withoutstructures thereon; or
(iii) any development authority or any other public body in respect ofallottees of—
(a) buildings or apartments, as the case may be, constructed bysuch authority or body on lands owned by them or placed at their disposalby the Government; or
(b) plots owned by such authority or body or placed at their disposalby the Government,
for the purpose of selling all or some of the apartments or plots; or
(iv) an apex State level co-operative housing finance society and a primary co-operative housing society which constructs apartments or buildings for its Members or in respect of the allottees of such apartments or buildings; or
(v) any other person who acts himself as a builder, coloniser, contractor,developer, estate developer or by any other name or claims to be acting as theholder of a power of attorney from the owner of the land on which the building orapartment is constructed or plot is developed for sale; or
(vi) such other person who constructs any building or apartment for saleto the general public.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, where the person whoconstructs or converts a building into apartments or develops a plot for sale andthe persons who sells apartments or plots are different persons, both of themshall be deemed to be the promoters and shall be jointly liable as such for thefunctions and responsibilities specified, under this Act or the rules andregulations made thereunder;
(zl) "prospectus" means any document described or issued as a prospectus orany notice, circular, or other document offering for sale or any real estate project orinviting any person to make advances or deposits for such purposes;
(zm) "real estate agent" means any person, who negotiates or acts on behalf ofone person in a transaction of transfer of his plot, apartment or building, as the casemay be, in a real estate project, by way of sale, with another person or transfer of plot,apartment or building, as the case may be, of any other person to him and receivesremuneration or fees or any other charges for his services whether as commission orotherwise and includes a person who introduces, through any medium, prospectivebuyers and sellers to each other for negotiation for sale or purchase of plot, apartmentor building, as the case may be, and includes property dealers, brokers, middlemen bywhatever name called;
(zn) "real estate project" means the development of a building or a buildingconsisting of apartments, or converting an existing building or a part thereof intoapartments, or the development of land into plots or apartment, as the case may be, forthe purpose of selling all or some of the said apartments or plots or building, as thecase may be, and includes the common areas, the development works, all improvementsand structures thereon, and all easement, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto;
(zo) "regulations" means the regulations made by the Authority under this Act;
(zp) "rule" means the rules made under this Act by the appropriate Government;
(zq) "sanctioned plan" means the site plan, building plan, service plan, parkingand circulation plan, landscape plan, layout plan, zoning plan and such other plan andincludes structural designs, if applicable, permissions such as environment permissionand such other permissions, which are approved by the competent authority prior tostart of a real estate project;
(zr) words and expressions used herein but not defined in this Act and defined inany law for the time being in force or in the municipal laws or such other relevant lawsof the appropriate Government shall have the same meanings respectively assigned tothem in those laws.