Odisha Eases Registration Process for Apartments in Pre-RERA Projects

Bhubaneswar: In a major policy intervention aimed at resolving long-pending property registration issues, the Odisha government has introduced a special mechanism to enable the registration of apartment units in projects completed before the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) in 2016.

Announcing the decision, Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr. Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said the Special Order has been issued to provide relief to homebuyers, landowners and promoters who have faced legal and procedural hurdles in registering apartment units in older housing projects.

The order, notified in the Extraordinary Issue of the Odisha Gazette, creates a dedicated framework for addressing legacy registration cases that remained unresolved due to documentation gaps and compliance challenges.

According to the government, the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 was introduced to improve transparency and streamline apartment ownership and management. However, several apartment purchasers in projects completed before the enforcement of RERA continued to face difficulties in executing transfer deeds.

While a previous Special Order issued on December 3, 2025 offered relief to individual allottees, apartment units retained by promoters and landowners were not covered under that arrangement. To bridge this gap, the government has invoked provisions under Section 35 of the OAOM Act, 2023 and introduced a special exemption mechanism for eligible projects.

Under the new provisions, the benefit will apply only to apartment projects completed before October 5, 2016. Eligibility has been restricted to projects where at least 50 per cent of apartment units had already been transferred through registered sale deeds before the RERA cut-off date.

The government has also stipulated that only apartments forming part of building plans approved by the competent authorities under applicable planning laws will qualify for registration under the special order.

To strengthen transparency and safeguard buyers’ interests, promoters and landowners will be required to display approved building plans within project premises. Before registration of the first sale deed for any remaining unsold apartment, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Association of Allottees must be submitted confirming the correctness of apartment numbering.

Additionally, applicants will have to furnish an undertaking confirming compliance with all eligibility conditions before the Registering Authority.

The order also provides that apartment associations or societies formed under earlier laws will be recognised only after adopting bye-laws in accordance with provisions of the OAOM Act, 2023.

Clarifying the scope of the exemption, Dr. Mahapatra stated that the initiative is intended solely to facilitate registration of genuine apartment units and should not be treated as a mechanism to regularise unauthorised constructions. Any violation of building norms will continue to attract action under existing laws.

To protect ownership rights over shared infrastructure, the government has made it mandatory for sale deeds executed under this provision to include transfer of the allottee’s proportionate undivided share in common areas and facilities. Ownership of such common assets will vest with the Association of Allottees under the provisions of the OAOM Act.

Issued by order of the Governor and notified by Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee, the Special Order is expected to provide long-awaited relief to thousands of stakeholders and strengthen urban housing governance across Odisha.