BHUBANESWAR: In a major relief for homebuyers and other stakeholders in older housing projects, the Odisha Government has issued a Special Order allowing the registration of eligible apartment units in projects completed before the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) on October 5, 2016.
Announcing the decision, Housing & Urban Development Minister Dr. Krushna Chandra Mahapatra said the measure is aimed at resolving long-pending registration issues faced by homebuyers, landowners and promoters in older apartment projects.
The Special Order, published in the Extraordinary Issue of the Odisha Gazette, provides a legal framework to address documentation and compliance hurdles that have prevented the registration of many apartment units.
The Minister said that despite the enactment of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023 to improve transparency and efficiency in apartment ownership and management, many purchasers in pre-RERA projects continued to face difficulties in registering deeds of transfer.
He noted that while a Special Order issued on December 3, 2025 had provided relief to individual allottees, apartments retained by promoters and landowners were not covered under that order.
To address the issue, the Government has invoked Section 35 of the OAOM Act, 2023 and introduced a special exemption mechanism for eligible projects, enabling the registration of such apartments and the resolution of pending legacy cases.
Under the Special Order, the relaxation will apply only to apartments in projects completed before October 5, 2016. The benefit will be available only where at least 50 per cent of the apartment units in a project had been transferred through registered sale deeds on or before the RERA cut-off date. The apartment proposed for registration must also form part of a building plan approved by the competent authority under the Odisha Development Authorities Act, 1982 or the Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust Act, 1956.
Promoters or landowners will be required to display the approved building plan prominently within the project premises. Before the registration of the first sale deed of any remaining unsold apartment, a No Objection Certificate from the Association of Allottees certifying the correctness of apartment numbering as reflected in the approved plan must be obtained. An undertaking confirming compliance with all eligibility conditions must also be submitted before the Registering Authority.
The Order further states that any apartment association or society constituted under previous laws before the commencement of the OAOM Act, 2023 will be recognised only after adopting bye-laws in accordance with Section 15 of the Act.
Dr. Mahapatra said the exemption is intended solely to facilitate the registration of genuine apartments and should not be treated as a regularisation of unauthorised constructions. Violations of building regulations will continue to attract action under the applicable laws.
The Order also mandates that every sale deed executed under the Special Order must provide for the transfer of the allottee’s proportionate undivided interest in common areas and facilities. The title over such common areas and facilities will vest in the Association of Allottees in accordance with the provisions of the OAOM Act, 2023.
The Special Order was issued by order of the Governor and notified by Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee.
