Section 2 in Kerala Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2015
2. Definitions.
(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-(a)"advertisement" means any document described or issued as advertisement through any form of media and includes any notice, circular or other documents offering for sale of a plot or building inviting persons to purchase in any manner such plot or building or to make advances or deposits for such purposes;(b)"allottee" in relation to a real estate project, means the person to whom a plot or building has been allotted, sold or otherwise transferred by the promoter and includes the person who subsequently acquires the said allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise, but does not include a person to whom such plot or building is given on rent;(c)"apartment" whether called dwelling unit, flat, premises, suite, tenement, villa, unit or by any other name, means a separate and self- contained part of any immovable property located on one or more floors or any part thereof, in a building block or on a plot of land, used or intended to be used for residential purposes, or for any other type of independent use ancillary to the purpose specified and includes any covered garage, whether or not adjacent to the building block in which such apartment is located which has been provided by the promoter for the use of the allottee for parking any vehicle, or as the case may be, for the residence of any domestic help employed in such apartment;(d)"Appellate Tribunal" means the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal established under sub-section (1) of section 37;(e)"architect" means a person registered as an architect under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972 (Central Act 20 of 1972);(f)"association" means the association of allottees registered under section 10 consisting of allottees in a colony and includes an apex association;(g)"Authority" means the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 20;(h)"building" means a building unit or a building block or an apartment;(i)"building block" includes any structure or erection or part of a structure or erection which is intended to be used for residential, commercial, business or office purposes, information technology and information, technology enabled services with limited common areas and parking spaces;(j)"building permit" means any permit issued by the competent authority to begin development works in an immovable property;(k)"unit" means a separate and self contained unit in a building block;(l)"carpet area" means the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding the area covered by the external walls;(m)"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority appointed under section 21;(n)"colony" means an area of contiguous land divided or proposed to be divided into plots or buildings with common areas in a real estate project;(o)"common areas" means the areas intended for the common use of all the allottees in a colony and include the following, namely:--(i)the part of the site or plot not occupied by buildings;(ii)the common basement, parts, play areas, guest parking areas, if any and common storage spaces; the premises for the lodging of persons employed for the management of the property including accommodation for watch and ward staff;(iv)installations of central services such as electricity, gas, water and sanitation, air-conditioning and incinerator, rainwater harvesting and waste disposal;(v)water tanks, sumps, motor, fans, compressors, ducts and all apparatus connected with installations for common use;(vi)community and commercial facilities as may be provided and managed by the association;(vii)all other portions of the property necessary or convenient for its maintenance, safety etc., and in common use;(p)"company" means .a company incorporated and registered under the Companies Act, 2013 (Central Act 18 of 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 the Government in this behalf under any law for the time being in force;(q)"competent authority" means the Local Self Government Institution or any Authority established under any law for the time being in force which has power to give permission for development as mentioned in clause (r) of section 2;(r)"development" means carrying out the development of immovable property, engineering or other operations in, on, over or under the land or the making of any material change in any immovable, property or land and includes re-development;(s)"development works" mean the external development works and internal development works on immovable property;(t)"engineer" means a person who possesses a bachelor's degree in Engineering or equivalent qualification from an institution recognized by the All India Council for Technical Education or registered as .an engineer under any law for the time being in force;(u)"estimated cost of real estate project" means the total cost involved in developing the real estate project and includes the land cost;(v)"external development works" include roads and road systems, landscaping, water supply, sewerage and drainage systems, electricity supply transformer, sub-station or any other work which may have to be executed in the periphery of, or outside, a colony for its benefit, as may be specified under the rules or bye-laws of the competent authority;(w)"Government" means the Government of Kerala;(x)"immovable property" includes land, building, right of way, light or any other benefit arising out of land and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything which is attached to the earth, but does not include standing timber, growing crops or grass;(y)"interest" means the rates of interest payable by the promoter or the allottee, as the case may be;(z)"internal development works" mean roads, footpaths, water supply, sewers, drains, parks, conservation of trees, street lighting, provision for community building and for treatment and disposal of sewage and sullage water, social infrastructure such as educational, health and other public amenities or any other work in a colony necessary for its proper development;(aa)"limited common area" means the area intended for the use of allottees in one building block and includes entrance hall, staircases, lift, common passages on all floors, common parking areas, fire escapes, refuge areas, service floors, terraces above the upper most floor and all common areas in the building block;(ab)"Local Self Government Institution" means a Panchayat constituted under section 4 of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (13 of 1994) or a Municipality constituted under section 4 of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (20 of 1994);(ac)"Member" means the member of . the Real Estate Regulatory Authority appointed under section 21 and includes the Chairperson;(ad)"Notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;(ae)"occupancy certificate" means the completion certificate, or such other certificate, as the case may be, issued by the competent authority permitting occupation of any building under any law for the time being in force;(af)"person" includes,-(i)an individual;(ii)a Hindu undivided family;(iii)a company;(iv)a firm;(v)a competent authority;(vi)an association of persons or a body of individuals whether incorporated or not;(vii)a co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operative societies;(viii)any such other entity as the Government may. by notification specify in this behalf;(ag)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(ah)"project" means the real estate project under this Act;(ai)"promoter" means,-(i)a person who constructs or causes to be constructed a building or converts an existing building or a part thereof for the purpose of selling all or part of the same to other persons and includes his assignees and a buyer who purchases in bulk for resale; or(ii)a person who develops a colony for the purpose of selling to other persons all or some of the plots, whether with or without structures thereon; or(iii)any development authority or any other public body in respect of allottees of,-(a)buildings constructed by such authority or body on lands owned by them or placed at their disposal by the Government; or(b)plots owned by such authority or body or placed at their disposal by the Government; for the purpose of selling all or some of the apartments or plots; or(iv)an apex co-operative housing finance society and a primary co-operative housing society which constructs buildings for its Members or in respect of the allottees of such buildings; or(v)any other person who acts himself as a builder, colonizer, contractor, developer, estate developer or by any other name or claims to be acting as the holder of a power of. attorney from the owner of the land on which the building is constructed or colony is developed for sale; or(vi)such other person who constructs any building for sale to the general public.Explanation. - For the purposes of this clause, where the person who constructs or converts a building or develops a colony for sale and the person who sells building or plots are different persons, both of them shall be deemed to be the promoters;(aj)"prospectus" means any document described or issued as a prospectus or any notice, circular, or other document offering for sale of any real estate project or inviting any person to make advances or deposits for such purposes;(ak)"real estate agent" means any person, who negotiates or acts on behalf of one person in a transaction of transfer of his plot or building, as the case may be, in a real .estate project, by way of sale, with another person or transfer of plot or building, as the case may be, of any other person to him and receives remuneration or fees or any other charges for his services whether as a commission or otherwise and includes a person who introduces prospective buyers and sellers to each other for negotiation for sale or purchase of plot or building, as the case may be, and includes property dealers, brokers, middlemen by whatever name called:(al)"real estate project" means the development of a building or conversion of an existing building or a part thereof or the development of a colony into plots or buildings, as the case may be, for the purpose of selling all or any of the said plots or buildings and includes the development works thereof;(am)"regulations" means the regulations made by the Authority under this Act.
