The Greater Noida authority will issue partial occupancy certificates (OCs) to housing projects that have cleared 25% of their recalculated land cost dues under the Uttar Pradesh government’s December 21, 2023 policy for legacy stalled projects, officials said on Tuesday.
The move is expected to benefit thousands of homebuyers in long-delayed projects, allowing them to take possession and execute the registry of their flats while the remaining 75% dues are paid over the next three years, officials said.
Authority officials said the decision will initially cover at least 37 apartment societies whose developers have already deposited one-fourth of their net dues and obtained a no-dues certificate (NDC). “We will issue partial occupancy certificates to at least 37 apartment societies so that the homebuyers’ grievances can be addressed. The decision is taken after the developers demanded partial OCs in projects where they have already paid part payments,” said Saumya Srivastava, additional chief executive officer of the Greater Noida authority.
To be sure, an OC is issued by a local authority certifying that a building complies with approved plans, building codes, and safety norms, making it legally fit for occupation.
In Uttar Pradesh, OCs are granted after verifying construction quality, safety measures, and clearance of dues, enabling legal possession, utility connections, and property registration. Recently, UP RERA mandated that possession letters can only be issued after obtaining an OC, aiming to curb unsafe, illegal occupancy. The move sparked controversy, as many delayed projects in Noida and Greater Noida lack OCs due to pending dues or incomplete clearances, leaving homebuyers, often paying both rent and EMIs, unable to move in or register homes. Critics say the rule unfairly penalises buyers in legacy stalled projects.
Under the new arrangement, completion certificates will be issued proportionate to the percentage of payments made beyond the initial 25% of dues. This will enable possession and registration of completed units while developers continue paying instalments. The authority said the plan was approved by its board last month after representation from the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, Western UP chapter (CREDAI-WUP).
“We asked the authority that the partial OC issuance would enable developers to hand over homes, execute tripartite sub-lease deeds, and use the funds collected from buyers to clear pending dues, a step it said would benefit the authority, developers, and buyers alike,” said Dinesh Gupta, president of CREDAI-WUP.
Officials explained that delays in securing mandatory clearances from six to seven departments, a process that can take over six months, had led some developers to miss deadlines for second or third instalments, prompting the planning department to withhold fresh NDCs and block OC issuance. As a result, thousands of buyers have been unable to move into ready or nearly completed flats.
According to the authority, Greater Noida has 98 defaulter projects under the state’s stalled projects policy. After recalculation, which factored in a two-year zero period for the Covid-19 pandemic, dues for 13 projects became zero, while 37 projects have cleared all dues. Twenty-seven projects have paid 25% of recalculated dues and will now be eligible for partial OCs. The remaining 21 projects have not opted for the policy, with most cases pending in court.