Circular · Slum Rehabilitation Authority · 21.02.2024
Rehab buildings: the developer is liable for defects for 10 years
SRA Circular No. 216 of 21 February 2024 raises the defect liability period for rehabilitation buildings in all SR schemes from 3 to 10 years after the occupation certificate.
Key points
- The defect liability period for rehab buildings goes up from 3 years (Circular 108 of 1996) to 10 years from the occupation certificate.
- The developer is liable for repairs and rectification in that period, except for calamities and damage from war or riots.
- The developer’s bank guarantee and deposits are held by the SRA during the period.
- The condition goes into all LOIs, IOAs and OCs, including for PAP and transit-camp buildings.
Why
Circular No. 108 of 1996 had fixed a 3-year defect liability period, written into the LOI and OC. After the fire at Jai Bhavani Mata SRA CHS in P/South ward on 06.10.2023, the enquiry committee recommended increasing it to 10 years. The SRA also relied on a PWD resolution of 14.01.2019 fixing a 10-year period for RCC frame works, and on the latent defect liability provision in Annexure X of the regulations for buildings of 750 sq. m. and above.
What it directs
Engineering staff must include the following condition in all LOIs, revised LOIs and IOAs for rehab buildings, including PAP and permanent transit camp buildings under Regulations 33(10) and 33(11) of DCPR 2034, and in OCs for rehab buildings already built but not yet given an OC:
“The Developer shall be held liable for any repairs/rectification required in the defect liability period of 10 years from the date of grant of Occupation Certificate (except in case of calamities, damages due to war, riots) to the Rehab building/Rehab portion of composite Building for which Bank guarantee & deposits of the developer shall be withheld with SRA.”
It applies with immediate effect.
What it means for rehab societies
A society of rehab tenement holders that notices structural or construction defects within 10 years of the OC should notify the developer and the SRA in writing; the SRA holds the developer’s bank guarantee and deposits as security. Developers later asked for the condition to be limited to the RCC frame (see Circular 218); check the condition in your building’s LOI and OC.
Three-page circular in English. The site’s list previously described it only by subject; it is SRA Circular No. 216. This page summarises the document for general information; it is not a translation and not legal advice. Read the document itself for its exact terms, and check whether it has since been amended or superseded.
Have a question about your society?
Write to the office with a brief description of the matter. Meetings are by prior appointment.