Short Answer

No, you cannot file a joint complaint with the Appellate Tribunal if your association is not registered.

Detailed Explanation

As per Section 3 of the Gujarat RERA Act, 2016, it is mandatory for a real estate project to be registered with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) before any complaint can be filed. This registration includes the formation of an association of allottees or a cooperative society representing the allottees. Without this registration, the association lacks the legal standing to file a complaint jointly.

Furthermore, Rule 8 of the Gujarat RERA Rules, 2017, specifies the procedure for filing complaints with the Appellate Tribunal. It mandates that only registered associations or cooperative societies can file complaints collectively on behalf of the allottees. Therefore, if your association is not registered, you are not eligible to file a joint complaint with the Appellate Tribunal.

In practice, this means that individual allottees may still file complaints independently if they are affected by builder delays or other violations. However, without the association being registered, they cannot collectively file a complaint through the association.

Real-world Scenarios

• Scenario 1: A group of allottees in a housing project faces significant delays in possession. They attempt to file a joint complaint with the Appellate Tribunal, but their association is not registered. In this case, they would need to file individual complaints instead.

• Scenario 2: An association of allottees in a commercial project discovers multiple violations by the builder. Since their association is not registered, they are unable to collectively approach the Appellate Tribunal and must resort to individual complaints.

Reference

• Gujarat RERA Act, 2016 (https://gujrera.gujarat.gov.in/)

• Gujarat RERA Rules, 2017 (https://gujrera.gujarat.gov.in/)