An Occupancy Certificate is a document, which is required upon completion of the building.  Let different aspects of this Certificate be understood.

OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE

An Occupancy Certificate, an abbreviated from of which is “OC”, is a document, which certifies that the concerned building compiles with the applicable building code,  rules and regulations and is fit for occupancy. It is  Issued by an authority appointed by the State Government. Basically, it is a declaration that the construction of the building building has been as per the approved plans and quality standards. The 2016 Act relating to The Real Estate (Regulation And Development) (Section 2 (zf) defines the  term “Occupancy Certificate”, as per which  this is a Certificate, issued by the competent authority, which is a permission for occupation of any building, as provided under local laws, which is having civic infrastructure provision  such as water, electricity and sanitation.

NEED OF AN OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE

The need of this Certificate can be understood from the definition of the term “Occupancy Certificate”, in  2016 Act relating to The Real Estate (Regulation And Development) (Section 2 (zf),   the meaning of which term appears under the foregoing  heading “Occupancy Certificate”, that  through this Certificate, occupation of any  building is permitted by the competent authority. Thus, this Certificate is needed for occupation of a newly constructed building legally.

Further, a need of the Occupancy  Certificate  can  be perceived from the Form, which has been an Annexure in “Chapter II Agreement For Sale/Lease” of the Rules 2018 pertaining to The U.P. Real Estate (Reg.and Dev,) (Agreement For Sale/Lease). This Form contains  an Agreement for Sale/Lease to be executed between the promoter and an allottee,  Clause 7.2. of whch  pertains to possession as per which, upon obtaining the completion certificate/occupancy certificate, as the case may be, from the competent authority, the Promoter is required to offer  the possession in writing of the Plot/Apartment, as applicable, to the Allottee. Here also, the need of obtaining Occupancy Certificate gets highlighted before possession of a building can be offered.

Recently, UP RERA has issued an Office Order dated 29.5.2-24 vide which it has been mandated, inter alia, that promoters must issue possession offers in a uniform format.. As offer of Possession can be made by Promoters only after they receive occupancy certificate of the project,  the need of an  Occupancy Certificate is obvious. Thus, without this Certificate, Promoters cannot offer Possession to the Allottees and on the other hand, homeowners cannot secure the legal status of their property and thus apply for connections for electricity, water supply, and sanitation etc.

It can, therefore, be said that the Occupancy Certificate is legally needed once any building gets constructed.

IMPORTANCE  OF AN OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE (OC)

• This Certificate confirms that in the case of the building, land use regulations have been followed.

• It is a sort of assurance to the home buyers that the project conforms to all safety and regulatory standards making the building fit for occupancy.

• It further reassures home buyers of the property’s structural integrity and safety risks are prevented. It is very important from the point of view of obtaining from the government departments, basic facilities, like  electricity water and sanitation as without it, such facilities will not be available.

• It is one of the mandatory documents, which is required to be  submitted at the time of  availing a housing loan.

• This certificate is required In a case where it is decided to sell the property

• This certificate avoids legal action from the local authority as without it the project is deemed an illegal structure.

ONLINE APPLICATION FOR OCCUPANCY CERIFICATE

Each state has made its own process for issuing Occupancy Certificates.  In Haryana, , an application for Occupancy Certificate is required to be submitted online and the following chart shows how it is processed in the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran:

DOCUMENT TO BE SUBMITTED FOR OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE

For obtaining Occupancy Certification, certain documents are required to be submitted to the concerned authority. Each of the States in India has list of its own providing documents to be submitted for the purpose. The Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran in the State of Haryana requires following documents for issuing Occupancy Certificate:

• Affidavit regarding misuse of the plot
• A Copy of Sanctioned Building Plan (showing the violations attested by the Architect )
• In the case of residential buildings, Photographs of Front, Back, Toilet and Kitchen
• In the case of buildings other than residential, Photographs of inside, Front and Back
• In the case of Properties above two storey (except Residential}Fire Safety Certificate
• Where plots are  10 Marla and above i.e.  greater than 200 sq. meters – A Certificate from the  concerned Executive Engineer regarding Rain Water Harvesting  ( not required in commercial). Full construction,.
• Report with regard to Sanitary fittings from approved Plumber
• Report (in form BR-V) from the Architect
• Report (in Form BR – IV )from the owner
• in case of (Properties above two storey)} except Residential Structure Safety Certificate
• in case plots are,  greater than 1 Kanal and above. Full construction. Photo of Solar Heating System

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATE AND COMPLETION CERTIFICATE

OTHER TYPES OF OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATES

As  phased-construction gained momentum, the following concepts came into existence:

• Temporary Occupancy Certificate
• Partial Occupancy Certificate
• Part Occupancy Certificate

Each of these Certificates has been explained below:

Temporary Occupancy Certificate

A temporary occupancy certificate is issued in cases where development of a  project takes place in stages. The issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy allows the owner of the property to enter, and take occupancy in a legal way. There is a mention of this certificate in Regulation 20(4) of The New Okhla Industrial Development Area Building Regulation, 2010 as per which  the  Chief Executive Officer may permit temporary occupation, for such period as he deems fit, on the basis of a certificate of the technical personnel to the effect that  the temporary occupation of a building or any portion thereof before its completion does not affect public welfare adversely. Such a permission is given, for a specific period, in the Form given in Appendix-11A of such Regulations. In this form, the owner is conveyed, inter alia, the requirements relating to Regulations/Directions, which the building does not conform to and the temporary completion certificate is issued subject to the condition that the informed defects/discrepancies will be got corrected and a fresh completion certificate will be submitted for necessary action.

Partial Occupancy Certificate

Partial Occupancy Certificates have been meant to be issued in the cases of  large projects that are built in various phases or blocks. Thus, with issuance of this certificate, while the entire project is yet to be  finished,  occupation of specific areas is allowed.  “Partial Occupancy Certificates” were issued to builders in Karnataka, Although The Real Estate (Regulation And Development) Act, 2016 recognizes “Occupancy Certificate”, in Karnataka,  a reference of the term Partial occupancy certificate appears in Explanation (v) to Rule 4 (1) of The Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017.. In Bengaluru, a city in Karnataka,  as soon as  a specific phase of a project  was  complete, the concerned authority, which is The Bangalore Development Authority,   granted  a partial occupancy certificate after inspection.   When the developer completed other phase, another such certificate was issued. The Partial Occupancy Certificate is valid only upto the completion of project. Thereafter, an occupancy certificate  is issued for the whole project

Part Occupancy Completion Certificate

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, under Regulation 11(8) of the  Development Control & Promotion Regulation 2034 has a provision for issuance of Part occupancy certificate, which  is  subject to the owners indemnifying the Authority in the form, which is  Appendix ‘J’ to the Regulations.  Upon the request of the  holder of the development permission, a part occupancy certificate for a building or part thereof,  in a Form at  APPENDIX ‘H’ of the above Regulations, can be issued by the Authority before completion of the entire work as per development permission. But this is subject to the condition that the holder of the development permission takes sufficient precautionary measures for ensuring  public safety and health of the occupants and users of the said portion of the building.

CONCLUSION

The Occupancy Certificate is a significant document by which it is certified, inter alia,  that the building is fit for occupation. The Real Estate (Regulation And Development) Act, 2016 has a specific provision with regard to this Certificate. Its importance can also be gauged from the fact that offer for possession can be issued by the Promoters only after receipt of Occupancy Certificate. This certificate is a confirmation  that the building is equipped with civic needs such as sanitation, water, and electricity. With the issuance of this Certificate, the home buyers get assured that rules and regulations regarding  construction of the building have been followed.