BHUBANESWAR: In a significant development that will have far-reaching consequences on Odisha’s housing and real estate sector, the state government has made obtaining completion certificate (CC) or occupancy certificate (OC) mandatory for realtors to hand over a building’s possession to the buyer.

A notification to this effect was issued by the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department, as per the direction of the Supreme Court. The department has also notified that no permission for conduct of trade or business will be granted in any building, be it residential or commercial, if it is unauthorised, while banks and financial institutions will also not sanction loan against any building which don’t have the CC or OC.

“The directions will be strictly adhered in line with the Odisha Development Authorities (ODA) Act-1982 and Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust Act-1956 and rules made thereunder,” the department stated in its notification.

As per the notification, development authorities, while issuing building permission to a builder or applicant will collect an undertaking stating that the possession of the building will be handed over to the owner or beneficiary only after obtaining the completion or occupancy certificate from the authorities concerned. The builder/developer will also require to display a copy of the approved plan during the entire period of construction and the same will be inspected by the development authorities periodically to maintain an official record.