Bhubaneswar: Houseowners are facing difficulty in re-selling their flats in various residential complexes in the city due to the lack of mandatory occupancy certificates (OCs) for the buildings.
The predicament stems from implementation of the Odisha Apartment (Ownership and Management) Act, 2023, which necessitates the submission of OCs for the registration of sale deeds.

An OC is issued by development authorities in urban areas on the completion of an apartment, serving as a document certifying the building is safe and habitable. Without an OC, the building can be tagged as illegal.
According to the Act, obtaining an OC is a prerequisite for applying for the association of allottees certificates, which is a mandatory step before the sale deed registration can be executed by the sub-registrar’s office.
However, several older apartments in the city, particularly those constructed before 2015, lack OCs due to a lack of awareness regarding the regulations then. An OC is issued for those buildings which are constructed adhering to all norms.
Data from the Odisha Real Estate Regulatory Authority (ORERA) reveals that out of over a 1,000 registered apartments, only 55 possess valid OCs. A recent reply by housing and urban development minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra in the assembly revealed that there are around 689 illegal buildings in the city.
Sitakant Mishra, a houseowner, said, “I own a flat in Bomikhal and wanted to sell it as I am planning to relocate outside Odisha. However, I am unable to proceed with the sale as the sub-registrar is requesting documents that we do not possess.”
Real estate experts acknowledged that while the Act has enhanced transparency for sale deed registration of new apartments, challenges persist for older buildings that lack the necessary documentation.
The experts as well as sellers proposed the introduction of a scheme to facilitate the regularisation of older buildings. In cases where regularisation is not feasible, such structures may be demolished if the situation warrants it, they added.
“Enactment of the Act made it clear that the apartments should follow all the rules and regulations. It is fine for the new apartments, but issues pertain to the older buildings. Govt should come up with a solution to regularise those buildings,” real estate expert Bimalendu Pradhan said.

We also published the following articles recently