Rajya Sabha Passes Long-Awaited Bill to Protect Homebuyers

The Rajya Sabha passed a landmark Real Estate Bill on Thursday with a promise to secure the interests of homebuyers and developers in equal measure and remove corruption and inefficiency from the sector.

Benefits of real estate bill

Buyers will now be paying only for the carpet area and not the super built-up area which was fraught with confusion earlier

The developers will now have to take consent of 66 per cent of the homebuyers in case they have to increase the number of floors or change the building plans. This will protect the buyers from any ad-hoc changes that are a norm presently

It brings in only regulation and not strangulation. This Bill is not against anyone… The Real Estate Bill will renew investors’ confidence and ensure timely completion of projects and create more opportunities. In this way, it will help in achieving the target of ‘Housing For All’

If builders still cause delays in transferring properties to buyers, the appellate tribunal would intervene and slap fines on themwithin 60 days. In a worst case scenario, the tribunals can send a developer found guilty of fraud to jail for three years

The builders would also be responsible for fixing structural defects for five years after transferring the property to a buyer. In case consumers fail to make payments to developers, the appellate tribunal can fine them, too.

Compared to the previous version of the Bill, in which constructions below the size of 1,000 square metres or 12 apartments were left out of the accountability ambit, the new Bill has reduced the size and exempts projects only below 500 square meters.

It’s mandatory for developers to deposit 70% money from the buyers in a third party bank account.This is to ensure that developers who run out of cash don’t stall the projects.

By creating a much-needed regulator for the sector at the State and Central levels, this government has initiated the crucial first step to protect consumers from the prevalent opaque and fraudulent practices that have so far characterised this sector in India.