The Real Estate Bill, which has been much awaited, has finally been passed in the Rajya Sabha. It is expected to protect the interests of buyers of property, thereby bringing more transparency to the real estate sector. The bill was first introduced in 2013 and the present government has made some amendments to it. It was pointed out by the Finance Ministry in the year 2012 that the real estate sector was prone to black money because transactions were under-reported.

FEATURES OF THE BILL:

Let us look at some important features of the bill:

A MORE ORGANIZED REAL ESTATE SECTOR

The real estate is largely unorganized and this has led to many discrepancies in the way systems have functioned, leading to many bottlenecks. With the bill in place state – level authorities will be established – they are called Real Estate Regulatory Authorities, or RERAs which will monitor all transactions pertaining to all kinds of real estate projects. Customers will therefore be helped in making better decisions.

COMPLETION ON TIME AND HANDING OVER NOW FASTER

Currently purchasers of property are confronted with the issue of sellers not giving them possession of property as scheduled due to the reasons given of delayed construction etc. There is now an assurance in the bill that states that 70 per cent of the money that was taken from the buyers has to be laid aside in a separate account – moreover, the money lying in this account can only be used for construction purposes. What this will ensure is that the money received from one project will not spill over into another project and be used for that.

CORRECT INFORMATION

It will now be made compulsory for sellers to disclose all details pertaining to the project – the layout, land status, contractors, approvals sought and received, time frame of project completion etc.

PROPER PUNISHMENT

If the builder or developer does not hand over the property to the buyer at the time promised, then the same amount of interest will be payable by him as the amount he charges from the buyer on delay in payment. Another important feature is that the property cannot be sold on the basis of “Super Area”, which includes both – flat area and the common area. If these orders of the appellate tribunal are violated then a jail term by the builder then a jail term of upto 3 years or a penalty will be charged.

Allottees association and after-sales service

The bill has made it compulsory for an allottee association to be set up within 3 months of the allotment of all units and properties so that common facilities and day to day running of the society can be managed by all residents – common facilities could include a library and common hall.

Moreover, if a structural defect is found in the property then the developer can be contacted by the buyer within 1 year of possession. The plan cannot be changed by the developers or promoters without the buyers agreeing to the changes.

These are some of the salient features of the Real Estate Bill!