India looking to regulate real estate industry with new laws

[Naveed Yaseen]

NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Friday circulated a new law proposed to be enacted by state legislatures to bring the real estate business under the control of a regulatory authority and an appellate tribunal.

The draft of the model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act aims to regulate and control construction, sale, transfer and management of housing colonies, residential buildings, apartments and other similar properties by setting up a real estate regulatory authority. Such an authority will also rate promoters and real estate projects to improve the confidence level of both investors and consumers through a system of self-regulation, which may be based on the rating parameters developed by the National Real Estate Development Council or the Confederation of Real Estate Developer’s Association of India.

Sources said the proposed law would not only check conduct and integrity of promoters developing the colonies, but also ensure speedy construction and maintenance of such colonies, residential buildings, apartments and properties. The draft deals with regulations on development of colonies, sale and transfer of residential buildings and apartment, and the role of their promoters and prescribes stringent punishments for violators. Once the concerned state gets a law passed by the state legislature on the lines of the proposed model law, no development of land into colony or construction of apartments for marketing will be permitted without registration with the regulatory authority, which shall also have the powers to cancel such registrations.

Anyone starting construction or development of land without registration could be jailed for up to three years or with penalty of the percentage of the cost of development or both. The draft said the role of the promoter would include: make available documents for inspection, issue advertisement or prospectus inviting advance or deposit and hold responsibility for its veracity, enter all details on website of the regulator, no deposit or advance taken without entering into an agreement of sale, responsibility to protect property, adherence to approved plans and project specification, handing over of apartment, common areas and documents to the collective, no mortgage without consent. iftikhar gilani

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