Hi Akhil Ji,
Thanks for the info, hoping to see this gets implemented ASAP ...Lets
see the result....
Regards,
Sujoy
On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 10:32 PM, Akhil Pal Chhabra <75chhabra@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Resident @ Crossings:
>
> This is just FYI, knowledge & awareness for those who are not aware :
>
> The real estate sector in India has been largely dis-organized and for a
> long time a need has been felt to regulate and organize the sector. The last
> few years have seen tremendous growth in the sector and prices of properties
> have gone up accordingly. There has been a spurt in foreign investment as
> well. To address the emerging need, Government has been trying for several
> years to introduce a Real Estate Bill. Hence, A Bill providing for setting
> up a regulator for the real estate sector and having provisions like a jail
> term of up to three years for developers who make offences like putting up
> misleading advertisements about projects repeatedly was presented in the
> Rajya Sabha in the current session of the Parliament.
>
>
>
> The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, approved by the cabinet,
> seeks to provide a uniform regulatory environment to the sector. It also
> intends to make it mandatory for developers to launch projects only after
> acquiring all statutory clearances from relevant authorities.
>
> The Bill makes it mandatory for builders to clarify the carpet area of the
> flat. This would be made uniform for the entire country. This rule would
> make the concept of super area - which is often used to mislead owners -
> virtually non-existent. The Bill has provisions under which all relevant
> clearances for real estate projects would have to be submitted to the
> regulator and also displayed on a website before starting the construction,
> sources said. The proposed legislation has tough provisions to deter
> builders from putting out misleading advertisements related to the projects
> carrying photographs of the actual site. Failure to do so for the first time
> would attract penalty which may be up to 10 per cent of the project cost and
> a repeat offence could land the developer in jail.
>
> The latest draft of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013
> (the Bill) was approved by the Union Cabinet on June 4, 2013. (Real Estate
> Bills have been formulated by Maharashtra and Haryana State Governments.
> When enacted, the Central Act would prevail over any State legislation and
> any provisions repugnant to the Central Act would be void.) The Bill
> proposes to establish a regulatory oversight mechanism to enforce
> disclosure, fair practice and accountability norms in housing transactions
> and to provide dedicated adjudication machinery for speedy dispute
> resolution in the real estate housing sector.
>
> Salient features of the Bill and the problems it seeks to resolve are as
> follows:
>
>
>
> Residential projects – The Bill aims to promote transparency in the real
> estate sector and to establish mandatory governance standards pertaining to
> all private residential projects of more than 4,000 square meters. There is
> no prescribed limit on the number of dwelling units. The Bill only seeks to
> cover large residential projects; commercial projects are not covered.
>
>
>
> Regulators – A two-tier dispute resolution mechanism is proposed comprising
> a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (the Authority) and adjudicating officers
> at State-level and a Central Real Estate Appellate Tribunal to adjudicate
> upon matters relating to residential projects covered under the Act.
> Currently real estate transactions are largely governed by the agreements
> between the parties, which are considered generic contracts relating to
> immoveable properties with remedies including specific relief (if
> applicable) and damages for breach available under civil and criminal law.
> Pursuant to enactment of the proposed legislation, civil courts shall not
> have jurisdiction in respect of any matter covered under the Act.
>
>
>
> Advisory council – A Central Advisory Council is proposed to advise the
> Central Government on implementation of the Act, with a mandate to make
> recommendations on major questions of policy, to protect consumer interests
> and to foster growth and development of the real estate sector. The proposed
> Council will possibly take over the role of The National Real Estate
> Development Council, which was set up in 1998 by the Housing Ministry as an
> autonomous self-regulatory body to assure transparency and ethics in the
> real estate business, and seeks to formulate real estate policies through
> advisory and consultative processes with both Industry and Government.
>
> Mandatory registration – The Bill proposes registration of developers, their
> projects and their real estate agents with the Authority to accredit and
> monitor projects.
>
> Project launch after approvals – The Bill contemplates launch of new
> projects only after all approvals are in place. Accordingly, development,
> conversion or commencement of construction of immoveable property would be
> permissible only after obtaining requisite approvals and registration with
> the Authority.
>
> Mandatory disclosures – Developers would be required to upload information
> and documents on the Authority's website relating to land title,
> encumbrances over land, number and carpet area of units, layout plan,
> proposed facilities, proposed completion date, etc. These provisions have
> been introduced to ensure that customers are able to procure complete
> information and there is no ambiguity with respect to the status of
> approvals and stage of construction of the project. This will also
> substantially reduce disputes between the parties that largely arise due to
> lack of transparency. Presently consumers are unable to procure complete
> information or hold developers to account in the absence of effective
> regulation.
>
> Agreements – Developers would also be required to provide to the Authority
> proposed advertisements relating to the project, formats of the agreements
> to be executed with buyers and lists of bookings in the project on the basis
> of the agreements with proposed buyers. This will further protect the
> interest of the buyer and avoid hardship due to one-sided agreements.
>
> Carpet area – The Bill provides for developers to clearly specify the carpet
> area for each unit. As per current practices, developers usually mention
> "super built-up area" of a unit, which can be very misleading, as the super
> built-up area may be 25-40 per cent more than the carpet area.
>
> No pre-launch bookings – The practice adopted by developers to commence sale
> of units in pre-launch booking before obtaining mandatory approvals for the
> project and at times even before acquisition of the land is to be curbed.
> Issuance of advertisements or booking of units in a project would be
> permissible only pursuant to registration of the project.
>
> Use of funds – The Bill proposes acceptance of an advance/deposit for the
> proposed sale of a unit in a project by developers only pursuant to
> execution of a written agreement with the buyers. Further, 70 per cent or a
> lower percentage (as prescribed by the Authority) of the funds received are
> to be deposited in a separate bank account to be used only for the relevant
> project. This provision was introduced to the Bill to ensure that funds
> collected for a particular project are not diverted for other purposes.
>
> Adherence to approved plans – Developers under the proposed Bill must adhere
> to approved plans and project specifications and are liable to rectify, at
> their own cost, any major structural defect or deficiency in the unit or
> services incidental thereto for one year from the date of handing over
> possession. If developers fail to rectify such defects within a reasonable
> time, they shall be liable to pay appropriate damages or compensation to the
> buyers as may be determined by the Authority.
>
> Transparency – Developers would be required to make available information
> and documents to proposed buyers to ensure transparency in development of
> the proposed project such as approvals, site plans, structural designs,
> specifications, construction schedule, etc.
>
> Delayed possession – The Bill provides that if the developer is unable to
> complete construction to give possession of the flat to the buyer, the
> developer would be liable to refund the deposit received along with interest
> at the rate prescribed by the Authority. Correspondingly, the buyer must
> make payments in a timely manner and would be liable to pay prescribed
> interest in case of delayed payment. These provisions in the Bill have been
> introduced to ensure timely delivery of possession/completion of the
> project. The Bill also strives to strike a balance by ensuring that the
> buyer makes timely payment to the developer.
>
> Revocation of registration – In case of willful default of the provisions of
> the proposed Act, or unfair practice by a developer, including false
> representation of the quality of services or status of approvals, the
> Authority may revoke registration of the developer.
>
>
>
> Penalty & Punishment – The provisions for punishment in case of
> contravention and/or non-compliance with the provisions of the proposed Act
> currently include imprisonment for a term of up to three years, or a penalty
> of up to 10 per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, or
> both.
>
>
>
> Few practical problems in implementation of the Bill include the setting up
> of regulatory authorities at national and state levels, which is likely to
> be a long-term process. Developers may structure their projects so that each
> phase is less than 4,000 square metres to escape the reach of the proposed
> Bill; as each phase developed separately would be considered as a
> stand-alone project. Furthermore, the provision in the Bill for opening a
> separate bank account for funds collected for a project may not serve its
> purpose as State Governments may allow developers to maintain even less than
> 70 per cent of the funds collected for the project, thereby allowing for
> utilization of funds for some other purpose.
>
>
>
> Even otherwise the Bill has only been approved by the Union Cabinet, and has
> to be approved by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, passed by both
> houses of the Indian parliament, and then submitted for approval of the
> president pursuant to which it can be enacted as legislation. There are
> likely to be many more discussions and changes to the Bill following the
> recommendations of the Standing Committee and debate in the parliament.
>
>
>
> The impact of the proposed regulatory Bill can be only assessed over time as
> to whether it is able to effectively address the issues facing the housing
> sector including standardization of sale agreements, efficacy in resolution
> of complaints and encouragement of private equity through effective
> regulations. This would also depend on the extent to which the major players
> are able to find loopholes, the Government's resolve to plug them and its
> commitment to regulate growth of the real estate housing sector.
>
>
>
> Best Regards
>
> Akhil P.Chhabra
> Legal Committee-CROMA
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "CROMA Executive Body" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to cromaexecutivebody+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
------------------------------------
For latest updates do visit official CROMA website at:
http://www.croma.org.in
Also, do register at the CROMA site, if not done already:
http://www.croma.org.in/member-registration/
[IMP: People posting ads for promotion of their business or of commercial-only nature will be banned/unsubscribed without any warning or clarification]
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/CrossingsRepublikOwnersAndMembersAssociation-CROMA/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/CrossingsRepublikOwnersAndMembersAssociation-CROMA/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
CrossingsRepublikOwnersAndMembersAssociation-CROMA-digest@yahoogroups.co.in
CrossingsRepublikOwnersAndMembersAssociation-CROMA-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.co.in
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
CrossingsRepublikOwnersAndMembersAssociation-CROMA-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.in
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://info.yahoo.com/legal/in/yahoo/utos/terms/
This is a read only blog of Crossings Republik Owners & Members Association (CROMA). The agenda of CROMA is to make a common platform for all the current & future residents of Crossings Republik Township situated at NH-24, Ghaziabad. CROMA will fight for the rights of future residents of Crossings Republik. Currently our main concerns are Internal Infrastructure, Connectivity to Noida, NH-24 widening, timely possession by all the builders, common amenities avialability etc.