New Delhi, Mar. 10 : The Real Estate Bill, aimed at protecting home buyers from developers who fail to deliver, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha during the Congress-led UPA government’s tenure in 2013. The bill was conceived in 2013 in the backdrop of popular clamour for action against the failure of builders to complete projects on time, as also the alleged bias for developers in contract conditions.
The Union Cabinet had in December 2015 cleared 20 amendments to the Bill. In the latest for, it incorporates all the recommendation of a Select Committee on the basis of which all parties were represented.
The Bill provides uniform regulatory environment to ensure speedy adjudication of disputes and orderly growth of the real estate sector. It will boost domestic and foreign investment in the Real Estate sector and help achieve the objective of Government of India to provide ‘Housing for All’ by enhanced private participation.
The Bill ensures mandatory disclosure by promoters to the customers through registration of real estate projects as well as real estate agents with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The Bill aims at restoring confidence of consumers in the real estate sector; by institutionalising transparency and accountability in real estate and housing transactions which will further enable the sector to access capital and financial markets. The Bill will promote orderly growth through consequent efficient project execution, professionalism and standardisation.
Some of the salient features of the Bill are that it is applicable both for commercial and residential real estate projects. It is also for the establishment of ‘Real Estate Regulatory Authority’ in States/UTs to regulate real estate transactions.
It will ensure registration of real estate projects and real estate agents with the Authority, mandatory disclosure of all registered projects, including details of the promoter, project, layout plan, land status, approvals, agreements along with details of real estate agents, contractors, architect, structural engineer etc, deposit of specified amount in a separate bank account to cover the construction cost of the project for timely completion of the project, establishment of fast track dispute resolution mechanisms for settlement of disputes through adjudicating officers and Appellate Tribunal, Civil courts jurisdiction prohibited from taking up matters defined in Bill, however, consumer court allowed to hear real estate matters, promoters barred from changing plans and design without consent of consumers, provision of Appropriate Government to make rules for the matters specified in the Bill, and the Regulatory Authority to make necessary regulations. (ANI)