Real Estate Bill to passed during the current budget session

At the recent Happening Haryana conclave, Union Minister for Urban Development Venkiah Naidu has expressed confidence on the passing of the Real Estate Bill during the ongoing budget session. Talking to domestic and global investors, Naidu said, “Real Estate Bill is going to be a reality in this Budget session itself. I am holding discussion with all stakeholders.”

Emphasising the pros of the bill, the minister added that the law will be a regulation rather than strangulation except for the fly-by-night operators.

“We are also working on ease of doing business and ease of approval and permission. We have got positive signals from all parties,” the Minister said.

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, still pending in Parliament, was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2013. Subsequently, the Upper House referred the Bill for the perusal of the Standing Committee report in February, 2014. Post formation of the NDA government, the Bill was also put forward to  a Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, which submitted its report on July, 2015.

The previous week, opposition party Congress persuaded the Prime Minister and Naidu to pass the said bill during the current budget session of Parliament. The Real Estate Bill is pending in Parliament.

The proposed bill upon its enactment will facilitate the buyers and sellers to protect their interests. During the winter session of Parliament previous year, the cabinet passed twenty amendments to the bill helping regulate transaction between buyers and promoters of residential real estate projects by establishing state-level regulatory authorities.

Image Credits : DNA

This week, the Central Government is seems to intend the passage of Real Estate Bill in parliament, and the Cabinet is likely to approve the previous few changes that have been made after the recommendations of the select committee. According to sources, the housing ministry has incorporated approx. all the amendments which were recommended by the panel and due to that now there is no scope for political party to oppose this Real Estate Bill with an aim to protecting the interest of home buyers or other consumers in the real estate industry.

According to one of the Government official, “We are positively hopeful about the Real Estate Bill since there are many home buyers and other people in the real estate industry who are suffering from no mechanism or framework to get protect from any kind of unfair trade practice or exploitation by the real estate developers and real estate firms”. The more he added that the Cabinet has approved the changes which were mandatory as the revised bill is taken up for discussion. It is expected that new recommendations which have been accommodate in the bill will include the provision of parity in the interest payable by consumer and developer in case of any default by either.

In Presents, real estate developers only pay 2 to 3 percent interest in case of their default whereas; consumers are liable to pay about 16 to 18 percent for their default. However; on the same issue the Rajya Sabha panel had said that the interest rate payable by the promoters and the interest rate payable by the allottees should be the same in eventuality of any default by either of them. The panel was also recommended that 50 percent of payments made by the home buyers for a real estate project be kept in a separate account and it should be used for that specific project only.

However; in addition to the provision of imprisonment of up to three years proposed by the government, the committee had recommended that the clause of imprisonment for a realtor should be failing to abide by the orders of the appellate tribunal.