With the announcement of the much awaited Model Real Estate Act, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), the Real Estate sector seems to have become a little more disciplined and ethical. It’s now going to be an arduous task for the builders and developers to dupe the buyers by using misleading details of the property or confusing them with jargon terms. The Act will surely provide a balance to the disorganized Real Estate sector and eventually induce the coveted transparency needed from a long time.

For a buyer investing the hard earned life savings, the only wish is that he/she should get whatever promised, on time and with proper paperwork. The establishment of a regulatory body is surely going to give the buyers a chance to take a sigh of relief as developers are going to be more cautious lest they can be penalized and in some case even put behind bars.

The key highlights of the Act are:

•    The project can not be advertised before it is registered with the authority. This registration will ensure that the project has obtained all sanctions.
•    The advertisements should be specific and clear. There should not be any misleading images or highlights about the project.
•    Builders should use proper terminologies and will be required to give a detailed specification of carpet area, super built up and floor area. In addition to that, they also need to give information about all the extra charges levied for common spaces such as corridors, parking and lifts, etc.
•    Any individual who plans to buy a property can inspect all the documents pertaining to approvals, sanctions, any other relevant document related with the property. The draft has made it mandatory for developers.
•    Developers are required to make the buyers aware of the fact if they have taken any loan against that property.
•    The regulatory body shall make it sure that the end products delivered to the buyers is what they had invested into, at the very first place.

•    All the property transactions, sale or purchase, will be logged into an AIR thereby making Income Tax an obligation. This step would also ensure that there is no illegitimate property and black money involved.

Given the present real estate scenario in India, there is no set standard and guidelines for becoming a real estate agent and anyone can become one. A good idea, for the regulation would be to create some kind of certification that would help recognize and evaluate good and trustworthy agents. The emphasis should be laid upon ethics and best practices in addition to procedural and business knowledge. Addition of such professionalism to the business would not only help the buyers but also for developers and sellers. Distribution is extremely essential as the market is demonstrating an upsurge with extra attention being given to the affordable housing segment.

The above mentioned improvements in the Real Estate sector are for sure going to give the segment a boost will add much to the relief of the buyers. It will ensure transparency and accountability.

Posted under categories: Laws & Regulations
Tags: AIR, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Model Real Estate Act, Real Estate Regulation