The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has welcomed the Real Estate Regulation Bill (Promoters and Builders - Regulation and Control of Activities Act) but finds it falls short on accountability of State Government agencies involved in clearing projects.
According to a press release from the RICS, it has represented to tihe Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation that the draft real-estate regulation Bill, which is to be a ‘model’ for States to follow, is a step in the right direction. It clearly spells out the liabilities of the promoter, builders and agents and provides for suitable action for not fulfilling these liabilities and for violating clauses under the proposed legislation. It takes into account appropriate checkpoints and stages of a property transaction where regulation is most required.
The Bill will provide customers with a recourse in case of delayed deliveries, non-execution of conveyance deed, substandard quality of construction or any other deviances from the specifications agreed upon in the purchase and sale agreement.
The Bill makes the purchase and sale agreement mandatory and specifies the contents — this would remove ambiguities and make the transaction transparent and developers accountable, the release said.
While the Bill provides for stringent action against developers for any violation or delays in delivery, the State government agencies or local development authorities are, however, kept out of the purview of the proposed Act. This could result in the developers being penalised for delays in clearances from approving authorities. The Bill ignores the accountability of local development authorities by not acknowledging the delays in project clearances; by keeping them out of the purview or regulation under this Bill and by not making appropriate provisions to make these authorities also accountable for delays.
An apex statutory or autonomous body preferably with quasi-judicial powers should oversee the functioning of the State-level bodies. The role of the regulatory body should be comprehensive to ensure that policy reforms are undertaken at the State level; the body should promote best practices, e-governance and skill development initiatives and monitor the ‘affordable housing for all’ agenda.
The regulatory body should be responsible for a wide range of activities such as improvement in regulatory framework with respect to modifications in antiquated land laws, duty rationalisation, single window clearance and computerisation of land records, setting up of minimum quality standards of registration of builders, setting up of reliable industry wide database, adoption of uniform valuation practices and improvement in accounting quality, setting standards and sharing best practices to meet housing policy objectives. According to RICS, pending an enactment of the law by the State governments, an ombudsmen be appointed in the interim period.
RICS is a professional body in land, property and construction with over 150,000 members in more than 146 countries practicing in a wide range of specialisations. RICS is governed by a Royal Charter approved by the UK Parliament which requires it to act in public interest rather than simply advancing the interests of its members.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
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