Real estate bill will help weed out bad apples

I think it is important to understand the need for a Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill. It was drafted because the government felt that developers as a community have not met the expectations of buyers. Consumers face many issues such as delay in delivery of apartments, not receiving refund for cancellations and change in project specifications. In this industry, buyer agreements tend to be one-sided with a bias towards the developer. But, with the Bill coming in, developers will have to work within the framework of the buyer agreement.

It will ensure that transactions between buyers and developers are fair and transparent. The Bill says that every state will have to set up a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Property developers will have to upload project details such as site and layout plan onto the authority’s website. A builder cannot sell apartments in a project without registering it with RERA. Real estate brokers will also have to register with the authority. This will improve the sector’s transparency.

If developers want to make certain changes to a project, they will have to take the consent of two-thirds of the buyers, without which structural changes cannot be made. Modifying plans will be cumbersome and expensive, but I still think it is good that the Bill has this provision. Developers will have to learn design-discipline. 

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