Real Estate bill to be tabled in LS

Government plans to bring the amended Real Estate bill, which seeks to protect property buyers against unscrupulous real estate developers and agents, in Lok Sabha during the second half of the Budget session beginning April 20.
"It is a priority bill. Our intention is to bring the bill in the second half of the Budget session itself," sources in the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said.
Immediately after the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the bill last evening paving the way for regulation of realty business, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had tweeted, "Happy that Cabinet approved amendments to Real Estate Bill today. Now it will be taken up in forthcoming session of Parliament.

Sources in the ministry said though there is a constraint of timing due to short period of the second part of the Budget session and pending legislative business, the "intention of the government is to pass this bill in Budget Session itself."
While the existing bill already provides for strict penalties including jail for errant builders, the amendments seek to make it mandatory for all developers, including of housing projects, to keep minimum 50 per cent of funds collected from buyers in a escrow account to meet construction costs.
Through the amendments to the Bill of 2013, the Cabinet has extended the applicability of the Bill to commercial real estate also. Ongoing projects that have not received completion certificates have also been brought under the purview of the Bill and such projects will need to be registered with a proposed regulator within three months.

Another major modification is that promoters will not be allowed to change plans and structural designs without the consent of 2/3rd of consumers of a project, according to an official statement.
Real estate agents also have been made punishable for non-compliance of orders of regulatory authority. Appellate Tribunals will also be set up under the proposed law.
Under the other new stipulations approved by the Cabinet, states have to make rules in this regard within one year.