Budget 2017 Needs To Address RERA Urgently

Not many months has passed since the Real Estate (Regulatory and Authority) Bill, 2016, came into being and states have started notifying rules under it. While a few states have kept the framework basic and to the point, rules notified by Maharashtra have irked the home buyers as they claim that the regulations mentioned in the draft are builder-centric. As the clarity over the penalty and punishment clause mentioned in RERA is still impending, industry stakeholders are looking forward to Union Budget 2017 to answer their grievances.

Issues that need to be addressed on February 1 in Budget 2017 

Project delays and penalty

While Real Estate Bill talks about the buyer's protection against project delays and frauds, there is no clarity for builder's community as what are the guidelines and the financial risk associated with such issues. Moreover, there is no talk about the reasons behind project delays. While a few are voluntarily controlled, there are a few delaying factors which are uncontrolled. For instance, the National Green Tribunal issue in Noida, changes in construction norms etc. The developer's community is expecting better stance over this fact and wants the finance minister to address their grievances in his Budget Speech on 1st Feb. 

Single Window Clearance

The single window clearance is one demand that is being consistently raised from the past few years now. As the most prevalent reason for project delay is the approvals from the authority, stakeholders have always voiced their opinion that there should be one desk where all the approvals should be granted instead of several ministries and departments which increase the redtapeism and corruption. While a few states are already planning to bring about the change, Maharashtra might become the first state to implement the system as the IT infrastructure is already under construction. This is the reason why developers from other states are looking to Budget 2017 for such announcements that can make other states follow the suite. 

Financial protection

While there are many peaks and perks of being a first-time home buyer, there needs to be more explanation on how a first-time buyer can cope up with bank loans if the project gets delayed. As the moratorium period is limited to three years, if the project gets delayed more for more than the fixed time period, a buyer has to bear the double monthly outflow till the time project is ready for possession. Ideally, Real Estate Bill should address the builder's responsibility of the buyer defaults the loan because of the project delays.