Real estate act lacks transparency
Draft rules of the new Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, (RERA), notified by the Maharashtra government have been diluted to favour errant builders, property experts and housing activists said. They claimed that they lacked transparency and flat buyers will continue to remain in the dark as the draft gives developers a loophole not to disclose crucial aspects of projects. Pankaj Kapoor of Liases Foras, a real estate rating and research firm, said some major builders need not divulge the carpet area of units. "The number, type and carpet area of apartments for sale in the project empower buyers to know exact specifications of the layout, and the developer could have avoided ambiguities related to pricing,'' he said. Anuranjan Mohnot, MD & CEO, Amplus Capital Advisors, said diluted rules will make RERA ineffective. "Unfortunately, draft rules in Maharashtra are very weak compared to Delhi,'' he said. For instance, it is silent on disclosure of ongoing and past legal cases against the developer. "For existing projects, the draft rules only require disclosure of utilisation of 70% money collected from consumers, instead of complete accountability of all consumers' receivables. Accountability of consumers' receivables could have helped them in seeking required funds from the developer for completion of a project in case it is delayed,'' he said.
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