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Bringing in transparency
- The Hindu(Habitat), June 22, 2013
Some industry reactions to the Real Estate Regulation and Development Bill
The approval of the long awaited Real Estate Bill will bring the much needed transparency in the realty sector. Once the bill becomes law, the buyers will have more clarity on the exact area they are paying for and will also have a say if they are mislead by the project advertising. The attempt is to streamline the sector, with different bank accounts for each project. Hopefully the projects will face lesser execution delays and developers will stick to the advertised specifications and plans.
Though the need for a regulatory body and transparency in real estate sector are of importance, there is lot of work that needs to be done before the Indian realty sector gets streamlined and regularised. The Bill, being buyer-centric, won't be accepted in totality by real estate developers.
Mandating registration of property agents is a positive step towards organising the realty sector and making it proficient. With a regulatory authority in place and establishment of fast-track dispute resolution mechanisms, developers and agents will also be cautious about taking buyers for a ride.
Ganesh Vasudevan, CEO, IndiaProperty
Gain for the consumer
The biggest problem plaguing the real estate industry is the lack of transparency. If the transparency norms were to be improved, then consumer confidence will zoom and India will also be seen as an attractive destination for real estate investments. From this angle, the RERB is a welcome step. On the real estate global transparency index for 2012 (JLL), India ranked way below other fast growing economies like China, Brazil and Russia and of course the developed markets like the U.S. and Western Europe. This has to change if we want the Indian real estate market to grow into a mature market.
The apprehension from the builder / developer industry is that the bill and the regulatory framework will be misused and will only lead to more bureaucracy and delays in project approvals. While these fears are not unfounded, the system will sort itself in due time and we will have a better and transparent market in due course.
There is always a fair amount of resistance with every regulatory framework which has ever come into place. So the government has to put in place a speedy and transparent mechanism for these regulatory approvals, so that the industry does not get affected adversely.
The biggest gain is obviously for the consumer. The bill seeks to empower consumers to be aware of their rights and to fight for them. Any move towards better empowerment of consumers will lead to a huge gain for builders and the industry at large, in the long run.
Sunder, CEO-HomeShikari
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