Housing regulatory bill to be tabled

The state government is likely to enact a legislation to create a housing regulatory authority to rein in errant builders in the ongoing winter session of the assembly.

The state government is likely to enact a legislation to create a housing regulatory authority to rein in errant builders in the ongoing winter session of the assembly.

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A proposal to create the authority by way of a bill will be brought before the state Cabinet next week, said sources. Once cleared by the Cabinet, the bill will be tabled in the legislature for discussion and approval, sources said.

The proposed legislation is aimed at ensuring that the builders don’t take the homebuyers for a ride.

Under the proposed legislation, it will be mandatory for the builders to inform the buyers about the exact area that they will be provided in the flat, the details of the construction plan and land titles. The authority will ensure that the builders do not change the rate at which the buyers are sold the flats.

Often builders are accused of increasing flat prices quoted at the time of booking citing reasons such as cost escalation. Besides, the builders will also have to specify the time when the buyers will get the possession of the flat.

According to the proposed legislation, both builders and architects will be held liable if the buyers are cheated and the guilty will be punished with a fine and imprisonment, sources added.

The regulatory authority will have a chairman and two members. It is also proposed to set up an appellate authority for filing appeal against the regulatory authority’s decision.

The state government had first decided to set up such an authority in June 2007 and the proposal won the approval of the state Cabinet in April 2008. However, the builders’ lobby was pressurising the government not to create the authority.

Now, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has decided to get the legislation enacted, sources said.