Realtors demand time extension and other relief

To cope up with the Covid-19 pandemic impact, realtors on Wednesday demanded multiple relief measures from the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-Rera), including last mile funding, restructuring of existing business loans and more time to deliver projects.

“We need an additional six months to deliver ongoing housing projects as nationwide lockdown due to the pandemic affected our work schedule. The UP-Rera had earlier given us six months time but we want more in view of the market situation,” said RK Arora president of the UP chapter of national real estate development council (Naredco), which arranged a webinar as part of its three-day Infrastructure Summit-2020 from Wednesday. UP-Rera chief Rajive Kumar participated in the webinar during which the requests were put forward.

The realtors also demanded additional funds to complete certain projects that are 80% to 95% complete. Another demand is that existing loans should be ‘restructured’.

“It means that if a developer is unable to pay the loan then he should be given opportunity to get the loan amount rescheduled so that he gets more time to repay and loan instalment should be rescheduled. It will help the realtor not to become non performing assets,” said Arora.

Naredco national president Niranjan Hiranandani also attended the meet.

Meanwhile the confederation of real estate developers association of India (CREDAI), another builders’ group asked the state government to reduce the stamp fee from 5% to 2%.

“Maharashtra government has reduced stamp fee to 2% to help the homebuyers. We demanded the UP government do the same. And we also demanded 1% of total property cost on registration fee should be waived off,” said Subodh Goyal secretary of CREDAI’s Western UP chapter.

The UPRERA chairman Rajive Kumar assured the realtors help on prevailing issues.

“We discussed these issues with the realtors and assured them (realtors) help. We are in the role of supporting the real estate sector and we will do the needful. We have already made recommendations to Reserve bank of India and the ministry of finance on the issue of last mile funding and restructuring of loans. Now if Naredco gives in written then we will again do the needful after looking into these issues. And on stamp fee issue we have already made suggestions and let the state government take a positive decision on it,” said Kumar.