It is a bill consumers and developers across the country are looking forward to. The bill deals with a regulatory mechanism for the country’s real estate industry that hopes to be beneficial and sustainable for the stakeholders.

The draft real estate regulation bill, which is to be a ‘model’ for states to follow, would specify liabilities of the promoter, builders and agents and specify suitable penalties for not fulfilling obligations and violating clauses of the proposed legislation.

The bill deals with appropriate safeguards and stages of a property transaction where regulation is most required.

The bill provides customers with recourse in case of delayed deliveries, non-execution of conveyance deed, substandard quality of construction or any other deviances from the specifications agreed upon in the purchase and sale agreement.

It also suggests making purchase and sale agreements mandatory, calls for removal of ambiguities to make transactions transparent and developers accountable.

However, the real estate sector is not too happy. Although the proposed legislation is still in consultation stage and comments are being sought from various stakeholders, industry associations have voiced their concern over the draft being against the interests of developers.

“The draft bill in its present shape is totally against developers. It has put across civil offence as a criminal offence,” Rohtas Goel, president National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco), told FC Estate. Goel, who is also the chairman of real estate company Omaxe, said ame-ndments are needed in almost all the points of the draft bill. “The ministry of housing has given us a week to respond with suggestions to the draft. We will be laying down our concerns to the ministry over the next week,” he said.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has said that contrary to expectations, the draft bill does not allow the real estate regulator to act as an impartial arbitrator between the developer and various government agencies on one hand and the developer and consumers on the other.

“Section 4 of the bill has a provision that makes it mandatory for a developer to get a registration certificate from competent authorities before advertising a real estate project. However, if the advertisement goes without a registration certificate, developers are liable for punishment of up to one year in jail or a fine of Rs 5,000 or both,” Sajjan Jindal, president, Asso-cham, said. He added that this was a sweeping provision and restrictive in nature.

Jindal pointed out another section in the bill that says that licence for development of a residential project will be given by competent authority and will be valid for three years and renewable from year to year on payment of a prescribed fee. “It reintroduces licence raj and its terms are too stringent. For instance, although the licence is valid only for three years, yet various approvals for a project from a slew of government agencies take up to 18-24 months,” Jindal said.

In a representation addressed to the government, Assocham has emphasised that the draft bill has kept various government agencies engaged in real estate development out of the ambit of a regulator.

Sachin Sandhir, country head and managing director of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) India, said that while the bill provides for stringent action against developers for any violation or delays in delivery, state government agencies or local development authorities have been kept out of the purview of the bill, which could result in developers being penalised on account of delays in receiving clearances from approving authorities.