New Delhi: Real estate sector is sought after its high investment return but its tarnished image has been portraying a shadowed reputation for ages now. Several customers have been duped by brokers on numerous occasions like value of a credit note, inflated discount rates, interest rates etc. The unprofessional environment and unorganised style of work make this sector one of the most challenging and a lot more difficult to get promoted to higher levels of management.
Crores of rupees go down the drain due to the lack of consistency in the services provided by brokers. Thousands of cases with regards to misrepresentation of facts, financial duping, misuse of trust and false or misleading advertisements have been going on for ages in the civil/ high courts. With the ever growing demand of residential or commercial properties, the rise in the number of brokers has been phenomenal catering to their need and requirements, however, in majority, not more than 50 per cent of the total number of brokers are genuine. Due to the numerous loopholes in the laws laid for this industry, several frauds have occurred over the years. There has been a huge sigh of relief with the new Real Estate Regulatory Bill which has set the ball rolling; yet, it still is in the phase of being passed as an act.
Seeing the growing potential of the real estate sector, the government sprung into action and took major steps to bring out a customer-centric bill, which has become a nightmare for most developers which in turn will also affect the brokers. The bill clearly states that it is mandatory for all brokers to register themselves with the proposed RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority).
The air has been cleared with regards to the unfair practices which brokers need to restrain themselves from i.e. any statement which falsely represents services of any particular standard, statements representing that they have all the due approvals and any misleading statements regarding services provided.
One of the major changes in the bill have been regarding the penalties and sentence for non-abidance of the laws laid in the bill. For developers deliberately providing false information will be liable to pay a penalty. Those who will have an incomplete registration may end up serving a 3 year jail term period as well as pay any penalty if levied.
Such major paradigm shifts in the laws for real estate industry have brought a major relief for genuine brokers and agents as well as majorly for customers. As a purely customer - centric bill, it has been ensured that customers should get the maximum benefit out of the proposed bill. This bill has been a severe pain for most of the development authorities as it can completely alter their work process and unfair benefits.
The government has ensured through this bill to keep in mind the safety of consumers who are always at the receiving end. Getting all the details of various housing projects in itself is a blessing in disguise for them, in order to keep all important information available as and when ever required. The provision of giving a uniform regulatory environment to customer interests will help in efficient judgments and provide a complete protection of the interest of the customers. Extensive provisions have been made to bring the much awaited transparency in functioning at the brokers' level as well as at the developers' level too. The policy of imposing stringent penalties will also help in bringing the customers' faith back in the industry. Such penalties have been introduced to reduce the number of duping cases which can been seen growing every year. The due negligence by brokers and developers lead to the loss for customers who invest their hard earned money in various housing projects. Seeing the rise of the sector, the bill has been introduced with the sole purpose of giving customers the leverage of law which can be a huge help to them whenever they will face any legal situations in the coming years.
From customers' view, the bill has been made customer proof to protect their interest. Though for the developers this will be a tough situation to face, yet getting the industry on its feet can only be done through the enactment of the proposed bill. One of the major positive outcomes through this bill is the revival of lost faith of customers in the industry. This will help in getting potential clients who can give a boost to the growth of the sector in the coming times. As one of the most booming sectors of India, the potential to have explosive growth has been seen by many players and through the proposed bill, this dream can become a reality in the coming times.
The proposed bill is intended to bring in professionalism, standardization and growth which can lead to the increased potential of the industry. Major steps have been taken to ensure accountability towards customers, reduction in frauds and duping which have been some of the vital reasons for the tarnished image of the industry. The positive steps taken by the government and complete awareness of customers can ensure that unlicensed brokers are completely wiped out of the industry Fortunately, with the passing of the bill several issues faced by the customers will be solved which will be a favourable point for the growth of the real estate sector. The hopes and dreams of customers are at stake which can be saved through the passing of this bill, let's hope for the best.
(The author Gaurav Yadav is Founder & Director, Uday Homz)
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