CHENNAI: The revised draft of Tamil Nadu Real Estate (Regulations and Development) Rules 2016 is likely to have more than 20 changes including granting amnesty to projects where agreements had already been signed by the developer and purchaser before the new rules were implemented.
The rules were framed to support the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 that will govern the real estate industry, especially residential apartments.
The draft rules were released for public consultation in January by the state government. It is learnt that, based on public suggestions, the government has made about 20 changes to the draft rules. The revised rules are likely to be passed during the assembly session this month. Most of the changes made are based on the nearly 40 suggestions from members of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association (CREDAI), town planning experts and civil societies, according to sources in the sector.
Sources revealed that real estate bodies have suggested amendments in the draft seeking insertion of a clause pertaining to ‘common areas’ which was absent in the earlier draft.
The insertion states that ‘common areas’ shall be limited to the facility expressly provided by the promoter as part of common amenities. It shall not include commercial facilities or other facilities constructed by the promoter as part of an integrated development where required permission has been obtained from planning authority. It has also been suggested that the promoter will draw up a deed, as per Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act (1994), defining the role of the association in maintaining the common area, along with sale deed.
Suggestions were also given to include a clause on reserved car parks, to protect them from being misused by developers and builders. This was to prevent cases where the builder does not specify parking spaces and distributes it unevenly among residents.
Even the definition of ‘association’, suggested in the earlier draft, is to undergo changes, due to fears that promoters could form a dormant association with their own members and misuse the clause. In the earlier draft, ‘association’ meant the association of allottees formed as per provisions of the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership Act. However, in the revised draft, ‘association’ means a group in which a minimum of two-third of apartment owners or allottees are registered as members, acting as a group in accordance with by-laws. Sources say this will help ensure the association is genuine.
A suggestion that plots, that are 500 square metres or above with four or more dwelling units should come under the purview of RERA, is likely to be accepted since the eligibility criteria in the earlier draft was not clear.
Sources in the real estate sector also revealed there was a suggestion about cases where the planning authority had granted approval to develop a large piece of land, but the project was being conceived in a phased manner. In such cases, the promoter can register each phase as an independent project. These cases will also be exempt from the requirement of obtaining consent from two-thirds of existing allottees for modification of plans for subsequent phases, provided that allottee and promoter have agreed to develop the project in a phased manner.