Karnataka cabinet passes Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 or RERA, ending weeks of uncertainty
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Wednesday passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 or RERA, an Act described as customer-centric which aims to protect home-buyers and encourage genuine private players in the fast growing sector.
The state cabinet passed the bill on Wednesday evening—albeit with a few changes—ending weeks of uncertainty that led many to question if the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was depriving the state of possible benefits of RERA.
Karnataka law minister T.B. Jayachandra said that the delays were on account of prolonged discussions and confusion. He said that the state cabinet has decided that projects that are 60% complete or have executed 60% of the sale deed will be exempted from rules formulated by the state. Jayachandra said that the rules will also direct all builders to treat guidance value as the base price while estimating the project cost.
He said that the Karnataka RERA rules are on the lines of Gujarat and Rajasthan but the state has largely adopted the central law. He said that a Gazette notification will be issued in the next 3-4 days.
Although Karnataka was one of the first states to notify the draft rules last year, it dragged feet the approval on the final rules and set up a state-level regulatory authority. The rules mandated that the state governments establish a Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal within one year of RERA coming into force on 1 May 2016.
Karnataka housing minister M. Krishnappa had earlier told Mint that there were some delays in approving RERA, adding that the provisions would be effective from 1 May itself.
“RERA Karnataka Rules approved by the state cabinet at last. But yet to know whether the rules are not watered down,” Suresh Kumar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former law minister said on microblogging site Twitter on Wednesday.
Courtsey: Sharan Poovanna | LiveMint |06-July-2017