New draft law mandates builders to disclose litigation details before sale

Chennai: Following the collapse of Moulivakkam building that killed 61 workers and complaints pouring in against realtors in Chennai for registering flats without valid documents and completing projects without stability, the state has drafted Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016.

Under the new draft, the promoters should now disclose all details of contractors, architects, urban planners, structural engineers and also the past and ongoing litigations of promoters in reference to real estate projects taken up in Tamil Nadu.

According to official sources, those selling properties should now maintain a back-up, in digital form, of the contents of their website and ensure that such back-up is updated on the last day of each month. The promoter shall disclose all project details as required under the Act and the rules and regulations made there under, including the status of the project and the extent of completion. The promoters shall also disclose the size of the apartment based on carpet area, even if earlier sold on any other basis such as super area and super built up area, read the copy of draft available with DC.

Section 34 of the proposed Act makes it mandatory for builders to furnish all information in their website including limited liability partnership, track record and the particulars of registration to be provided.

Also, under the sub-sections of the Act, details of all consultants like name and addresses of contractors, architects, structural engineers, site engineers, construction engineers, quality auditors, Geo-technical engineers, government town planners, project management consultants should be shared with the public under the new draft, sources explained.

Responding on the issue, civic activist S. Solomon, who had filed litigation in Madras High Court against illegal buildings in Chennai, welcomed the new draft.

There are several acts and rules to prevent illegalities in real estate. But the serious issue is that non implementation of town planning rules in letter and spirit.