Government Ready With More Protection For Home Buyers. Is Rahul Gandhi?

Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:

1. The government has listed the real estate bill for discussion in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. "If the opposition led by the Congress agrees, the government is ready to push up the real estate bill for debate above other bills that are listed in the Upper House," said a government source to NDTV.
2. The impetus is based on the renewed interest shown by the Congress, the main opposition party, in getting the proposal cleared by parliament. Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has told concerned home buyers that his party will support the bill. Last week, the Congress wrote to the PM, asking for the bill to be prioritized in this session of parliament.
3. This is crucial because the Congress has the most members in the Rajya Sabha, where the government and its allies are in a minority.
4. The version that the government will submit for discussion includes as many as 20 amendments or changes, based on the feedback of a parliamentary committee. The first version of the bill was rejected by the Rajya Sabha last year.
5. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill makes it mandatory for residential and commercial projects to be registered with a real estate regulator which will monitor transactions and settle disputes. In recent years, several projects have been delayed, leaving home buyers in the lurch with no protection.
6. The new proposal covers a larger number of projects for registration -any project that includes eight flats or 500 square.
7. Builders will have to deposit at least 70% of money collected from buyers during pre- sales, including land cost, in an escrow account to meet construction costs, compared with the earlier proposal for 50%. This is to ensure that developers who run out of cash don't stall projects. Builders would have to pay interest to home buyers for any default or delays at the same rate they charge them.
8. Builders will be liable for structural defects for five years, instead of two years as proposed earlier. They will also have to pay interest to home buyers on delays at the same rate that customers would be charged if they defaulted on payments.
9. The bill allows buyers to approach consumer courts at the district level, instead of only the real estate regulatory authorities that will be set up.
10. State capitals will have these regulators to ensure customers have easy access to intervention.