The Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation has notified all Sections of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 and it is coming into force from today i.e. May 1, 2017 and with this a new era of development of real estate sector begins in an atmosphere of investor confidence.

Section 56 of the Act authorizes the Company Secretary to provide Representative Services under the Act by appearing before the Appellate Tribunal or the Regulatory Authority or the adjudicating officer, as the case may be on behalf of the Client. Further, Company Secretary may also provide services like Consultancy Services under the Act and provide secretarial support to the client in complying with the various requirements of the Act.

Some of the major provisions of the Act, besides mandatory registration of projects and Real Estate Agents, include:

• Depositing 70% of the funds collected from buyers in a separate bank account in case of new projects and 70% of unused funds in case of ongoing projects.
• Projects with plot size of minimum 500 sq.mt or 8 apartments shall be registered with Regulatory Authorities.
• Both developers and buyers to pay the same penal interest of SBI’s Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus 2% in case of delays;
• Liability of developers for structural defects for five years.
• Imprisonment of up to three years for developers and up to one year in case of agents and buyers for violation of orders of Appellate Tribunals and Regulatory Authorities.