Just in: Real Estate Bill passed in both houses of Parliament. The bill seeks to protect the interests of property buyers against unscrupulous promoters and set up a sectoral watchdog. The opposition Congress party has said it favours the legislation.


The Real Estate Regulator (Regulation and Development) Bill, pending before parliament since 2013, got approval of the Rajya Sabha on March 10. A major benefit for consumers proposed in the bill is that builders will have to quote prices based on carpet area and not super built-up area, while carpet area has been clearly defined in the bill to include usable spaces like kitchen and toilets.


The bill makes it mandatory for all commercial and residential real estate projects where the land is over 500 square metres, or eight apartments, to register with the regulator for launching a project, in order to provide greater transparency in project-marketing and execution.