Kerala clears ordinance on real estate development

Thiruvananthapuram: To streamline real estate development in Kerala and to eliminate fly-by-night operators, the state government has approved the Kerala Real Estate (Development and Regulation) Ordinance, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Wednesday.

"This ordinance was cleared by the cabinet today (Wednesday) and through this, we expect to prevent frauds taking place in the real estate sector. Through this ordinance, two regulatory bodies -- the Real Estate Authority and the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal -- will come into being to look into all aspects of new flats, villas and commercial buildings," Chandy said.

The measure has been sent to Governor P. Sathasivam for its issuance.

Of late, the number of complaints by people who have paid money for buying flats and villas promoted by real estate companies have gone up drastically.

The most affected are the Kerala diaspora who have reportedly fallen victim to errant builders.

Kerala Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali said that through this measure, they were confident of protecting the interests of investors who pay for a flat or a villa.

"The Real Estate Appellate Tribunal will be a quasi-judicial body and would have enormous powers to ensure that land deals are fair. Right from the time advertisements appear from real estate developers, the construction period and after the property is handed over, everything will be under scrutiny.

"Those who do not complete their project on time would be fined. We are confident that through this, there will be no more apprehensions by the investors," said Ali.

Chandy said that Kerala, through this ordinance, has become only the second state after Maharashtra to have such a stringent law.