Panel of experts to aid apartment owners in Karnataka

The real estate market of Karnataka has been crippled by builders who construct apartments on disputed land and then sell it off to potential buyers. Such builders have been a bane for the realty sector and has cast a black shadow on the real estate market of the state, by building floors beyond permission and denying the promised amenities. However, buyers tormented by such builders will soon be rescued by an expert committee, set up by the government to regulate the ownership and construction of such flats on disputed land.

Possible complaints

According to property experts, the complaints received over the years generally include:

• Developers promising to offer facilities such as gym, pool and playground often fail to deliver
• Lack of effective regulatory bodies and no clarity in the registration process
• Absence of monitoring mechanism to keep a tab on the construction of floor beyond the permitted number.
• Building complexes constructed on government land

The panel

Strengthened by the UDD (urban development department), the panel set up by the government has stirred a boom in the number of apartments in Mysore, Bangalore and other prime cities of Karnataka. Complaints from civil society representatives and apartment owner associations are prevalent these days and the panel of experts formed by UDD is designed to deal such problems.

Members of the panel will lay emphasis on all kinds of anomalies included in construction and ownership of apartments that are quite common due to the absence of up to snuff regulatory measures. The panel include members of parliamentary affairs, BBMP, town planning, cooperative societies and BDA. The panel will strive towards rewriting the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act, 1972 and the Karnataka Ownership Flats (Regulation of the Promotion of Construction, Sale, Management and Transfer) Act, 1973.

Next Move

As per the tip-off of the officials and the civil body, the newly formed panel will submit its report by December. In its report, the panel will take into account the Real Estate Bill of the Centre and Model Apartments Bill before settling for new set of rules for the exercising of the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Bill Act, 2012.

In the last few decades, the number of apartments in Bangalore and in other states have grown by leaps and bounds. With the growth of apartments and gated communities, the number of complaints by the residents, regarding flouting of rules by the developers and builders have hit the roof. The formation of such a panel by the government safeguard the buyers’ interest in the long run and maintain transparency in property transactions.