Noida allows builders to pay lease rent in instalments, but with riders

NOIDA: The Noida Authority on Monday allowed private developers to pay lease rent dues in instalments. The move will help around 30,000 homebuyers who are waiting to get their properties registered.

According to a rough estimate, there are close to 50 highrise projects in the city where around 30,000 buyers have not been able to register their flats because the developers have not cleared dues of the Authority. A number of these buyers had approached the UP government, urging it to find a solution.

The decision to allow builders to pay in instalments was taken at the board meeting of the Authority. It, however, comes with a few riders. For instance, builders will be considered for the instalment scheme only if they have cleared the land premium. They will also have to pay the prevailing interest rate being charged by the Authority.

RK Arora, president of UP Naredco, a real estate body, backed the decision. “We welcome the decision and will urge developers to take advantage of the scheme at the earliest. Although lease rent amounts to 15% of the overall dues, it is the most burning issue among buyers, builders and the industrial development authorities in the district at present. Registries cannot be executed without it,” he added.

As part of the scheme, the application of a group housing project in Sector 75 will be processed first. This will pave the way for 618 buyers to register their flats.

After the developer has paid an instalment and cleared the premium, a meeting will be held with Authority officials and buyers. The registries will be done in proportion to the amount that has been cleared. “We will divide the total amount due with the number of flats that are to be registered. For instance, if the builder has paid 25% of the dues, 22.5% of the total inventory can be registered. We will keep 10% of the inventory on hold till the last instalment is cleared,” said an official of the group housing section.

Jitendra Kumar, who had bought a flat in Mahagun Moderne in Sector 78, is also awaiting registry. “I had bought a 2BHK in Verona tower in August 2017 and paid about Rs 80 lakh to the builder. It included both the cost of the flat and the registry charges. The final papers to execute the registry were prepared in November 2018. However, even after two years, the registry has not been done. Noida Authority officials said the developer was yet to settle dues. More than 250 flat buyers like me are waiting for registry even after paying the entire amount,” he added.

Among other decisions taken at the board meeting, the Authority said the applications of big ticket investors would be fast-tracked and processed within 15 days. For this, the minimum worth of the project will have to be Rs 200 crore. Such companies will have to also invest Rs 7 crore per acre in order to create more job opportunities.