Realtors welcome moratorium on payments, want rebate on stamp duty
Realtors based in Gurugram on Tuesday said that the decision of the Haryana government to grant a moratorium on payment of fees related to change of land use (CLU), licence renewal fees and other interest payments is a positive step that will give a breather to the real estate industry, which has been hit hard during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. To boost the confidence of buyers, the developers want the stamp duty on registration of properties to be reduced for the interim period. Further, a one-time settlement for previous dues of external development charges (EDC) or infrastructure development charges (IDC) can also help boost sales, said city-based realtors.
The Haryana government on Monday had decided to consider the period from March 1 to September 30 as “zero period” during which there will be a moratorium on compliance rules and interest payments for all realty projects. A government spokesperson said that this moratorium shall apply to CLU, renewal of licences, the extension of CLU, fees payment and charges as per the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, 1983.
Presently, the registration fee for a property in the state is between 5 and 7% depending on the category of buyers.
Parveen Jain, chairman, national real estate development corporation (Naredco), Haryana, said that the government has taken a positive step by announcing these measures as it would ease the pressure on builders to pay large amounts of money as fees. “It was becoming difficult for the developers to get bank guarantees for EDC. It is a good step that the government has agreed to change this condition. The government also needs to bring in more clarity regarding quarantine of labourers who wish to return to work,” he said.
The realtors also said that they want the government to allow them to cancel a registered agreement to sell a property after the allottee has repeatedly defaulted on payments. “The decision announced on Monday will give some space to the real estate companies to survive through tough times. The money which can be paid to the government later can now be utilised to complete projects. If the government lessens registration fees then more buyers will come forward to buy properties,” said Prashant Solomon, spokesperson, The Confederation of Real Estate Developer’s Association of India (CREDAI), NCR and Haryana.
The developers of affordable housing also welcomed the government decision but want the government to consider a revision in the rate fixed for this category. “The rate for affordable housing was fixed in 2013 and it has remained the same at ₹4,000 for the last seven years. Meanwhile, the prices of construction material and labour have multiplied during this period and affordable projects have become commercially unviable,” said Surender Singh, director, GLS Developers.
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