The Times of India 24.11.2010
Developers ask govt to rectify ‘anomaly’ in rules
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), a body representing real estate developers, on Tuesday sought the chief minister’s intervention in removing the “anomaly” in Development Control (DC) regulations to ensure that apartments are sold on the basis of carpet area.
MCHI president Sunil Mantri, in his letter to the government, said that while the government had modified DC rules to ensure that flats are sold on the basis of carpet-area norm, it was difficult to implement the regulation due to various constraints. According to MCHI, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sanctions building permission plans on the basis of built-up area, which covers staircase, passage, lift well, lobby, plinth as well as common areas. The body had requested the urban development (UD) department to sanction building permission plans on carpet-area basis. “However, the department has not been able to arrive at a decision pertaining to this crucial issue,” Mantri has said in his letter.
“We are willing to adopt the sale of flats on carpet-area basis to implement the government’s stated intention,” Mantri said, adding that “only minor modification is required in the DC regulations for this purpose”.
The MCHI president said that while the government is insisting that developers follow the carpet-area norm, the revenue department continues to charge stamp duty on the basis of build-up area. “This needs to be corrected, stamp duty, too, should be charged on the basis of carpet area,” Mantri said. “While authorities permit projects based on build-up area, they ask developers to sell flats on carpet-area basis. This is not justified. Hence, we urge the chief minister to intervene and accord approval for sanction of the building permission plan and levy of stamp duty on carpet-area basis. This approval shall enable MCHI to direct all the developers under its umbrella to sell apartments on carpet-area basis,” said Mantri.
Historically, constructed property has been measured or traded in terms of the carpet area available to the buyer. Till the mid 1970s, property was being traded in Mumbai purely on the basis of carpet area, taken as being equal to the size of the carpet spread required when every inch of the floor inside the house was to be covered. The concept of built-up/ super built-up area basically started as a result of the justification for the cost being incurred on the various add-ons by developers such as podium, garden, and amenities like swimming pool, which were not taken into consideration till early 70s.
Earlier, a builder would present the entire area of a flat to the consumer. Now, developers sell an apartment by dividing its space into carpet area and super built-up area, which is the useable space. The change in the name had to be brought in following the government’s insistence that the sale agreement clearly mention the space included in carpet as well as super built-up area.
Last month, the BMC also sent a circular to the building proposals department, asking it to incorporate the provisions of Maharashtra Ownership Flats (regulation of the promotion of construction, sale management and transfer) Act regarding the sale of a flat based on its carpet area in the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD) issued to builders.
