The State government has notified comprehensive set of guidelines governing the real estate sector for effective implementation of the Central Act – Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

The government has notified the Telangana State Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017 covering all aspects of the real estate sector right from defining the projects to the role that should be played by the real estate agents.

The rules will be applicable to all real estate projects whose building permissions are approved on or after January 1, 2017 by the urban development authorities, town and country planning departments, municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats in addition to the projects notified by the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.

The government announced the constitution of a Real Estate Regulatory Authority with chairman and members with a fixed tenure as also the Telangana State Real Estate Appellate Tribunal along with the notification of the new rules governing the sector. The prices for different categories of projects have also been fixed. It will be mandatory for the promoters to pay a registration fee for a sum calculated on the basis of whether the project is a group housing project, mixed development (residential and commercial), commercial project and plotted development project.

Accordingly, the fee would be ₹5 per sq.m for projects whose land proposed to be developed was below 1,000 sq.m and ₹10 per sq.m for projects whose development exceeds 1,000 sq.m, not exceeding ₹5 lakh. In case of mixed development projects, the fee would be ₹10 per sq.m for projects below 1,000 sq.m and ₹15 per sq.m for those above 1,000 sq.m, not exceeding ₹7 lakh. The fee in respect of the commercial projects would be ₹20 a sq.m for below 1,000 sq.m and ₹25 per sq.m for those exceeding the limit subject to a maximum of ₹10 lakh. For the plotted development projects, the fee would be ₹5 sq.m not exceeding ₹2 lakh.

Specifications were also given for the ongoing projects that did not receive the completion certificate (occupation certificate) by the date of commencement of the new regulations.

Accordingly, the promoter should make an application for registering the project with the concerned authority and deposit 70 per cent of the amounts realised from allotees which had not been used in the construction of the project or land cost of the project in a separate account. The new rules mandate real estate agents to obtain registration by applying to the competent authority and the registration will be valid for five years. The registration could be reviewed by the real estate agents by applying afresh at least three months before the expiry of the existing registration.