Developments in the Apartment and Urban Real Estate Laws in India

Abstract

Condominium laws in India have been in existence since 1963, with the earliest condominium legislation in the state of Maharashtra. Most states in India have their own separate legislations for condominiums; however, the principles upon which these state legislations rest are based on the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the Promotion of Construction, Sale, Management and Transfer) Act, 1963. In recent times, there have been efforts to revamp the rights and obligations of apartment owners, real estate developers and other stakeholders through the Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Act, 2012 and the Real Estate (Regulating and Development) Bill, 2013, which was passed by the Indian Parliament in March 2016.This paper is divided into three parts. The first part argues that while different states have their own respective state laws relating to the transfer and administration of condominiums, such states follow the same principles developed in the State of Maharashtra and for all intents and purposes, there exists a standardised set of rules relating to the transfer and administration of condominiums. The second part of the paper ‘Overview of Apartment Laws in India’ describes the development of apartment laws in India including a detailed discussion of the apartment ownership, transfer and administration law in India. The third section of the paper discusses a landmark judgment which laid the basis for wide sweeping changes in the way the real estate industry is regulated. It further discusses the salient features of the Real Estate (Regulating and Development) Bill, 2013, the proposed central legislation for the regulation and development of the real estate industry in India.