Official refuses to specify time frame for coming out with a draft of ‘agreement of sale’

It has been over a year since the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act, 2016 came into effect in the State, but not a single property registered since then has been under the RERA rules. The reason? Karnataka is yet to come out with the ‘agreement of sale’ (AoS) specified in the Act.

Sources in the Department of Stamps and Registration said, “The RERA Karnataka has to come out with the draft of the AoS and communicate it to us. That has not happened. At present, whatever sale agreements are coming to us are being registered.”

The AoS is touted to be advantageous to buyers, as the builder will have to clearly mention the carpet area, super built-up area and other details in the document.

M.S. Shankar, secretary, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts, said, “Now, every builder uses a different format for the sale agreement. Chances are that clauses advantageous to them will be specified — such as cost escalation will be mentioned, and amenities will include basics such as car parking and swimming pool. If the draft agreement is followed, it is more detailed. It also guarantees a five-year structural guarantee.”

“Once the AoS is finalised, we can insist on these at the time of registration,” an official in the Department of Stamps and Registration added.

A draft AoS put up by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in August 2016 describes the document as: “Any application letter, allotment letter, agreement, or any other document signed by the allottee, in respect of the apartment, plot or building, prior to the execution and registration of the agreement for sale for such apartment, plot or building, as the case may be, shall not be construed to limit the rights and interests of the allottee under the agreement for sale or under the Act or the rules or the regulations made thereunder.”

Suresh Hari from the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) Karnataka said a change in the government had brought about a delay in implementing the AoS. “The government had put up a draft online, to which we had filed our objections. The agreement should address concerns of both the builders and the buyers. Ultimately, the Act supersedes everything. An agreement is a symbolic form of a document,” he said.

Housing Secretary and interim RERA Chairman T.K. Anil Kumar said work was on to bring out a draft version of the AoS. He, however, did not commit to a time frame on when it will be implewwmented.