West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017
No: 41 Dated: Oct, 17 2017
THE WEST BENGAL HOUSING INDUSTRY REGULATION ACT, 2017
West Bengal Act XLI of 2017
An Act to establish the Housing Industry Regulatory Authority for regulation and promotion of the housing sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, or sale of real estate project, in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector and to establish a mechanism for speedy dispute redressal and for matters connected therewith or, incidental thereto.
Whereas it is expedient to establish the Housing Industry Regulatory Authority for regulation and promotion of the housing sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, or sale of real estate project, in an efficient and transparent manner and to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector and to establish a mechanism for speedy dispute redressal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
It is hereby enacted in the Sixty-eighth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows:
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) This section shall come into force at once and the remaining sections shall come into force on such date or dates as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different sections of this Act.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "advertisement" means any document described or issued as advertisement through any medium and includes any notice, circular or other documents or publicity in any form, informing persons about a real estate project, or offering for sale of a plot, building or apartment or inviting persons to purchase in any manner such plot, building or apartment or to make advances or deposits for such purposes;
(b) "agreement for sale" means an agreement entered into between, the promoter and the allottee;
(c) "allottee" in relation to a real estate project, means the person to whom a plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, has been allotted, sold (whether as freehold or leasehold) or otherwise transferred by the promoter, and includes the person who subsequently acquires the paid allotment through sale, transfer or otherwise but does not include a person to whom such plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, is given on rent;
(d) "apartment" whether called block, chamber, dwelling unit, flat, office, showroom, shop, godown, premises, suit, tenement, unit or by any other name, means a separate and self-contained part of any immovable property, including one or more rooms or enclosed spaces, located on one or more floors or any part thereof, in a building or a plot of land, used or intended to be used for any residential or commercial use such as residence, office, shop, showroom or godown or for carrying on any business, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other type of used ancillary to the purpose specified;
(e) "Appellate Tribunal" means the West Bengal Housing Industry Appellate Tribunal established under section 43;
(f) "architect" means a person registered as an architect under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972 (20 of 1972);
(g) "Authority" means the Housing Industry Regulatory Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 20;
(h) "building" includes any structure or erection or part of a structure or erection which is intended to be used for residential, commercial or for the purpose of any business, occupation, profession or trade, or for any other related purposes;
(i) "car parking area" means such area as may be prescribed;
(j) "carpet area" means the net usable floor area of an apartment, excluding the area covered by the external walls, areas under services shafts, exclusive balcony or verandah area and exclusive open terrace area, but includes the area covered by the internal partition walls of the apartment.
Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause, the expression "exclusive balcony or verandah area" means the area of the balcony or verandah, as the case may be, which is appurtenant to the net usable floor area of an apartment, meant for the exclusive use of the allottee, and "exclusive open terrace area" means the area of open terrace which is appurtenant to the net usable floor area of an apartment, meant for the exclusive use of the allottee;
(k) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Housing Industry Regulatory Authority appointed under section 21;
(l) "commencement notice" means the commencement notice or the building permit or the construction permit, by whatever name called issued by the competent authority to allow or permit the promoter to begin development works on an immovable property, as per the sanctioned plan;
(m) "common areas" mean-
(i) the entire land for the real estate project or where the project is developed in phases and registration under this Act is sought for a phase, the entire land for that phase;
(ii) the staircases, lifts, staircase and lift lobbies, fire escapes and common entrances and exits of buildings;
(iii) the common basements, terraces, parks, play areas, open parking areas and common storage spaces;
(iv) the premises for the lodging of persons employed for the management of the property including accommodation for watch and ward staffs or for the lodging of community service personnel;
(v) installations of central services such as electricity, gas, water and sanitation, air-conditioning and incinerating, system for water conservation and renewable energy;
(vi) the water tanks, sumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and all apparatus connected with installations for common use;
(vii) all community and commercial facilities as provided in the real estate project;
(viii) all other portion of the project necessary or convenient for its maintenance, safety, etc. and in common use;
(n) "company" means a company incorporated and registered under the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) and includes,-
(i) a corporation established by or under any Central Act or State Act;
(ii) a development authority or any public authority established by the Government in this behalf under any law for the time being in force;
(o) "competent authority" means the local authority or any authority created or established under any law for the time being in force which exercises authority over land under its jurisdiction, and has powers to give permission for development of such immovable property;
(p) "completion certificate" means the completion certificate, or such other certificate, by whatever name called, issued by the competent authority certifying that the real estate project has been developed according to the sanctioned plan, layout plan and specifications, as approved by the competent authority under the local laws;
(q) "day" means the working day, in the State notified by the State Government from time to time;
(r) "development" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means carrying out the development of immovable property, engineering or other operations in, on, over or under the land or the making of any material change in any immovable property or land and includes re-development;
(s) "development works" means the external development works and internal development works on immovable property;
(t) "engineer" means a person who possesses a bachelor`s degree or equivalent or Diploma from an institution recognised by (sic) All India Council of Technical Education or any University (sic) Institution recognized under a law or is registered as an Eng (sic) under any law for the time being in force;
(u) "estimated cost of real estate project" means the total cost involved in developing the real estate project and includes the land cost, land development cost, taxes, cess, development and other charges;
(v) "external development works" includes roads and road systems landscaping, water supply, sewerage and drainage systems, electricity supply transformer, sub-station, solid waste management and disposal or any other work which may have to be executed in the periphery of, or outside, a project for its benefit, as may be provided under the local laws;
(w) "family" includes husband, wife, minor son and unmarried daughter wholly dependent on a person;
(x) "garage" means garage and parking space as sanctioned by the Competent Authority;
(y) "housing industry" means the industry which deals with development, construction, sale of houses and plots of land for any purpose;
(z) "immovable property" includes land, buildings, rights of ways, lights or any other benefit arising out of land and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything which is attached to the earth, but not standing timber, standing crops or grass;