Sanctuary Scotland housing project helps families’ fortunes

An affordable housing project has made life better for dozens of families in Glasgow.

Many children have been moved into more secure, more attractive and more spacious homes at Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association’s new development in Ruchill.

The £9.5 million project’s 70 properties help address a local shortage of affordable housing.

Happy tenants recently receiving keys to their new homes include Charlotte Taylor who shares a three-bedroom house in Hugo Street with partner Barry and daughters Sienna (3), Hollie (1) and Lucy (7 months).

Charlotte, 24, said: “We love our new home – it’s much better for our family.

“Our two-bedroom flat in Arden was two flights up and impossible with a double buggy.

“Moving here has been a very welcome lifestyle change. It’s great to be able to walk out the front door and have a garden where the girls can play.”

Musu Fofanah moved to Hugo Close from temporary accommodation following the death of her partner.

Like daughters Munjay (13) and Mumama (6), she is thrilled to have a place to call “home”.

Musu, 37, said: “Moving here has made a big difference to our lives – it’s great to have this security.

“The girls love having their own rooms and a garden to play in after school.

“I screamed with joy when offered the house. We’re so happy to be here.”
The development was built in partnership with Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government, thanks in part to a £3.9m grant.

Fifty two of the homes are available for social rent. The remaining 18 have already been sold through the Scottish Government’s shared equity scheme.

A communal play park within the development is widely used by local children and complements other landscaped areas.

Gordon Laurie, director – Sanctuary in Scotland, said: “The reaction our new-build homes receive is a reason why we want to build many more.

“We will continue to work with Glasgow City Council to improve the amount of affordable housing available to tenants.”

Councillor Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “This is a fantastic housing project for Glasgow, bringing 70 high-quality, affordable new homes to Ruchill.

“It is great to see another development of homes in the city that make such a positive change to people’s lives, and enabling such projects all across Glasgow is a key priority for the council.”

Resource: http://www.scottishhousingnews.com

Acton Selectmen Back 40B Housing Projects

ACTON, MA—Two 40B housing projects are on their way to becoming a reality in Acton, which currently only has 6.5 percent of its housing units designated as affordable.

The Acton Selectmen supported two housing projects, one located off Powder Mill Road and another on High Street. Projects are eligible for Chapter 40B status if 25 percent or more of the units offered are affordable. Acton Community Housing Corporation chairwoman Nancy Tavernier told Patch that every affordable housing unit counts.

"Its building [affordable housing units]little by little," Tavernier told Patch. "Every little bit counts."
Only 6.5 percent of the housing in Acton is considered affordable, and 40B projects are only possible if a municipality has less than 10 percent of affordable housing.

The Powder Mill Road project will consist of 12 townhouse units, three of which will be affordable. Eight single-family homes will be built on the 248 high street development, including two affordable and six market-rate homes.

The selectmen will now send support of the projects to the state for approval, Tavernier told Patch.

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Resource: http://patch.com

Housing projects on track

AFFORDABLE housing will remain the Government’s top priority, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said the Government had implemented various programmes and initiatives to support and achieve its “1Family 1House” plan.

A total of 2,114 My First Home Scheme applications had been approved, with loans amounting to RM431mil between 2013 and January this year, he added.

“For the Youth Housing Scheme, as of the end of February, a total of 876 applications were approved by Bank Simpanan Nasional involving loans totalling RM215.15mil.

“It is the responsibility of the Government to provide access to affordable housing for each household, especially the low- and medium-income groups, in line with the objective of improving the people’s standard of living,” he said in reply to Shaharuddin Ismail (BN-Kangar).

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said the Government had increased the number of affordable homes, including the rakyat housing projects, Federal Territories affordable housing projects, 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Programme and Mesra Rakyat projects via agencies such as PR1MA and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd.

He said access to housing loans had improved, with the number of loan applications rejected by financial institutions dropping from 30% in 2012 to 20% last year.

Asked if the Government had plans to ease loan restrictions for those with bad financial track records to apply for housing loans, Najib said banks did not gauge an applicant’s ability to repay loans based on the Credit Tip-Off Service (CTOS) and Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS).

“It is also based on the individual’s wages and disposable income,’’ he said, adding that dissatisfied parties could refer to Bank Negara’s credit counselling and debt management unit.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Razali Ibrahim said the RM804mil Mesra Rakyat project allocation under the Prime Minister’s Depart­ment would be distributed fairly to all 222 constituencies nationwide.

He noted that the allocation had been reviewed from RM1.33bil to RM804mil following the Budget revision on Jan 28.

All projects must meet several criteria before approval, including having a high impact on the people, he added.

Resource: http://www.thestar.com.my

Punjab FM announces big incentives for affordable housing projects in election year

 CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab on Tuesday announced a slew of incentives for affordable housing projects about nine months ahead of the next assembly elections.

Finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa in his budget speech has proposed 50% rebate on charges for change of land usage (CLU), external development charges (EDC) and license fee on all affordable housing projects.
 He also proposed 50% rebate on stamp duty charges on all conveyance deeds, or land sale deeds, in the affordable housing sector.

"All such rebates will be passed on to the final buyer," the finance minister said. "Our government is committed to provide affordable housing to low income and middle income classes.

In order to provide further relief to buyers of built-up properties, the government proposes to reduce the stamp duty by 20% on the first purchase conveyance deed of all new flats in order to ensure that such constructed flats are available at affordable prices," he said.

Dhindsa also proposed 25% rebate on CLU, EDC and License fee on all new housing sector projects as well as new extensions of ongoing projects. He also suggested at least 15% reduction in collector rates used for assessing stamp duty.

The state government has also approved 'Urban Mission' with an outlay of Rs 6,083 crore for providing 100% basic civic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, sewage treatment plants, roads, street lights and solid waste management through Punjab Infrastructure Development Board.

For the developmental works under the Urban Mission, an allocation of Rs 2,000 crore is proposed for urban local bodies in 2016-17.

The Punjab government has notified Housing for All (Urban) Policy for the benefit of economically weaker sections. It proposes to construct 50,000 affordable houses during 2016-17.


Resource: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Real Estate Bill has builders on the edge

NEW DELHI: The new bill on regulating real estate has caused a tizzy among builders who are concerned over two key provisions that could cause project delays and financial stress. Legal experts, however, say there is no reason for worry.

Developers are apprehensive that the registration of underconstruction projects could lead to delays. They're also concerned that setting aside 70% of the funds collected from customers will strain their already stretched liquidity position.

 Lawyers and experts who were part of the deliberations of the select committee of the Rajya Sabha on the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill said the language of the law is not retrospective but prospective and the attempt is to only bring transparency and order into this unorganised sector.

Vasanth Rajasekaran, partner at law firm Seth Dua & Associates, said the intention is to give freedom according to their business plan and security to buyers. "It seeks to harmonise the interests of both sides," he said.

According to the bill, builders will have to deposit 70% of the money paid by buyers in a separate account towards the cost of construction, including that of land, in order to protect the rights of consumers and curb the diversion of funds.

Rajasekaran said this means that after depositing the funds, the amount spent on buying land can be withdrawn by the builder proportionately and the remainder has to be used for construction. The money that hasn't gone into the separate account remains with the builder. Property experts said this will push builders to pay by cheque when buying land, reducing the flow of black money in the sector.

The other concern that builders have raised is registering projects under construction with the new authority. Sunil Seth, senior partner at Seth Dua & Associates, said this doesn't mean that builders will have to stop work. They will only have to submit details of the underconstruction projects, as in the case of new projects, to the authority and upload them on their websites.

"Seventy per cent of whatever is the outstanding payment from buyers in the under-construction project will, after registration, have to be put in a separate account," said Seth. "It will only be prospective in application."

The bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha and once it is approved by the Lok Sabha, the section dealing with setting up of the regulatory authority will be notified first.

The bill says the government must establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority within one year of the act coming into force. Once the authority is in place, portions of bill dealing with registration of real estate projects and real estate agents and the functions and duties of promoters will be notified.

For projects that haven't received a completion certificate when the act becomes effective, the promoter shall apply to the authority for registration within three months, according to the bill.

"This would give them at least 15 months to prepare for filing of the details with the regulatory authority," Seth said.

In this period, projects with 80-90% of their work done could get completed and be out of the ambit of the bill.

Resource: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Model building bye-laws to speed up real estate projects: Venkaiah Naidu

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu recently released a set of model building bye-laws (MBBL), which provide for a structural framework to create an online single window system, thereby reducing corruption.

It also makes it mandatory for states to provide all building clearances within 30 days.

As per the guidelines, one does not require to come to the national capital to get green clearance for the projects involving built up area of up to 1.5 lakh sq meter.
It also focuses more on building adequate number of toilets in buildings, particularly for women, keeping in mind their participation at work place.

Currently, there are over 35 different kinds of clearances required from various agencies before initiating any new project. Besides getting clearances from the state-based agencies, the investors in certain projects require clearances from central ministries, including Defence, Civil Aviation, Environment and Forests, Culture and Consumer Affairs.

The new model building bye-laws also offer incentives to real estate developers for adopting smart energy solutions. Provision for rainwater harvesting, roof top solar energy harvesting and smart metering have been proposed in the new bye-laws.

"The local bodies can provide incentives in the form of discounts and tax rebates to those complying with green norms," said Naidu.

"The aim is complete elimination of human interaction of the applicant with the urban local body, including online approvals of various kinds of no-objection certificates. The time limit for approvals is proposed in the model regulations to be 30 days," he added.

To make the system corruption-proof, the new guideline recommends an online system, which eliminates person-to-person interaction.

"In the online procedure, the people need not come to Delhi to seek clearances," said Naidu.

The MBBL provides for integration of various types of environmental considerations. MBBL provides for three categories of buildings based on the built-up area - 5,000 to 20,000 sqm; 20,000 to 50,000 sqm and 50,000 to 150,000 sqm - and different set of environmental conditions are provided for each category.

For the first time, a risk based matrix for different types of buildings has been introduced in the bye-laws.

"The objective of this analysis is that small buildings with low risk criteria should be approved on a fast track and the high risk buildings like mall, multi-story or big comp complexes should be examined in the required detail," Naidu said.

Resource: http://www.dnaindia.com

Column | Real Estate Bill: A case of over-regulation

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2016 (RE Bill), now approved by Parliament, is an attempt at finding a perfect balance between two seemingly difficult extremes. In a tightrope walk, the RE Bill tries to provide an institutional framework to protect and further the interest of buyers and in the same breath also seeks to give necessary support and thrust to the development of the real estate sector.

In the statement of reasons for the 2013 version, it was stated that the ‘real estate sector plays a catalytic role in fulfilling the need and demand for housing and infrastructure in the country’. Although the sector has witnessed significant growth in the recent past, it was felt that the sector was largely unregulated and thereby needed a measure of standardisation and professionalism to promote orderly progress.

The focus areas of the RE Bill include greater accountability towards consumers, reduction of frauds and delays, reducing transaction costs and bringing about professionalism and transparency in the real estate sector. The Bill covers both developers and real estate agents alike. The RE Bill is comprehensive and prescribes regulations spanning over the entire lifecycle of a project including booking, development, final handover and responsibility in respect of any defects arising post such handover. A new regulator, termed the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), has been designated to carry out the outlined objectives. RERA is expected to be set up within a year from the date of the regulations coming into force.

The real estate sector hitherto did not have a defined regulator and any grievance regarding any real estate project were to be taken up either by the consumer courts (under the consumer protection laws) or by the competition commission suo motu or on a complaint. In that context, RERA is a welcome introduction, especially since the relief under the earlier laws were either limited to specific customers (customer protection laws) or covered only large developers leaving a huge target segment of customers/projects out of its ambit.

While the reactions to the impact of the Bill on the sector and its growth are mixed, on a closer look, it is amply evident that the interest of the buyers have far outweighed that of the developers.

The RE Bill applies to all real estate projects where the land/number of apartments proposed to be developed is in excess of 500 square meters/8 units. Every real estate project falling within these parameters is required to be registered with the RERA prior to marketing/offer to sell the same to the customers. Far-reaching in impact, the RE Bill covers all real estate projects whether ongoing/under construction or yet to be developed.

No clear transition provisions have been laid down under the RE Bill in relation to the under-construction projects, and this may have an adverse impact on timely completion. Especially in the case of any pending litigation, utilisation of the acquired funds from the customers, etc, it is unclear whether the RE Bill would apply in toto and the projects have to be stalled for want of approvals or funds or not. The first scenario would be a tragedy for the sector already ailing from high cost of funds, excess inventory and low customer interest.

While the Bill’s earlier avatar covered only residential units, the latest version extends its reach to even commercial properties (with an intent to sell all or some of the developed area). Generally speaking, commercial properties are not developed for final sale to customers but are held as rent-yielding assets. Given this, the inclusion of commercial assets which has differing characteristics from residential properties including in relation to fund raising, timelines for completion, maintenance, etc, may have been unwarranted, given that such properties are acquired by sophisticated investors who are generally more aware of the product and the remedies available under law.

The strictures raised against developers require them to register the project with the RERA which include detailed disclosure on various aspects including track-record, title of the project, etc, prior to any promotions/ advertisements/ notice given to the customers regarding the project. Even on fund-raising, not more than 10% of the project cost can be raised without an agreement to sell and the RE Bill requires 70% of the funds paid by the customers to be parked in an escrow account and used towards construction purposes only after due certification and in line with the percentage of completion of the project.

The developers are required to provide quarterly updates to the customers through a pre-designated portal on the progress of the project, including the list of apartments which have been booked and approvals pending, prior to the issue of the completion certificate. All of the above measures while laudable in spirit have created almost a stifling atmosphere for the developers to flourish. In a desire to create a protective environment for customers, the RE Bill has added layers of approval and procedural requirements which impacts developers right from fund raising to timelines for completion of the project.

In some cases, where the cost of the land is well in excess of 30%, the developer would still have to maintain 70% of the funds in an escrow. Even the amount earmarked can be taken only in proportion of the completion of the project with approvals. Since some of the costs incurred would be front-ended, this would also mean additional funding requirement in the hands of the developers which in turn would only increase the cost of the product and make it unaffordable. In case of any stressed project, the promoter would also not be able to bring in a new investor without the consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees which could further delay the project completion and impact consumers.

The RE Bill is also onerous in its requirement and lists out higher interest costs, detailed penalties, prosecution for promoters who are in violation of these regulations. Certain requirements such as insurance for construction and title of land, without such products being available in the market, also would bring additional pressure on the cost of the projects.

One therefore feels that the RE Bill is a little farther from the mean and the interest of end customers have been treated as “more equal” to that of other industry participants. Hence, while the intent of the lawmakers is undoubtedly good, the question is whether it is yet another instance of over-regulation?

With inputs from Vinay K. The author is partner,BMR & Associates LLP .Views are personal

Resource: http://www.financialexpress.com