The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has directed that contracts between the developer and the buyer for group housing projects will be considered valid only if the stamp duty has been paid.
This provision, which is already included in the UP Rera rules, will ensure that buyers can produce valid proof of registration of their flat and payment of the relevant stamp duty at the time of booking. It will protect home buyers from any possible complications related to the sale or purchase of flats and plots from developers, officials said.
The proposal was passed at a YEIDA board meeting on Thursday and will apply to all new group housing projects in Yamuna City. The developers will now have to book flats for new buyers based on a registered developer-buyer agreement (BBA). The buyers will now have to bear the cost of stamp duty for flat registration. While this may increase the initial financial burden, it will also give legal certainty to the buyers and prevent the developers from making arbitrary changes later.
Earlier this month, UP chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, who is also the industrial development commissioner, had directed the three industrial authorities – Noida Authority, GNIDA and YEIDA – to take this effective step. The move, aimed at addressing the problem of real estate agents selling properties to multiple buyers through unregistered contracts, led to lengthy legal disputes and despair of real estate customers. Also, the state government wants to minimise the revenue loss associated with unregistered contracts.
According to YEIDA managing director Arun Vir Singh, complaints are often received alleging that a buyer’s registration was cancelled due to a slight delay in depositing money. At the same time, many buyers also complain that they had booked the flat elsewhere but the developer gives them the keys to another flat after the payment is made. To address such cases, the authority has decided to enforce the rule.
As per the previous procedure, the buyers pay 10 per cent of the total price of the property and sign a contract with the developer on a stamp paper worth Rs 100 mentioning the specifications of the property including the details of the flats, their specifications, delivery date and payment schedule. Now, the buyers have to pay the stamp duty on the 10 per cent of the property cost at the time of signing the contract with the sub-registrar.
