New Delhi: The government is mulling to introduce an anti-discriminatory clause in rules under the Real Estate Act to curb the practice of builders refusing to sell their apartments based on a buyer’s religion, marital status or dietary preferences.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), which came into force on May 1, has provisions for a regulatory authority and tribunal. The act includes regulation of all transactions between buyers and sellers.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA) is expected to notify the rules under the Act by October 31. It has already notified 69 of the total 92 sections of the Act.
“Since the Constitution itself provides for non-discrimination, we will insert such a clause in the rules. However, it will desist from specifying the exact nature of discrimination as we don’t want to risk excluding any kind of discrimination by way of omission,” The Indian Express quoted a ministry official.
The Act has a provision of imprisonment of up to three years besides monetary penalties for any violation of rules.
The new clause, however, will not provide protection against discrimination to those looking to rent homes as RERA only covers transactions between builders and home-buyers and not between landlords and tenants.
A study released by the UN University World Institute for Development Economics Research in May 2016 showed how Muslims face discrimination when it comes to finding a rental accommodation in Delhi-NCR region.
Muslims have to apply to 60 per cent more houses than upper-caste Hindus so as to elicit any response from landlords. The study also noted a bias, though not statistically significant, against those from Scheduled Castes or other backward classes.
