HDFC chairman Mr. Deepak Parekh has advocated the need for a real estate regulator in an attempt to protect the interest of property buyers in the country.

In his letter to HDFC shareholders, Mr. Parekh has written, “The real estate sector has been growing rapidly and is a sensitive sector given its strong inter-linkages to other industries in the Economy. I have advocated the need for a real estate regulator, though I understand this proposal has been met with stiff resistance from certain members of the developer fraternity. Though land is a state subject and would therefore require regulators at each state level, there can be a mechanism whereby there is an apex national body, which can oversee the functioning of state-level real estate regulators.”
Mr. Parekh has written that developers rarely offer any warranty for the flats and in case of disputes, consumers have only the consumer or civil courts as recourse – both of which may take ages before a case can even come for hearing. Delays in handing possession of the property to a purchaser have become the order of the day. Needless to say, the developer community is free from any liability in case of any delay.
He wrote, “The Indian housing market may have saved itself from the contagion effect, but this should not relegate the need to advocate transparency in the real estate market.”
He further stated, “Stimulating a rental market will go a long way in providing affordable housing. Developers need to be incentivezed to build rental accommodation”.
Parekh conveyed that the sub-prime crisis has also brought to light the fact that there is no substitute for cautious and prudent lending. The basic tenets of home financing are simple – lending must be done according to earning capacity, which is on a cash flow basis and not on asset values.