The government has decided to set up a committee to work on a model buyer agreement to help streamline the homebuying process and protect consumers from potential abuses, among others.
The committee that will draw members from judges, national and state consumer commissions, various consumer bodies, lawyers as well as from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
The model agreement will be developed in consultation with all stakeholders and then submitted to the Supreme Court and send to all the states. The Supreme Court also has a directive that there should be a model agreement for across the country and some states already have such document in place.
Over 5.5 lakhs cases are pending across various consumer courts in the country, with over 54,000 cases specific to the housing sector alone. This backlog of cases highlights the importance of providing speedy justice and streamlining the process for homebuyers, according to the ministry.
Delay in delivery of possession of property to homebuyers, no compensation for delay in possession to homebuyers biased, one-sided and unfair builders-buyer’s agreements, amenities not provided to homebuyers as per the agreement and misleading advertisements by developers and influencers for luring homebuyers were identified as the key problems for the homebuyers.
