Second house not in use? You may be in trouble
Sachin Ahir, state housing minister, stated that one might be penalised if they have a second house and don’t give it out on rent or sell it off. Government is functioning on the modalities.
According to the 2011, census there is 41.86 lakh houses in Mumbai. A house-to-house survey showed that of this 4.79 lakh houses remain locked throughout the year. As stated by Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, Liasas Foras, real estate research firm, “Most of the houses are bought for investment purposes. And 12% of the houses remain vacant at a time when there is a huge shortfall of houses.”
Furthermore he added “Prices that are artificially created and are touching the sky will surely come down. Also, rentals will be depreciated”.
As per Ahir the government wants to end such investor-driven market. “Serious buyers and people looking for houses on rent have to suffer because of these ‘investors’”, he stated. “For investors going for second or more houses will be penalised/taxed as we starting following the China model of taxation. This is a sensitive matter so the government is considering the pros and cons.”
As per Atul Nemade, a real estate expert, the market will belong to end users (buyers as well as those seeking houses on rent) if investors are removed. Talking about his happiness on the decision he said that he was glad to hear that government is seriously thinking about it. He, however, advised government to not to bulge under stress from developers. He also went on to add that, this will be landmark decision in the housing sector, if it becomes a success.
Dhaval Ajmera, director, Ajmera Group, however had a diverse opinion on the same. He concluded fining investors would not be such a good idea. He says that this will create chaos in property market. Since, most investors give their flats out on rent. As the market is currently going through a rough phase, this kind of move will exacerbate the situation and may put developers in trouble.
Source: dnaindia
Ajmera Group, Atul Nemade, China model of taxation, Dhaval Ajmera, Government, Investors, Liasas Foras, Mumbai, Pankaj Kapoor, Sachin Ahir, State housing minister
