REAL ESTATE

Seeniammal, a resident of Parameswaran Street in Zamin Pallavaram had acquired a small piece of land for constructing a house three decades ago but never saw this coming. For her as for other residents of the area, the 2010 notification from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), accompanied by a letter from Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, was a bolt from the blue. According to the notification and letter, Zamin Pallavaram was one among the sites chosen for research by the ASI and hence classified as “Prohibited” or “Regulated.” Effectively what this means is that homeowners in these regions would not…

Real estate makes for booming business in Chennai as well as the rest of India despite recent setbacks. Many people want to own a house or buy one for tax-saving reasons. Chennai being a metropolis currently witnesses fewer individual houses being constructed and more transactions of apartments or similar buildings. This means that it is not only enough to verify the land registration and encumbrance certificates, but also a host of other required certificates from the town planning authority, CMDA, and others. How do builders fare in this? Not very well if court cases are an indication. The Madras High…

The High Court of Karnataka has noted in the recent hearing of Chalet Hotels v/s HAL case that the investors who have put their money into Raheja Vivarea would have to sacrifice their interest if the court decides that the height of Raheja Vivarea cannot be allowed beyond 45 metres. This brings us to the question: What exactly went wrong in this case? And what is that you - the property buyer - have to keep in mind? There have been cases of wrong height certificates submitted which gave the builders permission for extra floors in high rises illegally. Pic:…

One of the useful initiatives by the erstwhile BJP Government in Karnataka was the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act - 2011,also known as Sakala. Introduced on 1 March 2012, it aims at bringing transparency in administration. There are various services offered under Sakala, including obtaining a Khata for your house. For more information on Sakala, visit the website here. The Sakala website mentions the list of documents required for submitting your Khata registration application: Application in prescribed form Attested copy of the title deed Copy of Encumbrance Certificate (in form 15) for the past 10 years Conversion Certificate…

Every day tens of thousands of people visit Krishna Rajendra Market for buying flowers in the upperbasement floor of SKR Market (new complex). The legendary market was demolished and shoppers were allotted alternative shops on lottery basis. Now Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is permitting illegal constructions and allotment of shops within the heritage structure. Bangalore Flower Merchants' Association Vice president Divakar says that illegal construction of shops is being allowed in the passages reserved for light and ventilations and free movement of public. Now more than 11 such establishments have come up.The present allotment in done in the passage-B8 where…

"Affordable homes with Smart Spaces and Community living" -- so goes oft seen copy in real estate advertisements and marketing brochures. Pic courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, Amol Gaitonde. First, let us clear the misconception that affordable homes are related to the lower income group. The word affordability has been misused by many in residential real estate market today. Affordability in its true sense means what is affordable for people living in that locality and it is very contextual. A two crore 2 BHK in Lavelle road is affordable for people who are living in Lavelle road and the same two crore…

In part-I, I argued that our planners, politicians and administrators put Bengaluru's development on steroids over the last 10 years, the way farmers sometimes do for agriculture, only to find that the soil dies later.I also argued that we have built a Bengaluru in the form of a giant shining saucer that is suspended at 10,000 feet above the real land of this city. There is one single pipe holding up the saucer and through this pipe, water, services, resources and low-income jobs are sucked through to the fast-paced life above. The pipe though is now bursting at the seams,…

In the run up to elections in Karnataka, a nationally telecast TV news programme last weekend focussed on the massive deterioration of civic life in Bengaluru. On display was the breakdown of garbage management, water supply, rise of the contractor and tanker mafia and the link to politicians, the state's political parties becoming personality-led factions and in all, a capital city and the silicon valley of India hopelessly caught in a disastrous spiral. Citizen Matters was interviewed for the telecast as well. It ended though with a hopeful note that when voters have a chance to reverse things. (Headlines Today,…

A real estate lawyer by profession, Vatsala Dhananjay, moved to Bangalore in 1990 from Coimbatore. After completing her law degree in 1993 from SJRC Law College, she got married and moved to Koramangala. She has been a lawyer for nearly two decades now. Vatsala Dhananjay. Pic: Abhishek Angad You been in Koramangala since 1993, how have seen it growing?When we came here it was very quiet and had many vacant plots. It was not even in BBMP limits. Suddenly it was a buzz that koramangala is a good place and lot of commercial activities took place.Did you always know you…

Bangaloreans started their day with a fitness run on Sunday, 4 March. Contours, a women's only fitness gym held its 3rd edition of fitness run of 10 kilometres. It is held every year close to the women's day. This run started at 6.30 am from Kanteerava stadium. Dancing their way with aerobics. Pic: Anisha Nair More than 1000 runners participated in this woman's day run including men and children. Age seemed no bound here. Participants were from the age group of 8 years to 70 years. The run was held with the support of charity partners - ASHA and PARIKRAMA…