TENANTS OF NON-CESSED BUILDINGS TO GET OWNERSHIP FLATS AFTER REDEVELOPMENT

For the first time, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has eased norms for the redevelopment of old and dilapidated non-cessed buildings in the metropolis and suburban Mumbai. One of the major changes that have been brought about is the tenants of these non-cessed buildings constructed between 1969 and 1996 will become owners of flats post the redevelopment of the structure.

With an aim to boost the redevelopment of such buildings, this new policy will give Developers 50% extra Floor Space Index known as FSI (a ratio that decides the buildable area on a plot) as a saleable component. The policy has also reduced the minimum consent required from the tenants of the buildings from the earlier 70% to 51%.

The tenants will be given a minimum of a 300 sq.ft house in the redeveloped building. Also, if a tenant has transferred his pagdi system flat in the name of another person after completing the required legal formalities, the new occupant will have equal rights and will be eligible to get accommodation on ownership basis after redevelopment.

The most important factor in this new policy is the incentive FSI. The Developers would get 50% extra FSI as a saleable component. For example, if there are 30 flats, each 200 sq.ft big, after redevelopment, every tenant will get a 300 sq.ft house; the total area of the 30 houses will be 9,000 sq.ft and the Developers will get 50% or 4,500 sq. ft. that he can sell in the open market for profit. Earlier such incentives were given only to the cessed buildings which are now extended to non-cessed buildings.

However, the condition in this policy that the building has to be a declared dilapidated structure is not really going to pace the redevelopment process. This policy applies to those non-cessed buildings which will be declared as dilapidated by the BMC which again is questionable and debated by the tenants or at times even manipulated by the Developers. In case of cess buildings the condition is simple that the buildings should be more than 30 years and the same norms should have been extended in case of non-cessed buildings too.

It is estimated that there are nearly 50,000 such buildings in Mumbai that would benefit from the new rules which have been incorporated in the new Development Control and Promotional Regulations 2034 (DCPR 2034) through a modification.

These non-cessed buildings are located across the city, but a majority are in the island city. Their redevelopment was stuck as Developers were not given any incentives. Further, there was absence of clearly defined criteria for tenants. Under the new provisions, the BMC can decide the eligibility of tenants who would benefit from the redevelopment.

The tenants have to provide the documents proving the eligibility (Pre-June 1996) i.e. Ration Card, Voter Id Card, Driving License, Pan Card, Passport, Bank Passbook, School-Leaving Certificate, Electricity Bill, Rent Receipt, Agreement Copy etc. The rules further state that the tenants are entitled to get more area than they currently occupy i.e. minimum area will be 300sq.ft and maximum 1,292sq.ft free of cost. If their area crosses the maximum cap, then such tenant will have to pay construction cost of the additional area to the Developers.

The new rules also state that if two to five tenanted buildings on different plots are amalgamated as cluster for joint redevelopment, the Developers will get 60% incentive FSI of the total area required to rehabilitate the existing tenants, in form of additional construction rights. If more than five such plots are merged, the incentive FSI will be 70%. The landowner requires consent of 51% of the total residents to go for redevelopment and must rehabilitate all the existing tenants in the new structure.

 *******************************************