Mumbai Real Estate Market: 7 Recent Developments You Need To Know About

The Mumbai property market, although among the most expensive worldwide, has been eyed by many. Some recent developments have this property market even more lucrative. From digitisation to new infrastructural developments and also, the coming of Maha RERA, have together made this market interesting. PropGuide lists some developments you should know of:

Properties above Rs 1 crore head for a scrutiny

As a crackdown on benami properties, documents of property owners who have purchased property worth Rs 1 crore or above in past one decade, would be scrutinised again. The Income Tax (IT) department has directed all sub-registrars and tehsildars to disclose the details of such properties. Various media reports suggest that there could be more than five lakh properties that qualify for the same. Everything from development agreements, tenancy transfers, certificates of sales, flat/office/commercial premise sales, amalgamations-demergers, exchange of properties, transfer of lease, gifts, lease agreements, mortgages, power of attorneys etc would be put under the radar.

Also read: Why Do Mumbai Property Rates Keep Soaring?

Unique indentification for buildings

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started issuing identity numbers to buildings much like our Aadhar cards. The 15-digit number would be pasted on the entrance of the building and its noticeboard for easy identification. More than 27 lakh buildings would need to get this. The 15-digit number is a combination of the ward number, property tax section number, adjoining building number and the number of flats in building. Commercial properties too would be required to get this number minimising the number of visits one makes to the corporation or during documentation, redevelopment plans, tracking authorizations, licenses etc.

Andheri gets a distinction

Amidst news about how property defaulters leave corporations ailing for want of revenue to conduct basic developmental work, Andheri West has garnered a distinction. The locality with over 31,000 buildings also contributed Rs 434 crore to the corporation's coffers. Together with Andheri East, the tax collected comes to Rs 861 crore. Andheri West ward includes JVPD, Lokhandwala Complex and Versova. In the recent times, Andheri's heightened popularity could be mapped to infrastructural developments such as the Versova-Ghatkopar metro and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road.

Also read: 5 Investment Hotspots In Mumbai

Relief for Thane's unauthorised buildings

Close to 5,500 'unauthorised' buildings in Thane have found a breather since the Maharashtra government decided to relax the norms for these making it easier for such properties to claim an Occupancy Certificate (OC) . Note that these properties are not wholly illegal. They do have the Completion Certificate (CC) but do not have the deemed conveyance. These are instances where the builder may have flouted certain rules. The move comes after the Ghatkopar building collapse after which Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis wished to make rules to obtain an OC simpler.

No property tax to heavy tax concessions

Owners of properties with a carpet area of less than 500 sq ft are now eligible for a property tax waiver. Previously, these contributed Rs 350 crore to the corporation revenue. Those with homes where the carpet area exceeds 500 sq ft but is less than 700 sq ft are also eligible for a 60 per cent tax reduction, adding another Rs 100 crore to the corporation's loss.

Not GST way, yet

Although GST was meant to be rolled out starting July, Local Body Tax (LBT) at 1 per cent continued to be charged by the state Inspectorate General of Registration (IGR) . Property owners are waiting for a notification from the state government. Meanwhile, the IGR has maintained that unless they hear from the government, it would continue to be charged because it comes under the Stamp Act. The home buyers expect that just the stamp duty should be charged and not LBT.

7/12 extracts available online

The thrust has always been on online and digitized copies. 7/12 land extracts or property records would be available online starting 15 August 2017 and could be downloaded from the two government websites: Mahabhulekh and Aaple sarkar. This could be treated as official documents of ownership therefore, you can save the hassle on your trip to the tehsildar or the revenue departments. 

How To Get 7/12 Extract Online