MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT

The aim of this code of conduct for Developers, Promoters and Builders is to maintain the honor and dignity of Developers, Promoters and Builders in general, to secure a spirit of friendly co-operation between the Developers, Promoters and Builders and their customers in the promotion of highest standard of promotion, development and building activities and to establish transparency, and fair dealing between the developers, promoters and builders with their customers; and to establish a spirit of brotherhood within the Associations of Developers, Promoters and Builders and to try and ensure that Developers, Promoters and Builders discharge their responsibilities to the community in general.

For the aforesaid objectives, like all the member associations of CREDAI, CREDAI-Nagpur desires to adopt the following norms of conduct. (However, specific mention of the following norms of conduct / rules shall not be construed as conferring upon the members and / or the customers and / or the premise purchasers any legal right enabling them to enforce the same in Court of Law or otherwise). If any member will found to violate the code, suitable action shall be taken against him by the Association (even to the extent of his membership being discontinued) after a detailed enquiry by a select committee whose recommendations if endorsed by the Managing Committee, would lead to the termination of membership of the member.

Any such action taken by the Managing Committee shall be put into effect 30 days after communicating the decision to the member in writing by Registered Post at his address as per records of the Association. The member can appeal the decision of the Managing Committee to the General Body of the member association whose decision shall be final and binding. This appeal must be lodged within 30 days of the date of communication by the Managing Committee failing which the decision communicated shall be final and binding.

We, the member of CREDAI-Nagpur, earlier known as Nag Vidarbha Builders Association, a member association of CREDAI adopt the following code of conduct. Any addition / deletion can be effected from time to time with the consent of the General Body.

The property under development should have a true disclosure in the "Title Certificate" from a Solicitor / Advocate showing the rights and obligations of the developer along with the Agreement for sale.

All sanctions from the sanctioning authorities like approved plans and commencement certificates, N.A. permission, exemption order under U.L.C. Act (if required) etc., should be made available for perusal of the purchaser at the time of signing the agreement.

The Developer should normally commence booking / sale of flats/ premises only after obtaining sanction of Building Plans and obtaining Commencement Certificate and clearances from the competent authorities. If for any reason booking is entered into with purchasers before obtaining all required clearances, the purchaser must be made aware of this fact by way of a true disclosure in the agreement and or the title certificate.

The Developer should enter into a proper agreement as per the relevant Acts immediately on receipt of Earnest Money Deposit equal to 15% of the cost of the unit from the purchasers of flats / premises. Mention of Carpet Area of the Unit to be sold in the Agreement of Sale is a must.

Payments receivable under the Agreement for sale should be scheduled according to the progress of the work and as per the provisions of the relevant Acts or as may be mutually agreed between the purchaser and developer.

The developer should not enhance the price of the flats / premises once the agreement for sale is executed - on any account whatsoever; except for additional levies, taxes, court orders or in terms of the relevant Acts or under force majeure conditions. However, if there is a specific understanding between the Developer and Purchaser which is spelt out in the agreement, escalation can be charged on mutually agreed formulae.

The developer should construct the building only as per the rules / sanctioned plan and regulations of the Authority. Any variations should be within prescribed and permitted prevailing norms/rules

The Developer must ensure good quality materials and proper workmanship. Specifications as per agreements should be adhered to and statutory specifications of the Local Planning Authority should be complied with. Proper technical supervision on site should be ensured through qualified and experienced technical personnel in addition to usual qualified structural engineers and architects

1. A member shall confirm that his building plans are strictly as per the prevailing regulations and byelaws.
2. A member shall make available copies of the Sanction Plan and other permissions available to the purchaser on request.
3. A member shall make available the Sanctioned Building Plan at the construction site.

A Member shall inform the Carpet Area, including the area of Balconies to the Purchaser. A member shall offer his units for sale based on "saleable area", which may comprise of the following components only:

1. Plinth area including balconies and other detached habitable area if any, such as servant's room etc. for exclusive ownership.
2. Mezzanine floor, if any.
3. An agreed percentage of the double height, if any.
4. Proportionate share from the common areas such as entrance lobby, staircases, upper floor lobbies & landing, lift core at every level, lift machine room, generator room, electrical room, security room, club house, indoor sports room/s, security cabin, general toilets for servants / drivers and any such amenities provided these have not been charged separately plus any other constructed area which is counted in FSI/FAR.

Note:
Ground space for garden and / or terrace space to be allotted for exclusive use if any shall be indicated and charged for separately. The area to be added to the saleable built-up area shall not exceed the following norm:

1. If the area of the terrace/garden is upto 10% of the flat area then full area may be charged for.
2. If the area of the terrace/garden is upto 50% of the flat area then full area may be charged for the first 10% area and 50% for the remaining additional area beyond 10%
3. If the area is beyond 50% then it shall be charged as above for up to 50% and at 35% for the area beyond 50%
4. Plinth area shall be computed by measuring from wall to wall While exclusive walls shall be fully accounted, shared walls shall be split.
5. All the purchaser of any premises shall be provided a floor plan showing the internal dimensions from which the carpet area is computed.
6. Details showing how the saleable area is arrived at with specific details of the common area shall be disclosed with clarity, duly certified by an architect as per above norms.
7. Saleable area shall not include: -
   Underground sump, water tanks, compound walls, septic tank, walk way, ramp open to sky, swimming pool, open sports facilities, chajjas, weather sheds, flower beds, lofts, common terraces, stairwell ducts and voids etc. and the like

A member shall in his agreements disclose a definite time frame for completion of construction upto the stage of occupation or completion certificate. The completion of construction shall be deemed to be complete only if certain minimum amenities such as proper ramp to enter the basement, compound wall with gates, proper staircase leading to the terrace, properly constructed underground and overhead water tanks with adequate capacity, proper ladder leading to the overhead tank besides such other basic requirements to make the complex habitable are provided, whether mentioned specifically in the list of specifications or not.

1. The member shall incorporate in his agreements, necessary penal clause applicable in case of delay in completion of construction.
2. The member shall construct the building strictly according to the specification or shall provide materials of equivalent quality.
3. The member shall adhere to the fire safety regulations as well as statutory design requirements for seismic design and also any and all safety regulations as required and applicable.

A member shall, in the agreement with purchasers clearly mention the components of the sale price and any and all other receivables. Unmentioned charges and/or costs shall not be collected from purchasers. The agreements should clearly spell out all the amounts & charges recoverable based on actuals such as-

1. Proportionate share of the deposits, costs, on the basis of sq. ft / sq. mt. of saleable area or on unit basis for obtaining connections from electricity board and water authority. Proportionate share of amounts paid to the sanctioning authority by way of development charges, scrutiny fee. If the exact share is not available at the time of signing the sale agreement, an approximate estimate shall be provided.
2. Stamp duty, registration fee, expenses or any other levies for registration of the Sale Deed.
3. Sales Tax on works contract /VAT/Service Tax if applicable.
4. Advocate’s fee for registration / documentation charges.
5. Cost, expenses, fee etc for formation of Society/Association of Apartment Owners/Body corporate and registration of Deed of Declaration etc.
6. Maintenance deposit /charges or one time maintenance charge.

All amenities and common facilities should be clearly mentioned in the agreement for sale and same should be complied with.

All conditions with regard to infrastructure as set out in the approval of the layout plan by Municipal Authority or Planning Authority should be fully complied with by the Developer. The building and its premises should be left in a clean and habitable condition.

Tree plantation should be done near/at sites as per local rules or at; least 10 trees per 1000 Sq. Mtrs of plot area, except where it is not possible in congested areas.

Members are advised to take adequate Labour Insurance. This is for safety of both; the developers as well as the labour engaged. At large sites (more than 4000 sq. mtrs) creches and educational facilities for the children of the labour, be provided along with other possible labour welfare activities, such as periodical medical check-ups, personal life insurance etc.

Suitable refund condition or compensation should be clearly mentioned in the agreement. In case the completion of the building is delayed beyond the period stipulated under the agreement for sale with the flat purchaser, if demanded by the purchaser, the Developer should return all the moneys received by him from the flat purchaser, along with interest as specified in the agreement.

Developer shall incorporate in the agreements, a clause to the effect that in the event of non-payment of installments or other components of sale price, the forfeiture shall be limited to 20% of the amount of consideration (both towards land and construction however, subject to a notice before forfeiture with an opportunity to the purchaser to pay before the option of forfeiture is exercised. In addition any interest due shall be recoverable. The refund shall be payable within 7 days after resale of the premises to a new Purchaser and any shortfall in the price of the resale shall be to the account of the defaulter or to the extent of 20% whichever is more.

A member: -

1. Shall clearly indicate in his agreements, the type of conveyance proposed to be effected i.e. whether undivided interest or the unit as a whole or by means of any other scheme and also mention either the extent of divided or undivided interest in Sq. ft/ Sq. Mt. or the percentage of undivided interest and in any case shall take care to ensure that aggregate of divided or undivided interest in land allotted to all the units of a project shall not be in excess of the extent of land.
2. Shall allot specific interests and / or entitlement in land for every car parking space.
3. Shall make available the copies of title documents to the purchasers on request.
4. Shall incorporate a condition in his agreement to the effect that all the covenants other than those specific to a particular unit such as rate, area etc. shall be common to all the purchasers of a particular project. If the developer intends to reserve some specific rights such as allotment of ground space for garden (in the setback area), terrace, car park (in the setback area) for private use of some units, such intention shall also be mentioned in all the agreements pertaining to the project.

The developer should ensure timely completion, physical possession, as committed to buyer. It shall be builder's responsibility to obtain completion / occupation certificate. Developer shall incorporate in his agreements, a clause that the delivery / possession of the flat shall be given to the client against complete settlement of the entire consideration and all other components of sale price / quotation.

Developer shall incorporate in his agreements, a clause for defect liability for a minimum period of 12 months or as per prevailing laws (whichever is more) from the date of handing over of possession or intimation to their clients regarding the readiness to hand over possession, whichever is earlier and which shall be limited to the construction (i.e. structure) and not on the bought out materials most of which are covered under varied warranty periods by the manufacturers themselves. However, in the event of recurring problem with the bought out materials, the member shall co-operate with the purchaser in sorting out the issue. This defect liability shall not cover force majeure situations such as damage resulting from war, flood, earthquakes etc.

The developer should take steps for registration of the Apartment Owners Association, Co-operative Housing Society or any other body corporate as may be necessary.

The developer shall maintain separate account in respect of sums received by him from the flat purchases as Advance or Deposit, sums received on account of the capital for promotion of a Cooperative Housing Society / Apartment Owners Association or a Company or towards the out goings, legal charges, etc, and shall utilise the said amounts only for the purpose for which they have been received. Such accounts should be given to the Society / Association / Company not later than 3 months from handing over the charge of the building to such Society / Association / Company and / or within a period of 3 months from the date of final conveyance, whichever is later.

The developer must spell out in the agreement the amount of transfer charges if any. Normally it should not exceed more than 5% of the purchase price for transferring the rights of the flat purchaser under an agreement for sale. Any such consent by the developer to the flat purchaser for transferring his rights under agreement of sale should not be unreasonably withheld, provided the flat purchaser pays, and / or is ready and willing to pay full amount of consideration under the agreement for sale together with transfer fees as aforesaid and other dues payable.

The developer should not inordinately delay the execution of the conveyance or any other similar instrument in favour of the common organization of the flat holder, after the development and sale of entire scheme and after all amounts payable by the purchasers are paid to the developer.

1. A member shall disclose in his brochures / hand-outs/ advertisements or any other publicity material that he belongs to an association which is a member of CREDAI-Nagpur.
2. May incorporate a clause in his agreements that the same is subject to arbitration by the designated committee of Arbitrators appointed by the member Association of CREDAI-Nagpur.

The developer should at the time of transfer hand over to the society / apartment association / company all original title deeds or certified copies as maybe available and related documents as well as certified copies of sanctioned plan of the buildings including all external service drawings and structural drawings, and obtain a receipt there of.

The developers shall incorporate necessary clause in the agreement in order to enable the client deriving the rights to inspect the premises during the course of construction.

1. Complaints shall be considered / entertained by the Association only if the builder is a member of the association.
2. The modalities for such intervention or mediation or arbitration shall be worked out independently by the association.
3. In case there be any dispute of any member of the association with any person or flat holder or government or semi government body or authority of local authority, and if the association is requested to intervene, the Managing Committee of the association shall consider such request and decide in its absolute discretion whether to intervene or not, depending upon the merits of the case and wherever possible the association shall make all efforts to resolve the said dispute by amicable settlement or otherwise on merits of the case.

The object of setting of the Grievance Cell is to resolve the grievance/ complaints against the Members of the Association amicably. It is to be noted that the Grievance Cell shall not function as Quasi Judicial Authority or as an Arbitrator but it only acts as a Mediator.

For Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum
To register your grievance against any of the member you can send the details to the official mail id [email protected] along with the relevant documents.