Real estate brokers from the city have alleged that the Centre’s Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013 is “draconian” on brokers and have demanded amendment to various sections and clauses of the Bill.

According to brokers, Section 53 of the Bill states that the authorities concerned have powers to impose penalty of Rs 10,000 per day or five per cent transaction cost if the builder fails to deliver on time or if the broker misrepresents the builder.

“Brokers are not responsible if the builder fails to meet the commitment on time. It is the builders who are main culprits behind this. Why should we be penalised then We are just the mediators in the deal and we inform whatever the builder informs us to the potential clients,” said Vikram Mehta, president, Confederation of Real Estate Broker’s Association Of India (CREBAI). The Centre passed the Bill with proposed amendments in the Rajya Sabha to protect the interests of consumers and to ensure transparency in the real estate sector. The Bill also aims to ensure timely completion and execution of projects in the sector.

“The Bill states five per cent of the transaction will be recovered from the broker. However, the reality remains that brokers charge one to two per cent as brokerage. So, what is the logic behind penalising five per cent The Bill does not take into account the plight of real estate brokers who are the spine of the industry,” said Mr Mehta.

Crebai also demanded the government should address the issue of housing websites eating into the income of brokers.

However, an independent civic activist, Chandrashekhar Prabhu, said, “Why should brokers not be made accountable for the product they are endorsing In that case brokers should have a disclaimer that they will not be responsible for anything going wrong. It’s clear even after charging brokerage they do not want regulations on them.”