Realtors propose arbitration tribunal to address customers' complaints
Realtors at a seminar on the capital's housing affairs yesterday decried government move to promulgate an ordinance for regulating the country's fast-growing housing-sector business.
They proposed that the government should set up an arbitration tribunal to address the complaints of the customers in the real-estate sector.
Speakers at the meet urged the government to review the draft Private Sector Hosing Ordinance, as they think the law in the making would neither protect the interest of the buyers nor bring discipline in the property business.
Rather, they observed, the proposed new law might create obstacle to the growth of the real-estate sector that is now being moved forward mainly by the private sector.
“If the government really wants a vibrant but disciplined real-estate sector, they should move to adopt a time-befitting law through discussion with the sector's stakeholders,” said Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) President Tanveerul Haque Probal.
In this context, he proposed the formation of an arbitration tribunal for complaint settlement, as the ordinance's focus is on removing alleged irregularities as complained by many an apartment buyer and landowner, among other things.
The Right to Shelter, Bangladesh and housing sector's magazine Gharbari jointly organised the seminar at the National Press Club with Daily Naya Diganta Editor Alamgir Mohiuddin in the chair.
Gharbari Editor Ershad Majumder conducted the seminar.
The council of advisers of the caretaker government has approved an ordinance that provides non-bailable imprisonment for the property developers on different grounds.
American International University, Bangladesh (AIUB) Vice Chancellor Professor Anwar Hossain deplored that housing in the capital city is in a mess as there is no planning to be followed in this important sphere of civic life.
Incidentally, there is no proper urban land-tenure policy or ceiling either, especially for the capital city.
The government should decentralize urbanization and provide infrastructure so that there could be satellite townships at district level to reduce the urbanisation pressure on Dhaka city.
National Housing Authority Chairman and Additional Secretary Abdul Quiyum noted that a sharp rise in the prices of land and construction materials might hinder the growth of the housing sector.
FBCCI Director Kamal Uddin Ahmed said if the government “imposed” an ordinance “arbitrarily” without consultation with stakeholders, it would not work effectively.
“Instead, it will give a scope for litigation like other controversial ordinances,” he said.
Asset Development's Managing Director FR Khan said the proposed ordinance would create scope for corruption as it would control the developers rather than regulate them.
“It needs fine tuning to make it a time-befitting law,” he added.
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