Self redevelopment checklist: The Beginner's Guide to Self Redevelopment
As we all know, self redevelopment is a method of redevelopment wherein instead of the builder, the society members take up the initiative among themselves to redevelop their own building/society.
Self redevelopment is an ideal solution for your society members for a lot of reasons. First and foremost your society gets to have complete control over the property, second- cost effectiveness of the process and third- better utilization of your space is possible. These are some out of the many benefits that self redevelopment stands to provide. However,in some cases the process of self redevelopment seems to appear burdensome . Let us see why and how this could happen.
You must have heard of the famous saying “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” and this (first steps) is exactly where a majority of potential self redevelopers go wrong. The first step to any process should be planning and organizing the process.Self redevelopment is no different. If you are unorganized or if you do not have a plan in hand for your redevelopment project, then there is a greater chance of your failure or even worse, you could end up creating a false impression about the self redevelopment.
Therefore to avoid all of that here are a few areas that you could start from so that you can smoothly redevelop your property.
1. The consent factor
In order to successfully complete your redevelopment project, you will need consent/approval from the following entities:
Consent from fellow society members
This is the very first step that is necessary to begin your redevelopment project. The consent of the majority of the society members of your society is mandatory. The section 79A
of the Maharashtra Cooperative society Act dictates that a consensus of 51% is enough to form a majority.[1] This means that if 51% of the members approve of your idea then your redevelopment process can begin.
Consent from government
Although this step is executed in the later stages of the redevelopment process this step is also mandatory. You cannot change anything without the government's approval. Therefore this step
involves getting clearances from the government for your redevelopment process. There are a lot of clearances that you would require for your project. Every clearance requires time and proportionate effort from your end.Therefore,
in order to expedite this process, the government has created a single window system exclusively for self redevelopment projects. [2]
2. Feasibility Study
This is the step where, in simple terms, the practical possibility of your redevelopment dream is assessed. Basically what is done here is, your PMC (Project Management Consulting company) team comes into play. The PMC team3 consists of an architect who extensively studies your property/society and gives you a detailed report of what can be done and what is impossible. This involves complicated processes like preparation of a building plan, estimation and costing of various expenditures that you might incur,FSI that you can use etc to name a few. This is all highly technical and best left out to experts.
3. Documentation
The verification of documents is a very critical process when it comes to redevelopment projects. In this process you will need to show all the papers that justify the ownership of the land. It involves getting a no objection certificate commonly known as NOC from the owner of your land.
4. Expert Opinion
In most of the cases of self redevelopment, the society members have very little knowledge of the technicalities. Even if you know about the technicalities of construction you would need sufficient knowledge in other areas like bureaucracy, taxation etc. This is fulfilled by your PMC. The PMC team consists of an architect, lawyer, society consultant, structural engineer and a chartered accountant.
5. Finances
Money makes the world go round. This is a highly popular saying. For anything that we intend to do in life, the finances have to always be considered. In case of self redevelopment, banks and other lending institutions provide loans at lower interest rates as compared to the rates provided to the builders. The interest rate is about 12.5% for societies opting for self redevelopment whereas builders are charged 20% interest. [3]
6. Temporary Arrangements
This is another important aspect that you need to take care of. For the entire period of redevelopment you need to make alternate arrangements for staying. In most cases this means making the necessary arrangements for staying in a rented space until the project is complete. However the most important reassurance here is the fact that there is minimum delay in self redevelopment projects because the funding is clear and societies are personally involved in the project. So the deadlines will be met on time.
These are the few things that you need to remember before you kickstart your redevelopment project. Once you start working on these factors and learn more about them, your redevelopment experience will automatically start getting better. The other important aspect you need to consider is your PMC.Your PMC also plays a vital role in fulfilling your redevelopment dream. Therefore make sure you select the right PMC for your project. Here is where you could start.
References
1. https://housing.com/news/mumbais-self-redevelopment-scheme-2018-works/
2. https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mhada-to-promote-ease-of-doing-business-to-process-all-approvals-for-redevelopment-through-single-window
3. https://youtu.be/OeStahOSy8Q