Now pay slightly more for Mhada affordable homes

Mumbai: One per cent increase in stamp duty will also affect affordable homes given out by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) through its 2018 lottery.

Officials said lottery winners will have to shell out the stamp duty as per current norms prescribed by the state government. Developers across the city have said that this change will affect the market demand.

“The rule is applicable to all sectors, whether government or private. Hence, lottery winners will have to pay six per cent stamp duty,” said a senior Mhada official.

Although the basic cost of the flat will be the same, the final amount to be paid by the consumer will be slightly higher. This year, Mhada had revised its pricing policy and lowered the cost of homes in its lottery.

The lowest priced house available under this year’s lottery is for '14 lakh. The lottery of 1,384 houses will be announced on December 16.

“It will be advisable for the government to keep affordable housing away from this surcharge. It is a paradox that on one side, the government is offering multiple sops to boost affordable housing in line with its mission of ‘Hous-ing for All’ by 2022, and on the other, is adding to the burden of very price-sensitive buyers of such homes,” said Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock property consultants.

The real estate market has faced a slump after the introduction of the Real Estate Regulatory Policy (RERA) and demonetisation.