The risks and rewards of investing in Delhi’s L-Zone

[ecis2016.org] The L-Zone in Delhi may offer attractive price points and the possibility to emerge as an important residential destination, but associated risks may derail your investment plans

In order to cater to the growing housing needs in Delhi region, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) chalked out land pooling policy under which various regions were to be redeveloped and provide for affordable housing. However, one of these regions which got matured way before its time was L-Zone. Sensing the price speculations, several developers acquired land and sold pre-launched projects. While the development plan of the area was still under-consideration, buyers and investors realised that they had been duped, as the land pooling policy under which the area was to be developed was still facing bureaucratic hurdles. So has the situation changed in past seven years? Not, so much.

DDA L Zone: Current status

The Delhi Land Pooling Policy got an approval from the housing ministry in 2019. To facilitate online application for interested land owners, the Delhi Development Authority launched an online portal. Now, the DDA has started the scrutiny of revenue records of the land being offered under the land pooling policy. Over 1,300 applications have already been verified for  ownership titles. Till August 2020, around 6,000 applications had been received. The application window for expression of willingness for participation in land pooling is open till November 14, 2020.

According to the policy, the restricted floor area ratio (FAR) has limited the usable FAR to 200 as against 400 proposed earlier, due to water shortage. Also, Zone L with gross area of 11,690 hectares and vacant area of over 8,000 hectares, presents the largest chunk of development opportunity.

According to the policy, landowners can register through an online application process and a minimum of 70% of land of the developable area of a particular sector, free of encumbrances, is required to be pooled to make the sector eligible for development. Landowners will form a consortium and will retain 60% of the pooled land and surrender the remaining 40% to service-providing agencies or the DDA for building infrastructure and public facilities. Landowners can also become a separate developer entity and develop 60% land as sub-project.

Moreover, Delhi’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority is now functional which means developers who had taken the payment from the buyers who booked land in L-Zone have to provide title agreement copy to the owners.

DDA L Zone: Advantages and benefits

Located in south-west Delhi, L-Zone is the largest among Delhi’s 15 zones. It is expected to fulfil a significant part of the housing demand in the region. It is close to IGI Airport and strategically positioned between Dwarka sub-city and Gurgaon’s Dwarka Expressway. “Many builders have acquired land in the upcoming L-Zone and are selling apartments in projects that will be delivered in the future,” says Ashish Anand, director of Gurgaon-based Neo Developers.

The L-Zone will be developed as Smart City and will include solar power stations, rainwater harvesting and CCTV surveillance. Some reports suggest that over 2,000 units have been launched in the region in two years. The maximum supply is in the Rs 40 lakhs – Rs 80 lakhs segment, followed by units priced below Rs 40 lakhs (affordable housing). Average property prices hover around Rs 3,454 per sq ft.

DDA L Zone: Eligibility for landowners

1. The policy is open to land owners, who own land in the areas notified by the DDA under the policy.
2. Land parcels of any size can be brought under pooling, if they fall in the areas notified by the DDA.
3. A land owner who owns less than two hectares of land and is not part of any developer entity will be eligible for built space only. The return of built space to such land owners will be decided at the time of finalisation of the implementation plan.
4. A sector will be considered eligible for development, only when a minimum 70% of the developable area in the sector will be pooled and the land parcels will be contiguous.

DDA L Zone: How to apply online for land pooling

Follow these steps to register yourself on the DDA portal:

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1. Visit the DDA land pooling portal (click here) to register yourself and pool your land.

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2. Click on ‘Registration’ from the top menu.

3. Select the village and the type of owner from the drop-down menu.

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4. You will prompted to enter more details and information about your land parcel. Once the registration is completed, you can come back to verify the land documents.

Tips for investing in L-zone area

1. Ensure the project is registered with RERA and has a registration number.
2. Any individual investor can buy land but one must ensure to do a recce of the area prior to investment.
3. The buyer must read and understand the land pooling policy.
4. A home buyer must know that the land pooling policy has just been notified and is not yet operational.

FAQ

(With inputs from Surbhi Gupta)

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