Damp / Seepage / Leakage problem is really a Curse for any Building. It not only deteriorates the building structurally but also had a severe effects on the health of its occupants.
MahaRERA to soon have 27 conciliation panels for timely project completion
Pune
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) will soon have 27 conciliation panels across the state to help address issues between aggrieved consumers and developers and ensure completion of projects on time.
MahaRERA also wants to ensure through the panels that the buyers get what they pay for. Currently, 15 conciliation panels are in operation — 10 in Mumbai and 5 in Pune.
The panels have so far resolved nearly 400 cases of the 541 it received, MahaRERA officials said. The additional 12 panels will be for Pune (1), Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik and Nagpur.
These panels comprise a consumer representative and a developer representative, who interact with banks, homebuyers and builders for timely completion of the projects. A recent meeting of the housing ministry had appreciated the formation of the conciliation forums in Maharashtra and urged all other states to replicate the model.
Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) chairperson Shirish Deshpande, who had taken the lead in forming such forums, said citizens have been registering for conciliation as they believed it would be a quicker process (if both the parties were willing) rather than waiting for a long-drawn case.
“The response towards the forums has been encouraging, both from the consumers and the developers. Keeping this in mind, it was decided to increase the number of such forums,” he said.
The conciliation panels help interact home buyers, builders and banks to maintain the stipulated time declared by the developer on its website.
Earlier last month, MahaRERA ordered seizure and auction of 253 properties of builders across the state to refund flat buyers, who were yet to receive possession because the developers had no funds to complete the projects.
All of these were cases where the buyers saw the real estate value of their flats plummeting and wanted to take advantage of the RERA provisions that allowed them to exit the projects with their investment, along with the interest amounts.
The MahaRERA officials said buyers trying to exit the projects would derail the entire process and told the allottees to get together and “combat the situation”.
Your external pipelines also need attention
Detect Issues
Worn out CI pipe for waste water & soil pipe.
Describe Issues
Service life of current CI pipe is expired. It has deteriorated due to leakage in pipe. After a point of time, when iron comes in contact with water and air, it starts rusting. If not rectified in time, it can deteriorate further resulting in broken pipes which can create unhygienic conditions at exterior side.
Direct Solutions
We recommend replacing it with good quality CI pipe.
Another Happy & Satisfied Customer | Mr. Ashok Sen
Mr. Ashok Sen is a Dean of a reputed University. He was facing damp/ seepage issues in his Flat. He Came to know about us online and contacted immediately. We then conducted Damp/ Seepage/ Leakage Inspection at his Apartment and provided a detailed report along with relevant solutions.
Thank you, Ashok jee for giving us the opportunity to inspect your Home. These Testimonials keep motivating us to strive for the better and to do the best.
UP-RERA issues notice to Ghaziabad development body in housing scheme case
Ghaziabad
The Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UP-Rera) has issued a notice to the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) over its failure to appear before the regulator in a case related to the Indirapuram housing scheme for the economically weaker section.
The GDA, however, says the scheme doesn’t come under Rera’s purview.
The case was filed at the Greater Noida bench of UP-Rera by 60-year-old Ghaziabad resident Raj Prakash Tyagi, who has not yet got the possession of his EWS house that he was allotted 30 years ago by the GDA. The Rera bench issued five notices to GDA between February and June this year, asking its representative to appear before the regulator.
The bench has now threatened to pass ex-parte order on the basis of available documents and facts, in case GDA officials do not appear and clarify their stand, sources told TOI.
As per RERA rules, all development agencies and private builders are required to update their projects so that they can be accessed easily by the buyers and the status of the projects are in the public domain.
However, GDA chief engineer VN Singh said the EWS Indirapuram scheme was launched in 1990 and completed by 2001. “So, it does not come under Rera. The agency cannot expect the department to register the project that was completed 18 years ago. We have already submitted this reply, but despite that, the notice has been issued.”
Be careful with gaps around electrical conduit
Detect Issues
Significant gap noted in between external wall & electrical conduits.
Describe Issues
If gap is not filled between external wall & electrical conduits, then unwanted water and dust from external area will enter through the gap. Chances of insect infestation will occur. This will lead to paint deterioration and other damages due to water intrusion. It will affect residents by creating unhealthy and unhygienic living condition.
Direct Solutions
We recommend hole finishing with non shrink grout / repair mortar & painting with exterior grade paint as per manufacturer specification.
RERA should be amended to plug loopholes: H-RERA Chairman
New Delhi
The realty law RERA should be amended to plug loopholes and make it more effective for the interest of all stakeholders, according to regulators.
In an event organised by industrychamber PHDCCI, Gurugram RERA Chairman K K Khandelwal asked India Inc to make suggestions to the government for necessary amendments to RERA Act to make it dispassionately objective for both builders and home buyers.
According to Khandelwal, the existing stipulations and provisions of RERA Act have many loopholes that need to be plugged in the interest of all the stakeholders, PHDCCI said in a statement.
“In its current format, several sections and sub-sections including clauses and sub-clauses of the RERA Act are contradictory and therefore, open for many legal interpretations as well interpretations of real estate regulatory authorities of different States and therefore, amendment to them are called for to make sure that all stakeholders in the real estate and construction sector get a fair deal and the intended growth of the sector is ensured,” Khandelwal was quoted as saying.
Balvinder Kumar, Member, UP RERA informed that the UP RERA has so far received 70,000 complaints from various home buyers against builders in the state that have defaulted in their delivery commitments.
Of which 10,100 complaints have been addressed.
Make your Socket Board Waterproof for wet areas
Detect Issues
Switch socket board is close to sink.
Describe Issues
Due to current position of socket board, it will get affected due to water splashing during sink usage. This can create safety & electrical hazard for residents in future. Rectification is needed to be done to keep you and your home safe.
Direct Solutions
We recommend review and providing splash guard on the socket board.
Painting Your House? Did You Treat Damp First?
Whenever any festive season arrives, we wish to give our home a new look which would provide a happy feeling. Hence, painting your house is surely on the cards. But wait, have you done a survey of the house and made a list of places where dampness has already intruded and left its mark or where you suspect there is seepage? If not, do it. Call for a home inspection service. And if you are already aware of the leakage and/or seepage and damp and still not considering treating them before painting then be prepared to waste a lot of money on those cans of acrylic distemper and emulsions.
It is not until recently that the paint companies have been making you aware of the effects of weather on your house and how choosing the right paint can stop the damage. Do you give as much thought to how your walls are compared to which shade to choose? No. It is time you be a bit more careful and look for any visible sign of dampness or seepage in your walls. Putting paint on a damaged wall will result in making it look beautiful but leaving it at a higher risk of damage.
Contrary to popular belief, paint or putty cannot permanently fix the problem of dampness. To effectively treat dampness, we must first conduct a thorough damp assessment with the help of home inspectors and then decide on the solution. Repairing the leakage definitely is the first step to treating damp.
Preface to house painting: Go to the root of damp and treat it
1. Repair plumbing faults
Water pipe leakage often releases water to the walls adjacent to it. For example, leakage from the water pipes in the kitchen or bathrooms can cause dampness on the walls of the apartment below it. To be sure, you must perform a thorough home inspection and check all the fittings and pipelines. Water leakage can occur in the internal as well as in external piping and even in the water tank itself. If you find any such leakage repair it first, without delay.
2. Check the indoor moisture content
The climatic condition of a place plays an important role in determining the condition of your house. In India, humidity is constant. Keep a check on the indoor moisture content of your house so that it does not overshoot the normal level. Ventilate your rooms and take other necessary measures to keep your walls and ceilings damp-free.
3. Pipe leakage in adjacent flats, damp in your home: Alert thy neighbour!
Be the friendly and courteous neighbour that you are and ask the family sharing floor or walls with your flat to check for leakage in their bathrooms and kitchen. This you do if home inspection finds no apparent problem in your home but you still see clear watery spots on the ceiling or bulging tiles in the walls of your bathroom. Once they fix the problem, damp issues in your home get solved.
4. Check for the conditions of your building’s exterior
If the outer walls of your building are in good shape then the chances of dampness in your inner walls reduce drastically. Plastering and using a weather-shield paint variety on exterior walls gives them an extra layer of protection against moisture and rainwater. However, if the plastering quality is not up to the mark or the paint is old then it invariably leads to moisture absorption and damp.
5. Check the roof for leakage
Water-logging in the roof is a cause of concern. Blockage in the vents can cause accumulation of a large quantity of water on the roof after rain. The water may seep through the roof and cause dampness in your ceiling. Other probable causes of a damp ceiling are crack in the roof, damaged waterproofing, etc.
Clear the blocked outlets on the roof, detect cracks if any through a home inspection and repair them, go for remedial waterproofing of the roof, or erect a rooftop shed to stop water accumulation and resultant dampness as per condition.
6. Close other sources of moisture intrusion
You may not know but there could be other sources of moisture intrusion in your home other than the ones pointed out above. Prevent moisture intrusion through these places and then proceed to paint your house.
Tips to prevent damp while painting
Use good quality paint
The paint you choose for your house can do more than enhance the beauty of the structure. Advanced paint solutions are enriched with silicon technology and so on. They absorb zero moisture and prevent water seepage through walls. Choose a weather-guard paint variety for the exterior walls and an equally good solution for the interior walls as well for the best results. You may consult a professional painter, who can guide you to choose the ideal paint for your house.
There are certain paints which also have proven antimicrobial properties1. Due to the action of such paint solutions, the growth of fungi and other microbes on the damp wall gets reduced. This is of immense importance as dampness is known to cause a number of ailments such as allergic rhinitis, skin rashes, etc. Consider using these paint varieties for a beautiful and healthier home.
Waterproof your walls
To strengthen the walls of your house from within and treat damp and seepage it is important to subject them to proper waterproofing. Make sure that both the ceilings as well as your walls are all waterproof. Your painting service provider will only do that for you. Just know the requirement well beforehand to calculate your budget. Who to consult with for that? – A home inspection service provider, who else!
Apply paint the right way
As mentioned earlier, only paint or putty cannot solve the problem of dampness. To effectively prevent or slow down dampness, you should apply paint only after applying the primer. First, you must apply some anti-dampness chemicals like Dr.Fixit2 or Asian Paints Care Damp proofing3, on the walls. Always follow manufacturer’s specifications properly.
If the problem persists even after all the remedies mentioned, call home inspectors to help you with a further damp assessment of your home. To learn more about the service, click here.