Introducing a rating system for real estate developers

With ever-growing population as well as rapid urbanisation, the demand for housing has increased drastically making the real estate sector booming in reality. No problem lies there as long as buildings are constructed taking adequate safety measures and following building code. But unfortunately, enforcement of building code and practice of safety culture seem to be missing in this sector. Day-by-day, new high rise complexes are transforming the mega city Dhaka but the problem that has emerged in this sector is that there is no way to define which construction company is truly reliable. This particular problem has given rise to numerous problems for both city authority and customers. In last one year or so, several buildings, especially newly built ones, tilted generating public concern and debate over proper enforcement of building codes; however, mindless construction of high-rises by filling up low-lying areas is still going on putting the lives of the people of mega-city Dhaka in danger. Many developers and building owners, more often than not, use cheap, low quality raw materials for constructing buildings to trim down costs, increasing the probability of a building collapse unsurprisingly far above the ground. What is more, buildings are so close to one another that in the case of a severe collapse, the rescue team might not work properly. Apart from this, many pedestrians died as bricks fell on them from construction sites and this reveals that the safety issue is neglected during construction works. Surrounded by rivers and canals, Dhaka once had attractive scenery which made it a wonderful city. Lamentably, on the other hand, it appears that due to construction of different structures in a disorganised manner and unabated infringement of the water bodies, including canals and rivers in and around the city, by some devious real estate companies, Dhaka has already earned the name of the second worst city of the world. Worse still, in the backdrop of growing demand for plots and apartments in the city, these companies have been developing housing projects on their encroached lands and alluring people to buy them through colourful advertisements over the years. All these are creating negative impacts such as water crisis which may loom large in the coming days. Recently, a local daily reported that developers hardly follow the safety rules defying the country's Labour Act 2006 and National Building Code 2006 during the construction work at their various projects and more than 93 per cent of the country's construction workers never get safety tools during their work. Be that as it may, one can hardly neglect the real estate sector's contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). But if one goes through daily newspapers, one will find numerous advertisements on developers and their false claims such as project location is only 25 minutes away from Motijheel or the project includes all types of amenities. Any city dweller knows how untrue the claims are! Again, what is worrying is that the number of developers is increasing day by day. But the crucial factor is the quality, instead of number. If quality is the matter of concern, many real estate companies may lack the factor. Against this backdrop, a rating system should be introduced to help end users make informed decisions and to bring more transparency in real estate sector. Rating can be assigned on a scale, based on specified parameters including the record of the developer, the infrastructure he is erecting, status of the approved plan, timely completion, cost overruns, after sales service, legal issues, environmental impacts and the like. The rating may be given midway through the project and will be under surveillance until the completion of a project, during which it can be revised. It is imperative to ensure the standard of construction given that the city is becoming uncliveable due to unplanned development. Some 1200 companies are operating in the sector but this is not what we need. For the balanced economic growth and development, we need real estate developers who will properly follow building code, rules and regulations. To this end, the government should introduce a rating system for the real estate developers to monitor them and to ensure quality construction works. The writer can be reached at e-mail: shafiqul0032@yahoo.com