There has been a lot of debate as to what is the lifespan of buildings (RCC structure) in India when you talk about building redevelopment? Some people have an opinion that RCC buildings can last for 50-80 years and hence there is no need to go for building redevelopment.
As per the experts, the conservative figure is around 30 years if the building is maintained well. So what is the alternative if the building can no longer be maintained/repaired and needs a complete rebuild?
As per Bye-law no. 76, Structural Audit of the Building is to be conducted when the Building is more than 15 years old. The Report of such Structural Audit would reveal the condition of the Building. The report should indicate whether the Society needs Building Redevelopment. If the building is between 15 years to 30 years old, the structural audit should be done once in 5 years. After the building getting 30 years old the structural audit should be once in 3 years.
Structural Repair or Building Redevelopment?
Structural repair is one of the options, society management can opt. This may increase the life of the building by another 4-5 years but such an option will not be economically feasible in order to fix the issues of major seepage, weak walls, and foundations, leaking water pipes, etc.
Redevelopment is the buzz word for these buildings. This refers to a process of reconstruction of a residential premise by the demolition of the existing structure and construction of a new one. Followings are the major benefits of redevelopment:
- Better planned and designed flats with earthquake structure having attached bathrooms in bedrooms.
- Corpus fund received by each individual member. This will take care of the increase in the maintenance cost of the Premises or could be utilized for some other purposes.
- An additional area of 25-30% will be received as compensation from the Developer. Also, additional space, if available, could be purchased from the Developer at best available price.
- Modern facilities/ amenities/gadgets like lifts, intercom system, smoke detectors, firefighting alarm system, concealed plumbing, concealed wiring for electricity, telephone, cable TV, Clubhouse, Swimming Pool, Gymnasium, Community Hall etc. will be available etc.
- Stilt or underground parking will fix the parking issue and shall ease space on the ground. This will provide open space for kids playing.
However, redevelopment is usually burdened with bitterness and corruption against the managing committee of the society. Our next blog will deal with such issues. Keep reading…
