Women in Indian Real Estate
More women must be part of the real estate decision-making process. Hence they must come forward themselves and bring the change. While real estate has traditionally been a male-dominated affair, the participation of women is gradually increasing.
Here’s Seema Harsha: Founder and COO, Indiassetz
Historically, women have been just used as signatories during property dealings, be it buying or selling. The male of the house, be it husband or father or brother, will just tell the lady to sign, and they will do the rest. However, the women must know the market value of the property, the rent it will generate, recurring cost implications, and occasional repairs.
Here are some interesting facts and figures. Almost 70 percent of women prefer to invest in real estate, mainly in residential properties (homes), according to a survey conducted by an aggregator. This survey was conducted in Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai & Chennai. About 94 percent of women wanted to invest in residential properties, while six percent in commercial properties.
When going is good, there are no issues. The challenge is when the male of the house, for some reason, is not in the scene, and the woman draws a blank on what to do next. This is a very precarious situation which needs attention on an urgent basis. When it comes to property, assets and wealth, the perceived value is what counts.
Now why the lands/properties were bought in the women’s name? Here is the link: women at home became the first target since men were employed or had made other investments. Now, if the lands are bought on benami names, the control over them is a huge challenge as the holder may change his mind or otherwise. Now the women become cover-up face of the deal with no other knowhow. But women must be fully aware of every aspect of the property she owns. With rising literacy rates, this equation is changing fast.
The best way to encourage more women to come forward and register properties in their name is to offer them stamp-duty and credit-line concessions while buying homes. This will bring in sweeping changes to the real estate industry. Considering that property is a state subject in the Constitution, only respective state governments can formulate laws around it. They need not depend on the central establishment for approvals. However, even today, 14 states do not have any special concessions for women home buyers. The list includes even large states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and the bulk of northeastern states. But this hasn’t stopped developers from positioning their projects to suit the gender spectrum.
The succession laws for Hindu women follow the Hindu Succession Act, 1925, in case there is a will, and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, in case the woman, dies intestate. While Section 14 defines what constitutes a woman’s property, Sections 15 & 16 lay down the rules and order of inheritance.
1. Married women protection (MWP) was a welfare act enacted in 1874 to ensure the absolute ownership of wages, earnings, property, investments, and savings of a married woman.
2. The husband cannot acquire any interest in any such property of the wife after the marriage.
3. It was created to protect the properties owned by women from in-laws, relatives, and creditors.
In conclusion, with rising literacy levels, women cannot be mere witnesses but a part of the system and actively participate in real estate investments.