COVID-19 quarantine centres | Builders offer vacant housing projects: All you need to know

A worker wearing a protective suit disinfects the interior of a passenger train after it was converted into an isolation facility amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the outskirts of Kolkata, India on April 6, 2020 (Reuters)

Several real estate builders have decided to provide quarantine facilities for COVID-19 patients. They have offered unoccupied residential units in their projects to municipal authorities to be utilised for the purpose.

While the intent is noble, legal experts say that there may be some challenges because, legally, most of these projects may not have an occupancy or completion certificate.

What this means is that, while the projects may have water and power supply, they may not necessarily have documents to prove that the buildings are safe for habitation.

Even though the quarantine centre would be a temporary facility, some developers may also have to deal with the problem of ‘project perception’ and may find it difficult to liquidate inventory later as buyers may desist from purchasing a property that has been used as an isolation facility during the pandemic, say some experts. Let’s find out if this is true.

This week, Naredco UP offered 500-bed space to the district administration to fight against COVID-19. While Supertech has offered a 400-bed space, Antriksh group has offered a 100-bed space for quarantine facilities.

Related stories

Vandana Ramnani

Associate Editor, Real Estate|Moneycontrol News

• 
  Amitabh Bachchan gifts Juhu home, Prateeksha, to daughter
• 
  All about China’s real estate crisis and India’s property market boom
• 
  Prestige Group targeting sales of Rs 20,000 cr this fiscal: Irfan Razack, MD

COVID-19 pandemic LIVE updates

Supertech has offered 400-bed space at Upcountry project located along the Yamuna Expressway and reserved one exclusive tower for the purpose, said R K Arora, Naredco UP president and chairman of Supertech Group.

“This dedicated block has a separate entry and exit. Other blocks in the area are currently under construction. All facilities including water, power and the lift is currently available. The completion process is on and we are trying to meet the requirements of the district administration. They will first check if it is fit for the purpose. Also, there may be a possibility that the project is granted a temporary occupation certificate for the project to be used as a quarantine facility,” he told Moneycontrol.

He denied that there would be any impact on the valuation of the project.

Antriksh group has offered a 100-bed space at any of its three projects where residents have not moved in as yet. “We currently have three to four projects where residents have not yet moved in. We may give an entire block either in our Noida Extension or our project located in Sector 150,” said Rakesh Yadav of Antriksh Group, adding that basic facilities such as water and electricity were provided for.

In Gujarat, Savvy Group (See picture) has offered 250 units in one of its vacant projects to the local administration to be utilized as an isolation or a quarantine centre to be used for COVID-19 patients.

“We have offered 250 units in one of our vacant projects in Ahmedabad to the local authority to be utilized as a quarantine centre for COVID-19 patients. These are 1 BHK units that can be used to accommodate around 500 beds. They are in the process of getting completed. We may get a temporary completion certificate for the project,” Jaxay Shah, chairman Credai and managing director of Savvy Group told Moneycontrol.

Housing complex converted to quarantine centres must be managed by health experts

Medical experts that Moneycontrol spoke to said that as long as these quarantine centres are located away from habitation and have a separate entry and exit, they cannot pose a threat.

“We have tried creating a quarantine facility for COVID-19 patients in Jhajjar. The facility has been fenced and has a separate entrance. The important thing for the facility is to have a dedicated entrance – there cannot be a common entrance for COVID patients and other residents,” Dr Randeep Guleria, Director - AIIMS, told Moneycontrol.

He recommends that ideally such facilities should be managed by a health/medical service provider. “The developer may provide the physical infrastructure but the quarantine facility should be run by a health service group,” he said.

Can under-construction projects be converted to a QC without an OC?
Legal experts explain that as per the provisions under most legislations, both at the central and state levels, no individual shall be allowed to occupy any building or an apartment sans receiving a completion certificate and occupancy certificate from the competent authority.

“If one were to strictly go by what the law lays down, there may be a compliance issue and safety risks subject to the grant of completion certificate with regard to these vacant, under-construction projects being converted into quarantine centres,” says Rahul Arora, Partner - Trilegal.

Coronavirus testing centres near you

Having said that, this is an unprecedented time and the Epidemic Act and the National Disaster Management Act are already in place. Pursuant to invocation of these legislations by the respective governments, several authorities have been granted special powers to take such measures, including capacity-building, during the course of the pandemic for its prevention and/or mitigation as they may deem necessary, he explains.

The National Centre for Disease and Control in India has brought out a list of guidelines https://ncdc.gov.in/WriteReadData/l892s/90542653311584546120.pdf that are required to be followed for converting spaces such as stadiums or for that matter vacant housing units into quarantine centres, keeping in regard the stage of completion of such buildings or facilities prior to occupancy.

Some of the requirements for a quarantine facility in a community-based facility as laid down by NCDC state that the centre should preferably be located in the outskirts of the urban/city area. These could include unused hostels, health facilities or buildings which are away from crowded and populated areas.

These buildings should have access to a tertiary hospital facility having critical care and isolation facilities. It should also be well ventilated. The road to the quarantine centre should also be wide enough to accommodate two vehicles at any given time to facilitate free movement of ambulances.

Will valuation of projects converted to quarantine centres be impacted?Some real estate experts Moneycontrol spoke to said that valuation of these apartment blocks that may have to be converted to quarantine centres may not be impacted as these facilities are only temporary in nature.

Once the patients have recovered and move out of the facility or for that matter once the pandemic is over, the authorities would sanitise the entire place before returning the units to the concerned developers.

“It is unlikely to impact sales or the value of the units. At present, there may be a reluctance to buy property in that project and it may impact sale of units in the short term. However, it is unlikely to impact pricing of these units in the long term. It is highly unlikely that these units would remain unsold or would be sold at a lower rate,” said Ritesh Mehta, senior director and head - West India, Residential, Jones Lang Lasalle India.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.