Chennai developers eye on the Housing Board colonies for redevelopment

By Pallavii Pitale

The housing board colonies seem to be the hot favourite among the developers in Chennai. Lack of open plots for developing the housing stock in the area, mainly in Chennai and other major parts in the state, redevelopment of the old TNHB apartments seems to be the  increasingly popular and feasible option for the developers here.

Since last 50 years the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) has promoted constructed various colonies but due to lack of proper maintenance, the building here, have falling balconies, leaking toilets and walls with seepage. Most of the owners of these apartments are elderly people mostly the retired government servants. Mostly all these building are in the major need for repairs or redevelopment.

Most of these colonies are in prime locations and abut roads that are at least 60 ft wide. They also have the best of transport, drinking water, sewerage and drainage facilities. Being the Housing Board colonies, these properties have clear title deeds and are free from litigation.

Along with these apartments, the board also developed satellite townships at various locations that included apartments, row houses, duplexes, large group housing and also housing plots with big bungalows catering to low income groups (LIG), middle income groups (MIG) and high income groups (HIG).

Due to the reasons above, the developers are attracted to TNHB buildings for one more main reason that most of them have consumed hardly 1 FSI (Floor Space Index ) where as now, as per the new development regulations of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), 1.65 FSI is achievable. Wherever premium FSI is applicable, the builder can go up to 2.1 FSI. The flat owner gets a bigger apartment (1.5 times to two times the size of the original), some cash in hand and a rent-free apartment to stay till the project is completed. The builder manages a minimum profit of Rs 50 lakh when he re-develops a project with an undivided share of land (UDS) of one ground (2400 sq ft.)

The redevelopment trend in the region has started since last five years and about 10% of the TNHB redevelopments have taken place in Chennai.