The exorbitant khata transfer fee fixed by Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has drawn flak from people owning property at layouts developed by it. Property owners said they are not opposed to paying a fee for transferring khata but have objected to the steep hike introduced by the BDA. They argue that the increased amount is not only arbitrary but also places an unnecessary financial burden on those seeking to update property ownership records without any significant additional service or benefitsTheir main grievance is that the BDA charges the same fee for transferring khata to a dependant’s name after the death of the original owner, as it does for a regular sale transaction. Owners say they have no objection to a higher fee for transfers involving the sale of a property, but also places an unnecessary financial burden on those seeking to update property ownership records without any significant additional service or benefits. Residents argue that the BDA should have introduced a separate category for transfers involving legal heirs instead of treating them on par with property sales. “We have written letters to BDA officials appealing for a review of the fee hike, as it imposes a burden on dependants. Ashok M, forum’s General Secretary said officials promised to resolve the issue, yet no actionn has been taken so far.
 

British International Investment (BII) has made an equity investment of ?170 crore in Altum Credo Home Finance (Altum Credo), an affordable housing finance company. The new funding will support the company to further expand its operations within its existing geographies in India. It will also help to further strengthen its IT infrastructure, enhancing operational efficiency and controls, customer experience, and digital service delivery. The company focuses on home finance need of first-time homeowners belonging to low-income segments. The company has assets under management (AUM) in excess of ?1,000 crore.
 

Centrum Capital Ltd on Friday said it has signed an agreement to divest its entire stake in Centrum Housing Finance Ltd (CHFL), its affordable housing finance business, to new-age lender Weaver Services for Rs 430 crore. The agreement which has been approved by the board of Centrum is subject to its shareholders, regulatory and other commercial third-party approvals, Centrum Capital said in a statement. As on June 30, 2025, CHFL has an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 1,640 crore and offices across 100 locations, servicing over 18,000 customers. It offers home loans, self-construction loans, home improvement loans and loans against property. For CHFL, E&Y was the financial advisor and J Sagar Associates were the legal advisors to the transaction, it said, adding, for Weaver Services, KPMG was the tax advisor and Khaitan & Co, Bengaluru was the legal advisors. Commenting on the sale, Jaspal Bindra, Executive Chairman, Centrum Group, said, "Our housing finance business has seen sustained profitable growth since inception. We are happy that we have found an ambitious and highly capable platform - Weaver Services, backed by marquee investors like Premji Invest, Lightspeed Ventures and Gaja Capital, that will drive and significantly scale CHFL's operations going forward."
 

Real estate developer Brigade Group has acquired nine acres of land at Perungudi along the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) in Chennai on a long-term lease from YMCA, marking one of the most significant transactions on the city's IT corridor in recent years. The site that the Bengaluru-based company has leased for 55 years is located in a prime stretch where large land parcels are extremely scarce. It offers a development potential of 1.6 million sq ft, a person close to the  deal said. While financial terms weren't available, experts said an acre of land at Perungudi would cost ?54 crore for outright purchase at current prices. The Brigade Group did not comment."Brigade plans to develop a Grade-A office complex alongside a 200-key JW Marriott hotel, strengthening its commercial and hospitality footprint in Chennai," said the person cited earlier. 

Housing finance companies (HFCs) are facing significant pressure due to aggressive pricing of mortgage rates by public sector banks, with the rate war squeezing their margins. Despite reporting growth in loan disbursals, many HFCs are not seeing a proportional increase in their assets under management (AUM), largely because several borrowers are shifting their home loans to competitors. In the June 2025 quarter, Bajaj Housing Finance saw a 0.5% decline in net profit, while Aadhar Housing Finance and LIC Housing Finance reported 10% and 5% growth, respectively. Lower lending rates following the Reserve Bank of India's 100 basis points repo rate cut this year have brought down their net interest margins. Bajaj Housing Finance currently charges one of the lowest mortgage rates at 7.35%, according to its website. In comparison, public sector lender Canara Bank interest rate on home loans starts at 7.40%. The rate war is affecting even the largest housing finance company, LIC Housing Finance. Jain highlighted the disparity between disbursement and AUM growth amid pricing pressures. Bajaj Housing Finance reported a 22% increase in disbursements to ?14,651 crore in the first quarter. However, its AUM rose only 0.6% to ?5,736 crore from ?5,701 crore. This is because of very intense competition. 
 

In a move that could signal a shift toward higher interest rates in the home loan market, India's largest mortgage lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has increased home loan rates by 25 basis points for new borrowers. The hike primarily affects applicants with lower credit scores, as the bank has raised the upper band of its loan rates. Union Bank of India has also increased its rates, and other public sector lenders may follow suit. During the last fortnight of July, SBI's mortgage rates ranged from 7.5% to 8.45%. After the revision, new borrowers will pay between 7.5% and 8.70%. Union Bank of India has raised its rate to 7.45%, up from 7.35% in late July. Both banks did not respond to emailed queries seeking an explanation for the rate hike. SBI has tweaked the rates based on CIBIL scores and the External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR). This is a low-yielding product for us, so we've decided to increase margins on new loans for borrowers with low credit scores. This change applies only to new customers and will not impact the ?8 lakh crore of outstanding loans," said a person familiar with the matter. Axis Bank, meanwhile, reported a year-on-year decline in home loan volumes, a segament it has struggled to grow for several quarters. Over the past four years, government-owned banks have steadily gained market share. Data from credit bureau CRIF Highmark shows that the share of new home loans by value for public sector banks rose to 43% in FY25 from 34% in FY22. Over the same period, the share for private banks fell to 29.8% from 42.6%.
 

Over 9,000 individuals have been found to be fraudulently claiming Rs 1.20 lakh each under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, despite being homeowners themselves. Investigations have exposed the misuse of funds meant for the scheme, and authorities are now taking action to recover the availed subsidies. Similarly, pension fraud has also been exposed in various govt schemes, with over Rs 40 lakh lost due to fake claims, deceased beneficiaries, and unreported remarriages. Authorities admitted that the absence of recovery mechanisms hampers further action, underscoring a pressing need for policy reforms and stricter verification. Under the PMAY scheme, the govt provides Rs 1.20 lakh in three instalments to economically weaker families for constructing homes. However, a departmental survey conducted after disbursing the first instalment revealed that over 9,000 individuals across various villages had already built houses — some even double-storeyed. These beneficiaries submitted fake documents to claim the funds. In Shankargarh block alone, over 3,127 beneficiaries had not even laid a single brick after receiving the initial assistance. Upon verification with locals, it was confirmed that these individuals had no need for a new house. Authorities are now preparing to initiate recovery proceedings against them. Similarly, the Old Age Pension Scheme, which currently supports 1.53 lakh pensioners in the district, revealed that 2,351 beneficiaries had died a year ago, yet their families did not report the deaths, and the pensions continued to be credited. District social welfare officer Ram Shankar said that current rules do not allow recovery in such cases, limiting the department's ability to act. These revelations highlight serious loopholes in verification and recovery systems in welfare schemes and raise concerns about transparency and accountability in the distribution of public funds. 
 

Buying an apartment or plot in Tamil Nadu may soon become a presenceless process, with the state registration department preparing a system where neither buyers nor developers will need to visit sub-registrar offices (SROs) for first-sale registrations. In the first phase, the facility will be optional and gradually made mandatory. Officials said the move is aimed at easing congestion at SROs, many of which function from cramped offices with little space or parking for visitors. Every year, about 36 lakh documents are registered in Tamil Nadu, of which 5.5 lakh are Memoranda of Deposit of Title Deed (MOD) and 3.5 lakh are receipt deeds. On average, 26,000 apartments are registered every month, with Chennai topping the list. The state has 582 SROs. Two years ago, presenceless registration was introduced for MODs, receipt deeds, and residential lease deeds (within five years), but it was not mandatory. Currently, only about 30,000 MODs and receipt deeds are done online. Under the proposed system, once the seller and developer complete the online registration, the respective SRO will access the application, verify the details, and clear the documents. To enable this, the department will provide software to top builders and developer associations. The proposal, however, has triggered concerns over safety. With multiple complaints of fraudulent registrations and property disputes already pending across the state, many fear that removing physical presence could open the door to manipulation and forgery. "This move will make the entire process faster and far more convenient for buyers. For developers too, it reduces the hassle of coordinating multiple visits to sub-registrar offices. What we need is a robust system with strong safeguards so that trust is maintained by chairman of the DTCP committee at the Builders Association of India.
 

Chennai Metro Rail will complete the construction of the viaduct and the massive double decker stretch along Arcot Road for the phase II project between Porur and Power House by September end. Porur to Power House, a section of corridor 4 of the phase II project whose entire length runs to 26.1 km from Light House to Poonamallee via Porur and Vadapalani. This section of corridor 4 is pivotal for commuters for two reasons; firstly, when ready, it offers connectivity to the phase I network at Vadapalani and secondly, the 3.75km diuble decker corridor between Alwarthirunagar and Alapakkamwill allow commuters to switch between corridor 4 and corridor 5 (Madhavaram to Sholinganallur) in any of the four locations which are Alwarthirunagar, Valasaravakkam, Karambakkam, and Alapakkam. This time next year, trains will be operated in the first level of the double decker and shortly thereafter when a part of corridor 5 is ready, the second level will witness train operations. According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they have to construct around 340 piers between Porur and Power House and of that, nearly 95 per cent of the work has been completed. Sources said there has been a six-month delay in the construction of the Porur-Power House stretch. In the locations where the viaduct has been finished, track laying is under way and the installation of overhead equipment (OHE) is in progress. “The track and OHE work has been on at Vadapalani, Saligramam, Karambakkam and Alapakkam,” another official. Sources said it could take about four months to finish the OHE work. 

Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd on Tuesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 4.19 crore for the first quarter of FY26. Its net loss stood at Rs 23 crore in the year-ago period. Total income, however, rose to Rs 387.98 crore during the April-June period of 2025-26 against Rs 323.15 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year, according to a regulatory filing. During the 2024-25 fiscal, Smartworks Coworking Spaces had posted a net loss of Rs 63.17 crore on a total income of Rs 1,409.66 crore. Smartworks Coworking Spaces, which got listed recently on stock exchanges, is one of the leading co-working centre operators in the country. country.
 

Saint-Gobain has commenced construction of its seventh float glass line and fifth mineral wool insulation line in Oragadam, Chennai. The new float glass facility will have a production capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day. Following the acquisition of Rockwool India (Rockinsul) and UP Twiga (Twigainsul), the company has expanded its insulation business in India. The fifth mineral wool insulation plant will have a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes. 

Real estate investment fund management platform Etonhurst Capital Partners has acquired over 37 ready-to-move-in luxury apartments in a super-premium residential project in Mumbai’s plush Worli locality for over Rs 500 crore. The deal marks the first inventory buyout transaction by an institutional investor in the country’s burgeoning luxury housing market. Etonhurst has acquired the portfolio of these apartments from Piramal Finance, the non-banking finance company of Piramal Group that had received the inventory as part of its debt settlement pact with the project’s developer Omkar Realtors & Developers. The transaction involves apartments in towers A and B of Omkar 1973 that have already received occupation certificates from the Mumbai civic authority. The portfolio comprises a mix of three- and four-bedroom residences with carpet areas ranging from 2,000 sq ft to 3,800 sq ft, spanning a total of around 80,000 sq ft. Etonhurst plans targeted refurbishments to align the apartments with current luxury standards before marketing them for sale. The deal involves around Rs 50 crore earmarked for this upgrade before sales of these apartments. ET’s email query to Piramal Finance remained unanswered until the time of going to press. According to property consultants, the deal is based on the opportunity to unlock value given the project’s OC-approved status, ready inventory and discounted pricing. The firm may refurbish the interiors, enhance fit-outs and adopt a phased sale strategy to maximise returns. South and central Mumbai, home to India’s costliest residences, have been at the forefront of this boom, attracting a string of high-value deals involving industrialists, senior corporate leaders, film stars and sports icons in recent years.