The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, which the government said aims to protect home buyers’ interests and make the field more transparent. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha last week. The Bill will now be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for approval, after which it can become a law.

The Real Estate Bill was first introduced in Parliament in 2013 when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance was in power, with the belief that the sector was susceptible to black-money transactions. After making as many as 20 amendments – the first version of the bill was rejected by the Upper House last year – the current government fast-tracked the proposal after the main Opposition party said it favoured the legislation. The Congress party wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week asking for the Bill to be prioritised in this session of Parliament, NDTV reported.

Under the Bill, state-level bodies called Real Estate Regulatory Authorities will be established to oversee transactions related to both residential and commercial projects. Among various provisions in the Bill is one that will oblige sellers to keep 70% of buyers’ money in a separate bank account to cover the cost of construction and land. This will also to ensure that the builders do not invest the money from one project into another.