budget 2026Image Credit source: ai generated

Budget 2026: Every section of the society has some expectations from the upcoming Budget 2026, but if you live in a rented house or are dreaming of buying your own house, then this news is very important for you. CREDAI, the apex body of the real estate sector, has put forward a proposal before the Finance Ministry, which, if accepted, can ease the major problems of the middle class living in cities. CREDAI has made a strong demand from the government to start 'National Rental Housing Mission', which will have a direct impact on your pocket and lifestyle.

What is National Rental Housing Mission?

Due to rapid urbanization in the country, the number of migrants in cities is continuously increasing, but there are no organized rental houses to live in that proportion. To overcome this shortcoming, CREDAI has demanded a 'National Rental Housing Mission' in the budget. The organization says that the government should give tax exemption to both developers and tenants.

CREDAI argues that there is a need to create affordable rental stock (affordable rental houses) on a large scale in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. If developers get financial incentives and tenants are given tax relief, the availability of rental homes will increase organically in the market. This will not only stop illegal settlements, but will also provide easy shelter to people (workforce) who move cities for work. CREDAI Chairman Shekhar Patel has also stressed that increasing access to affordable housing and creating a strong rental ecosystem is the need of the hour.

The definition of affordable housing will change

Buying a house is the biggest financial decision of a common man's life, but the rising prices of land and construction materials have made it quite difficult. CREDAI has drawn the attention of the government to the fact that the definition of 'affordable housing' which was decided in 2017, has become completely irrelevant today. According to current rules, only houses priced up to Rs 45 lakh and measuring 60 square meters in metro cities (90 square meters in non-metro) come under the 'affordable' category.

In today's era, it is almost impossible to get a good quality house for Rs 45 lakh in metro cities. Therefore, CREDAI has demanded that this cap of Rs 45 lakh should be removed completely. Also, it has been proposed to increase the carpet area limit to 90 square meters in metro cities and 120 square meters in non-metro cities. If this demand is met, then bigger houses will also be able to come in the affordable category and buyers will be able to get lower GST (which is currently 1%) and other benefits. Apart from this, it has also been recommended to increase the tax exemption on home loan interest from the current Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, which can prove to be a big relief for home buyers.