House Building Advance (HBA) is offered to employees of the Central Government, according to the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations to assist in the construction or acquisition of houses/flats. The scheme was first launched in 1956 in the form of a welfare measure. Up until March 31, 2023, employees can take advantage of HBA at a rate of 7.1%.
Benefits employees are entitled to under HBA:
• Building a new home, either jointly or separately, on the employee’s or their spouse’s property.
• Acquiring and building a home at a site.
• Purchasing a house through membership in cooperative group housing societies, or purchasing a plot of land through cooperative schemes for the construction of a
house or apartment.
• House purchase or construction funded by self-financing programmes in Delhi, Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, and other cities.
• Purchase of a new ready-to-move-in house or flat from Housing Boards, Development Authorities, and other statutory or semi-governmental bodies, as well as registered builders, such as registered private builders, architects, house building societies, and so on.
In any case, the employee must increase the size of his or her accommodation in an existing house owned by the employee or jointly with a spouse.
Cost Ceiling
As per House Building Rules, the cost of the house to be built or purchased by the employee should not exceed 139 times the basic pay of the employee, subject to a maximum limit of Rs 1 crore. This limit is exclusive of the cost of the plot, flat, or ready-to-move house.
Eligibility
Only permanent Central Government employees are eligible for HBA. If both spouses work for the government, HBA services are available — either jointly or separately. HBA is also permissible for some other categories of central government employees.
A central government employee is only eligible for one advance during his or her entire tenure. The maximum amount that can be taken as House Building Advance is 34 months of basic pay up to a maximum of Rs 25 lakh. The amount of HBA for the expansion of an existing house is limited to 34 months of basic pay with a maximum limit of Rs 10 lakh. Similarly, depending on the needs of the employees, similar conditions are imposed.
