Home ownership in India has always been a big dream. To realize this long-cherished dream, a home buyer may either acquire the property through a home loan (or) invest huge sums of money in the property, in most of the cases this can be his/her life-long savings.
Thanks to no proper regulations in the real estate sector and no proper grievance redressal mechanism in place, the dream of the average middle class family to own a home, has of late become a nightmare. Home Buyers in India have always been at the receiving end of innumerable malpractices at the hands of many real estate builders or promoters.
The biggest investment of ones lifetime is more often than not either compromised with or ends up in the legal battle. The number of cases in the consumer courts by aggrieved home buyers has skyrocketed of late.
“A Home buyer in India is often left alone at the mercy of the builders.”
Delayed possession, default on design and construction parameters, mismatch of space in the guise of floor area & carpet area, the list of woes for home buyers seems to be endless.
With the introduction of RERA act, looks like things are slowly changing for the good.
Though it is too early to call RERA Act a success, but the recent verdicts given by the RERA authorities, may make home-buyers something to cheer about!
(Click on the above image to read the full article – Source : ET Realty)
The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has recently asked a builder in Mumbai to return an advance amount of Rs 26.15 lakh to a consumer, this is the first such order since the real estate law came into effect in the state (Maharashtra) on May 1.
As per the RERA authority, the complainant (Home buyer) had booked the flat in 2012-13 and was assured by the developer that the project would be completed in 2016. As the building has not yet been completed, the property buyer filed a complaint through Maharashtra RERA portal and got the verdict in his/her favor.
One more aggrieved home buyer (an elderly women) has approached the RERA authority and got the verdict in her favor.
(Click on the above image to read the full article – Source : ET Realty)
As per the complaint received by the authority, the property buyer had booked a Flat worth Rs 53 lakh in Feb 2013, and till march 2016, she had made payments to the tune of around Rs 40 lakh. For the last 10 months or so, the builder has been postponing the registration of flat in her name.
Hence, she filed her complaint with RERA and the builder has now completed the registration, following the directives of the RERA bench.
These are definitely good signs for Indian property buyers and the real-estate industry as a whole!
Although RERA is a central law, its implementation will depend on state governments, as real estate is a state subject.
Most of the states have now notified their own versions of RERA Act and have been implementing the enacted laws. Some of the states like Maharashtra and Karnataka have already launched their respective RERA portals for the benefit of all stake holders i.e., Real estate builders, Property Agents and Home buyers.
Below is the online procedure to file complaints against errant builders / promoters. I have provided the screenshots of two RERA portals – Maharashtra’s and Karnataka’s….
The authority has so far received more than 98 complaints through its online RERA portal.
Below is the online procedure to submit complaints to RERA in Karnataka ;
All this may look impressive and beneficial to real estate property buyers, but the main contentious issue for the builders has been ‘the inclusion of on-going (under-construction properties) projects under the RERA Act’.
The various associations of builders across the nation have been challenging the law, particularly sections that put old projects — started before the RERA law was passed and are yet to be completed, under the ambit of the regulator. They have approached the various state High-courts and also the Supreme court, awaiting for the judgement. (As per the builders, Section 3 of the RERA Act, which says ongoing projects must be registered, is applied retrospectively and therefore violates their constitutional safeguards.)
Let’s hope that a well balanced RERA Act is beneficial and ensures a level-playing field for all the stake holders of the real estate industry.
Continue reading : ‘Real Estate Regulations & Development Act (RERA) : Key points & Review‘
(Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net) (Post published on : 08-September-2017)
This post was last modified on July 11, 2023 9:25 pm
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dear sir
I have buy one plot with Gaur sons group that is (Gaur yamuna city) by giving a small token amount of rs 51000. In june2017
I was supposed to give 50% till August 2017 and 50% by June 2018.
But now the builder has sent the offer possession and asking the 100% money instead of 50 % in the month of June 2018.
They are saying that it's their call to ask the payment pre pone.
Shall I make the rera complain against the same. However agreement has not yet been signed by me.
Thanks
Rupesh keshari
7042297956
Dear Rupesh,
"I was supposed to give 50% till August 2017 and 50% by June 2018." Do you have any agreement written which has this condition??
Did you pay 50% amount by Aug 2017?
Dear sir
I booked a Flate in jaipur on 3-9-17 with 50000rs chq , till now I don't receive any allotment of my Flate , so today I finally decided to cancel my Flate and refund to money but builder said that 20% amount will be deducted from your registration fees, it's wrong bcoz during registration time the condition is that if u cancelled your Flate before allotment then your money will be refunded without deduction and its all written in a registration form .
I told him about this then he said rule changed now ,
So sir plz tell me what I wanna do .
Dear Monu,
You may let him know that you are approaching RERA, I am sure he will return you the amount.
If not, you may file a complaint online through your state RERA portal.
Hi Sreekanth,
I had booked a flat in Navi Mumbai in 2011 and I should have got possession in 2013. I have paid up 90% of the cost to the builder. The building structure is complete, but till now he is delaying obtaining the OC. Whenever I have spoken to him about possession, he says that I can take possession and move in without OC. Since that is illegal, I have refused to do so. Since last one year, he does not take my calls nor does he meet with me at his office (he fixes a meeting and does not show up).
Therefore, I am thinking of complaining on the RERA website. On the site, it is asking to give a concise statement of facts and grounds of complaint. And also to upload the documents. I am not familiar with legal wordings and therefore, need your help with this. Also what documents need to be uploaded? I wish to seek compensation from him for delaying the project OC for over 4 years. On relief sought, it says specify the relief sought and explain the grounds of relief and legal provisions relied upon. Can you help with this. Thank you.
Dear Ramakrishnan,
Suggest you to kindly take help of a local civil lawyer, I am sure you will get the justice done in your favor.
In case, if this is the same case with other flat owners, you may all fight this out together as a group.
Thank you for your prompt response. Will I not get relief from RERA? And with regards to other owners, most are investors who are not reachable and others are not interested to pursue legally.
Dear Ramakrishnan ..Your case looks very genuine, suggest you to file a complaint through RERA, kindly take help of a civil lawyer if you need clarity on technical terms.
Hi Srikant,
Need a small Advice from you.
I have booked a flat in a township in Badlapur as per agreement the committed date of possession was 9th Jan 2017 however I got possession of the house in Aug 2017 (8 months delayed).
Plus the promised amenities of club house, and majorly 24*7 water supply is still not fulfilled by the builder they have taken maintenance for 5 years from each resident.
1. they are not ready to extend the maintenance period equal to delayed possession months nor ready to refund the money.
2. water currently is fulfilled for 10 hours a day by purchasing water and supplied using tankers.
3. Builder is now in arrogant talks even words as quoted " you dont have any option but to come back to me for each and every thing"
4. False promises by sales guys are now chucked off saying we wont adhere to anything verbal if its in writing show it.
5. when group of residents try to get meetings done with builder they dont accept to sign the MoM of meetings.
6. Few of us tried video recording the meeting which builder warns to confiscate the cellphones.
When checked on rera site out of 26 building(A to Z) our 4 building A to D are not registered under rera. however building E on wards are.
In this scenario where can we approach with our grievances .
The builder is just delaying all amenities and focusing on sale of further apartments to new customers.
Regards
Sunil
Dear Sunil..I believe that you should either visit the RERA office as a group and file the complaint (or) you may file an online complaint through your state RERA portal. You will get the justice!
Hello Sreekanth,
First of all thanks for giving such valuable details .
Have few queries.
1) How to identify if builder or his company falls under RERA as most of the small builders create new company for every small projects to avoid tax related issues.
2) If flat is purchased with bank loan then if we realize that some part of the building is unauthorized then can we file cheating case against builder ? ( OC is yet not provided by builder )
3)How to define is project is complete or partially complete or incomplete ?as in our area its very small appartment though flats are ready all are not yet sold and now looks like builder has cheated with respect to some permission issue , so how to file complaint ? As building construction was started around 2 years back but as OC is yet not provided ( or builder is sure he wont get it due to his partial illegal construction ) what action we can take against builder ?
Dear Viru,
1 - Even if multiple companies come up (of the same promoter), if the project(s) are within RERA guidelines then they have to get them registered with RERA. You can check the registered properties details in respective State RERA portals.
2 - Suggest you to first discuss this with your banker/lender and then file a case.
3 - Suggest you to visit RERA office in your location (State) may be as a group and inquire if the said project falls under RERA's purview, if so file your complaint immediately.
Respected Sir,
Greetings to you.
In 2012 I had booked a flat in project "Dev Splendor" plot number 85, sector 45, kharghar, Navi Mumbai with builder named Madan Kolambekar of M.K Group for a total amount of Rs. 28,66,500 subject to 30% advance payment I booked the flat and paid advance payment of 30% that is 8,64,000 which was paid to them on 17/10/2012 against M/s Dev Enterprises. For this payment I was issued allotment letter and receipt.
At the time of booking the flat they had promised to complete the project within 2 years and hand over the flat by 2015. In spite of repeated followups nothing has materialized till date and no response from the builder. I also tried to approach the company director but he avoids the calls. On sending him emails the reply I received is the delay is because of the CIDCO. While booking the flat I was told that all permission are ready and only land filling work is pending. This was very malicious intention which shows that the builder had given false commitment and collected advance from me.
For this I had given a letter of cancellation on 23/09/2015 asking refund of my advance amount along with interest of rs 3,02,400 failing to which builder will have to pay present market rate as delay is because of his negligence and mismanagement.
It is causing me mental agony and trauma apart from severe financial burden.
Several times I had orally complained to the local police person for which I got to know he is backed with some political person hence police has refused to file FIR against him.
Kindly guide me what I should do? If I file case with RERA what is the time span for the case to get resolved? and also let me know if kharghar is under RERA
Dear Mallika,
It's not the place (Kharghar) but we need to find out if your project falls under RERA act or not.
RERA act has been implemented throughout the country and also in Maharashtra.
All the on-going projects have to be registered with Maha RERA. (Kindly note that only projects with 500 sq meters of area or with eight flats to be registered with the regulatory authority.)
I have checked for Dev Splendor in MahaRERA portal but it is not listed.
Are you in contact with any other co-flat owners? If so, you may first try to find out if this project falls under the purview of RERA act or not, you can check this with any local civil lawyer. If it falls, suggest you to submit a complaint against the builder at the earliest.
Hi Sreekanth
Thank you for your immediate reply and guidance. As per the website of the Builder MK Group of Companies Dev Splendor is under ongoing Projects
https://goo.gl/RsgJuJ
Most of the Co-Flat owners do not have Idea if he is registered with RERA or not. He seems to be cheating with everyone. He does not fear of Police as he is backed with political person. Being a lady i do not have much idea about local lawyers there. Sir if you know any good lawyers please guide me. Im suffering a lot since 5 years.
Also if Dev splendor is not registered under RERA is there any way i Can complain against him?
If i complain with RERA Will it be worth as in will RERA take action against him as he is not registered?
Already cases are going against the builder. Recently he is jailed for duping investors. Please proceed for filing case immediately.
Dear Mallika,
I do not have contact details of a lawyer.
Suggest you to form as a group and file a complaint in RERA, worth doing it!
In case, this project comes under the purview of RERA and if the promoter has not yet registered with MahaRERA then you will surely get the justice!
In case, if this project does not come under the purview of RERA act then you may have to approach local Consumer Forum court / Civil court .
Hi, In Thane Mulla Baug, Neelkanth Woods project by T Bhimjiyani builder had given Nov-17, May-18 possession date for lot of buyers. Possession is going to get delayed because builder has decided to increase height of building without any discussions with buyers. There is no official communication from builder side on this delay. In spite of having agreement date as Nov-2017 / May-2018, in RERA builder has mentioned date as 2020. It will cause heavy financial impact for buyers Dec-2017 onward.
Can we register this case under RERA after Nov-2017?
Thanks for the information on this site. very helpful.
Hi... I believe that you may go ahead and register your complaint in this regard. Also, kindly contact other flat owners (if possible) and file the complaint unitedly.
Already commented
Dear Sir, I booked Flat No.601 (G wing) on 01-09-2017, Can I paid Rs.50000/- to builder by cheque(Cleared from my account), he not ready to give receipt, He not doing any token agreement with us, Which must for applying for home Loan, Project Name is KOHINOOR CASTLE, AMBARNATH .
He told me to apply for loan in his certified Bank HDFC, HDFC just calling demanding document, documents, nearly all provieded still not application login for loan for process in 20 days.
am i eligible to file case against Builder
Pls Guide on this, Willbe highly obiliged
Dear HARESH , Kindly check if that project has been registered under RERA or not.
You also need to check if your state RERA Act says that an ongoing projects also need to be registered or not.
You can find all RERA Acts for respective status
We also need to know if that project falls under RERA per view or not..click here to understand the RERA Act basics..
Dear Sir
Greetings !
This is Prasanna Kumar Nayak - living in UAE since 2005.
I bought a property in Goregaon (E) - project name - Omkar Ananta.
Query : In 1st week of May 2017, developer requested to pay the final possession amount, maintenance amount(2 years) and the building protection amount.
we paid before 15th May 2017, otherwise, as per demand invoice...if late from my end... 18% penalty will be charged to us.
Later Developer provided a false and incorrect information, that my flat handover will be on 20th June. We all family landed over there. They forcefully taken the signature from my wife ...saying flat is ready. in realty when I reached Mumbai on 24th June.. realized building is not ready and its not habitable(no water, electricity , no lift , no stairs , no lobby) at all.
Not even there is any water and electricity connection.
Till today iam keep on writing mails and several fone calls have been made to Omkar House and even spoke to few of times ...to one of the Owner. No response to mails and fone calls.
As per sale deed/contract - by 31st Mar 2017...developer supposed to provide us possession or developer take extension time of 6 months from the date of 31st Mar.
however, in both the cases...developer is not fulfilling the promises.
Kindly guide me ..what will be my next course of action.
Am I allowed to send all my correspondence to you to understand better my difficulties.
Appreciate your kind support and guidance.
Regards,
Prasanna Kumar Nayak
Mobile : 00971 50 55919** ( Work) , 009715016710**(personal)
Dear Prasanna,
Kindly note that we only provide information through this platform.
Suggest you to kindly file complaint against your builder through your State's RERA portal. I am confident that you will get justice!