The developer had cited the pandemic which was opposed by the buyer as the possession was agreed upon in 2016 much before the pandemic.

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority(MahaRERA) Chairperson Ajoy Mehta in a recently passed order, related to Kohinoor city residential project, has provided relief to an aggrieved homebuyer. The regulatory authority directed the builder to pay interest on the amount received and carry out an agreement of sale with the buyer which he was avoiding to date.

The case is about a homebuyer named Arif Merchant, Faraz Trading company Pvt Ltd approached MahaRERA against Kohinoor developers for delaying possession of their booked flat.
The homebuyer had booked a flat for a considerable amount of Rs 1.56 crore. Of which he already paid Rs 73.66 lakh. Wherein it was agreed that the possession will be handed over in 2016. Later on the developer following the formation of MahaRERA registered the project and extended the deadline to 2019 and further to 2021.
Since the said developer delayed the project the buyer approached MahaRERA seeking relief.
The real estate regulatory authority after considering both parties’ submissions directed the developer to pay interest on the amount received and also sign an agreement of sale.
The complainant was represented by Advocate Sharon Fernandez from The Law Suits.The buyer contended that despite accepting 45 per cent of the consideration amount no agreement of sale was signed further violating the RERA Act. Also, they are eligible for interest on the amount paid under RERA Act. Further contending that the reasons cited by the developer for delay are not acceptable.
The developer had cited the pandemic which was opposed by the buyer as the possession was agreed upon in 2016 much before the pandemic. Also, the developer had said the delay was due to inter alia being the Hard Rock and Hume Pipe encountered at the time of laying the foundation or excavation, however, such and other reasons are merely an afterthought as the developer was silent on this aspect and did not inform the Complainants about the same, more so reasons attributed for the delay are part and parcel of the construction business and the developer having repute and years of experience were well aware of it and shouldn’t have taken 7-8 years (from the time of booking) to complete the construction of a 10 storey building the buyer replied.
Advocate Sulaiman Bhimani of The Law Suit said that MahaRERA offered interest and directed him to sign the sale deed. But the developer had asked to pay the stamp duty fees which were 2 per cent last year. Since the project has been delayed now the buyer has to pay a stamp duty of 5 per cent so there is a loss of an additional 3 per cent, he said.

Courtesy THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL 

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Adv. Sulaiman Bhimani Legal Consultant
Expert in RERA & Co-operative Scty Matters,Family Matters, Property Disputes.Human and Civil Rights Activists
President Citizens Justice Forumhttps://citizensjusticeforum.in/