‘Investors in property can seek relief under Rera Act’

›

Even if an allottee was to purchase the apartment for subsequent sale, he cannot be denied the relief and protection offered by the Act.

P-RERA, while hearing a case

MOHALI: The Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority (P-Rera) has held that property investors can seek relief under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Significantly, such investors are not covered under the Consumer Protection Act, where a consumer is excluded from seeking redress of grievances, if the property is bought for speculation.

The authority, hearing a case, Gautam Uppal (applicant) versus Country Colonisers Pvt Ltd (respondent), observed, “A realty investor cannot be denied relief and protection offered under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.”

‘PROPERTY INVESTOR NOT A CONSUMER’

The respondent had raised objections on the maintainability of the complaint, claiming that he was not entitled to any relief, as he was not a consumer and had booked the apartment not for residential purposes, but only for speculation. He had also claimed that in the Preamble of the Act, one of its purposes is mentioned as “To protect of the interest of consumers in the real estate sector.” However, the word ‘consumer’ was not defined. The argument added, “With this being the case, the definition of consumer in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, needed to be adopted. Under that, a person who purchases a property for speculation was not a consumer.”

After hearing both sides, the authority held, “There is no provision in the act which provides – either explicitly or through necessary implication – that the purpose for which an apartment is purchased would determine whether its purchaser (allottee) would be entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of this authority. The definition of both 'allottee' and 'apartment' does not lead to this conclusion.”

It added that though the definition of apartment provides that it is intended to be used for residential or commercial purposes, it does not mean that an allottee must himself use it for the said purposes. “Even if an allottee was to purchase the apartment for subsequent sale, he cannot be denied the relief and protection offered by the Act,” it held.

Clarifying the meaning and scope of the word ‘consumer’ in the Preamble, the authority held, “The very fact that it is not defined... suggests that it is used in a broad, general sense and not in its technical meaning. It is clear that an allottee does not also have to be a consumer to claim the relief available under this Act.”