Real Estate Bill is an Act now

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016, became an Act on 1 May, thereby setting in motion the process of making rules as well as putting in place institutional infrastructure to protect the interests of home buyers in India. Rules for implementing the provisions of the Act have to be formulated by the central and state governments within six months – that is, by 31 October – the maximum period stipulated in Section 84 of the Act.

According to Section 20 of the Act, state governments have to establish Real Estate Regulatory Authorities within one year of the law coming into force. These authorities will decide on the complaints of buyers and developers in 60 days.

Consumer court orders Jaypee to pay 12 per cent annual penalty to home buyers in Kalypso Court project

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has imposed a penalty of 12 per cent per annum on Jaypee Group for delaying the possession of homes to buyers in the Kalypso Court project on the Noida–Greater Noida expressway. NCDRC has also directed the Noida-based builder to hand over the possession of apartments to buyers by 21 July, failing which it will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 per flat per day till the project is completed.

The developer has also been told to provide adequate parking space in the project and refund the excess amount, if any, that has been collected from customers for parking slots, with 12 per cent interest per annum from the date of the charge. The commission held that builders could not charge buyers on increase in super area of an apartment after construction unless they have prior consent of the buyer.

Court makes Mumbai realtor pay for “pulling a fast one”

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed the Mumbai-based Lodha Group to refund Rs 1.02 crore for “arbitrarily” cancelling a flat booked by two senior citizens in Thane. This is in addition to 18 per cent interest on the principal amount from end-2010.

The Commission held that the builder “illegally withheld” the money for five years and ordered it to pay the couple an additional Rs 1 lakh in “compensation” within 90 days. “We hereby condemn the attempt to pull a fast one on the complainants,” says the order.

The builder had cancelled allotment in June 2011 after the complainants, Dr Naren P Sheth and Dr Sudha N Sheth, opposed what the Commission has called the “illegally demanded additional amount” of Rs 3.96 lakh towards car parking and took the matter to the district consumer forum. The builder “hurriedly” sold the apartment to another buyer in July 2011, a month before the case was filed before NCDRC – an action the panel described as “bordering on contempt of court” and “clearly establishing the builder's mala fide intention”. The order, passed by a bench of Justice J M Malik and Dr S M Kantikar, said the builder could not demand additional amount for parking as per law, and that it “depicts deficiency and unfair trade practices”.