Published on: Apr 30, 2016 @ 22:29

The most common complaint of home buyers against builders is the delay in handing over flats.

Home  buyers ’  protests  against  the  developers  have  increased  in  recent times  as  several  housing  projects  have  been  delayed. Sometimes, the  real  estate  business  is  not  being done in conjunction  with the  rules. Besides, real  estate,  which  has   remained  unregulated so far  has given  rise  to  manipulation  of  laws by  some.

But  now,  homebuyers  are  relieved  because  the  law  enforcers  are  catching  those  builders who break  the  law  and  ethical  conduct.  This will  bring  back  the  confidence  among  the lakhs  of   customers.  A tighter mechanism of  enforcement  has  to  be  put  in  place  to stop the fraud  and  delay as  it  happens.

The  customers’  trust  is  being   invaded  repeatedly  and  they  do  not  know  whom  to  trust.  But now  the customers  who  have  been  affected  are  thankful  that  the  errant  builders  are  being slammed  by  the  courts.

The  lending  banks  should  also  do  some  due  diligence  to  check  that  all  approvals  are  in place  and  the  rules are  being  followed. Builders,  buyers  along  with  the  local  authorities  should  find  a   solution   even  as completion  certificates  remain  pending  for  scores  of residential  projects. The  poor  home  owner  should  not  be left  to  pay  the  price.

Projects  of  some  builders  across  India  have  not  seen  the  light  of  the  day  even  after  5-6 years  have elapsed. The  most  common  complaint  of  consumers  against  builders  is   the  delay in handing  over  flats.

Amrapali  group   faces  protest  for  not  fulfilling  its  promises  of  civil  and  electrical  works  at its Sapphire project  in  Noida.  The  group  had  launched  this  project  with  1000  flats  spread  across  an  area  of  40000 sqm. in  2009.  They  had  promised  that  the  houses  would  be  handed  over  in  2011. But,  the  project  wasn’t  delivered  even  after  a  two-year  delay  and  the  residents  had  to  shift  to  the  houses  without  the  occupation  certificate in  2014.

So, the  residents  of  the  Sapphire  project  have  opened  a  Twitter  campaign  against  the  Amrapali  Group.  Since Dhoni  was  their  brand  ambassador,  the  residents  tagged  him  in  their tweets,  requesting  the  Indian  captain to help  them.  Some  residents had asked  Dhoni  to tell the firm  to  complete  their  project. After  this  incident, Dhoni  is  no  longer  a  brand  ambassador  of  Amrapali  Group.

The  buyers  have  alleged  that  the  company  has  compromised  with  the  safety  of  the  residents of  the  project as  the  firefighting equipment  have  not  been  fitted  in  the  buildings. Besides,  they  also pointed  out  that  several towers  do  not  have  lifts.

Realty  firm  Gaursons  also  has  seen  protests  from  residents  of  a  society  in   Gaur  City  of  its township  project in  Noida  over maintenance  issues  as  they  complained  about  the  upkeep  of  the  project.The  Group  promised  to  look  into  the  complaints  and  claimed  that  pending  works in  all  residential  projects  will  be completed  at the  earliest  and  completion  certificate  will  be obtained.

According  to a  report  published  in  The  Times  Of  India  the Chandigarh  State  Consumer Disputes  Redressal Commission  has awarded  three  years’  imprisonment  to  two  Unitech  Ltd managing directors,  Ajay  Chandra and Sanjay  Chandra,  for  non-compliance  of its  orders issued last  year  in  a  case  in  which  the  real  estate giant had failed  to  give  possession  of  a residential  unit  in  Mohali’s  Sector-97    to  two  customers  even  after  they paid for it. As  per the  agreement,  the  company  was  to  provide  them  possession  within  two  years of the execution  of the  deed. But  when  the  company  failed to  do  it,  the  two   moved  the commission.

The  commission  fined  each  of  the  MD’s  Rs 10,000,  and  issued  non-bailable  warrants (NBWs)  against  them, “returnable”  by  May  30. The  commission  in  its  order  of  November  26,  2015, directed Unitech to  refund  Rs 49.46  lakh  and  pay  a compensation  of  Rs 3 lakh  plus litigation  cost  of Rs 50,000  to  the  two  complainants. However, nothing  was  paid  to  them  and  they  are  yet  to  receive the  money . In fact,  this  is  a  very  shocking  news  for  the  real  estate  fraternity.

Besides,  the  Greater  Noida  Industrial  Development  Authority  (GNIDA)  has  issued  a  notice  on  April  11,  2016, to  the  Realty  firm  Supertech  to  seal  1,009  units  at  its  housing  project  ‘Czar’  in  Greater  Noida  for  allegedly  constructing  them  without  approval.

Also, in  a  judgement,  the  National  Consumer  Disputes  Redressal Commission  has  ordered Parsvnath Developers  to pay  a  monthly  penalty  to  buyers  for  delay  in  handing  over  flats  in Parsvnath  Planet,  a residential  project.

In  a  recent  development,  the  Noida  Authority  has  uploaded  details  of  reality  projects  on  its website, www.noidaauthorityonline.com. The  move  will  help  the  homebuyers  to  get  details  about  the  status  of  projects in  Noida   on  the  website. Therefore, the  homebuyers  will  remain updated  before  they  take  possession  of  their property  or  before  investing  in  any  property.

So  far,  the  realty  sector  was  devoid  of  any  regulator  and  mechanism  to  protect  the homebuyers  against some bad  practices. But, with  the  passage  of  Real  Estate Regulatory  Bill in Parliament,  things  are  expected to  be  more  transparent  and  improved. However,  We  do have some  developers   and  brands  that are customer oriented and  which  follow  rules  well.

Ajay Verma

Ajay Verma, founder and writer of TheHousingWorld, a real estate and mortgage news website. He has over fifteen years of rich experience in the above mentioned industries.

http://www.thehousingworld.com