HRera has instructed realtors Ansal Housing and Samyak Projects to provide compensation to a homebuyer due to delays in their Ansal Hub 83 Boulevard project. In its order dated September 18, the authority mandated the realtors to pay interest at a rate of 10.9% per annum on the amount of Rs 11,73,594, starting from the due possession date of April 21, 2019.
The realtors have been allotted a period of 90 days to adhere to these directives. Additionally, the authority has invalidated the realtors’ unilateral cancellation of the unit, labeling it as “invalid in the eyes of the law.” Given that the original unit was sold to a third party, the builders are required to allocate a comparable alternate unit to the complainant.
The complainant, Sourabh Nagpal, initiated legal action on behalf of his deceased wife, Sangeeta Nagpal, who had booked a shop in the project through a builder-buyer agreement dated April 21, 2015. Possession of the unit was expected on April 21, 2019, which included a grace period of six months.
Nevertheless, despite nearly five years passing and several payment installments made towards the total amount of Rs 35,30,232, possession was never granted. The project encountered significant delays due to a dispute between the two realtors, Ansal Housing and Samyak Projects, the latter also being the landowner. In 2020, Samyak Projects terminated its Memorandum of Understanding with Ansal Housing due to construction delays and subsequently took control of the project following an arbitration process.
The complainant reported experiencing harassment from the new realtor, who persistently insisted on the execution of an “arbitrary and unlawful” addendum agreement and the payment of 95% of the total amount due, threatening to cancel the allotment if these demands were not fulfilled. Ultimately, the allotment was cancelled unilaterally, and the complainant learned that the unit had been sold to a third party.
According to the realtors, the delay was caused due to unforeseen events that made fulfilling contractual obligations impossible, like the Covid-19 pandemic and demonetisation. However, HRera dismissed these claims, noting that the possession deadline passed long before the pandemic began, and ruled the cancellation of allotment illegal and invalid.
