The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed the developer of a housing society in Sector 37D to pay around 200 homebuyers a compensation for delaying the handover of their flats.
The commission ordered that the compensation be calculated at 6% of the total cost of a flat for every month of the delay.
The developer of Ramprastha City was asked to pay the compensation amount to the buyers within a month of the order.
“The developer shall issue a fresh statement of account strictly in terms of apartment buyer’s agreement duly crediting delayed compensation in the shape of interest at 6% per annum on the deposit of homebuyers from the due date of possession till the offer of possession, within a period of one month. If according to the statement of account, any money is payable to the homebuyers, the developer shall give it to them. If the homebuyers are required to deposit any amount, they will deposit it within six weeks from the date of service of the statement of account,” the order by Justice Ram Surat Ram Maurya, dated September 22, stated.
Spread across 450 acres, Ramprastha City was launched in 2008 and the flat handover was promised by the developer over four years later. When possession was delayed, a group of homebuyers moved the consumer forum in 2015. The society, whose possession eventually started in 2018, is now home to around 1,500 families.
The NCDRC also directed the developer to execute a conveyance deed in favour of those homebuyers who were yet to get their flats and deliver possession to them in two weeks thereafter. If the occupation certificate is yet to be secured for any tower, the developer has to complete the construction and obtain the document in four months.
The directive brought in a sigh of relief for the group of homebuyers who had been fighting this legal battle for almost seven years.
Pradip Rahi, president of the RP City welfare association, alleged that the developer tried to create fissures among the buyers by persuading them to sign indemnity bonds. “The developer harassed us and tried to break our unity by creating divides. The company delayed possession, registry, etc. The forum has set a precedent by declaring such indemnity bonds as illegal and has also directed the builder to pay compensation as well. I had firm belief in the commission. Over the past seven years, we invested all our efforts to get justice. It’s a big win for all of us,” Rahi added. The developer did not respond to repeated calls for a comment on the order.