A homebuyer’s dream of owning a flat turned into a nightmare after he had to wait for a decade for its construction. But thanks to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), the man was awarded a full refund of the amount he had invested to buy the flat.

According to a report by the Economic Times, a couple booked a flat in Gurgaon worth Rs 1.16 crore in 2013. The booking amount was Rs 12 lakh and by 2014 a sale agreement was drafted following which he paid Rs 95 lakh thereby investing Rs 1.07 crore on the property.

However, to his surprise, the construction of the flat had not even begun which made him sceptical about the project. The man made a visit to the builder’s office as soon as he found out about the delay to demand a refund and cancellation of the booking. But instead of getting his money back, the builder convinced him to invest the same amount in another project at a higher price of Rs 1.55 crore.

The builder failed to complete even the Rs 1.55 crore flat on time, prompting the buyer to request a cancellation and refund once again. However, the builder persuaded the buyer to opt for another flat instead of issuing a refund. This marks the third instance since 2013 where the homebuyer, despite paying a total of Rs 1.07 crore, has been left with nothing but unfulfilled promises of a fully constructed flat.

Tired of waiting for over 10 years for his dream home, the man approached RERA to file a complaint against the builder who had been taking him for a ride and also sought a refund of Rs 1.07 crore with interest as compensation.

Haryana RERA took cognisance of the case and noted, “The respondent (builder) has been holding the amount paid by the complainant from 2013 and kept on changing the units of the complainants from one project to the other project on account of non-completion of the projects. The amount paid by the complainants has also been shifted and adjusted from one project to another. Even after a delay of more than 10 years, no unit has been delivered by the respondent to the complainants (homebuyer) till date.”

An investigation by the regulatory body found that the builder ‘New Look Builders and Developers Private Limited’ had been lying to its client. The builder in its defence said that it had intended to deliver the flat on time but ‘force majeure’ conditions prevented him from doing so.

“The respondent is claiming benefit of lockdown which came into effect on 23.03 2020 much prior to the execution of agreement. Therefore, the Authority is of the view that outbreak of a pandemic does not fall under the force majeure circumstances in the present matter and thus the benefit of Covid-19 cannot be granted to the respondent,” RERA ruled.

Haryana RERA declared the builder guilty and directed them to refund the homebuyer Rs 1.07 crore, along with 11.1 per cent interest calculated from the date of each payment until the full amount is repaid.

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Homebuyer wins Rs 2.26 cr in compensation for a delay in possession of flat bought for Rs 1.07 cr