When a buyer takes ownership of a property, may they be reimbursed for unfinished work?

 When a buyer takes ownership of a property, may they be reimbursed for unfinished work?

Delayed possession: MahaRERA has said that, in the event that there is a delay at the time of submitting the complaint, the provisions of Section 18 of the RERA Act (Compensation) may be applied.

According to a MahaRERA ruling, if the promoter (developer) is unable to provide possession by the date stipulated in the sale agreement, they will be entitled to interest for delay or compensation for possession delay.

In a ruling, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahRERA) said that after taking possession of the residence, home purchasers are not eligible to receive interest or compensation under Section 18 of the RERA Act.

According to MahaRERA, the RERA Act's Section 18 requires that the infraction have happened at the time the complaint was filed.

Example

The land was bought by Girish Bhoite from Paranjape Schemes Construction Limited in Pune. According to the decision copy, ownership of the Rs 50 lakh property was scheduled to be granted by March 2019 after the agreement was signed in June 2015.

After gaining possession of the property in May 2022, the buyer filed a complaint with MahaRERA, requesting interest and damages for the possession delay.

The developer said that the flat is unmaintainable since the complaint was made after they took control of it.

The developer claimed that environmental clearance was the reason for the delay. It then had a delay as a result of COVID-19.

The house buyer postponed taking possession until May 2022, according to the developer, even though it was informed that it had received the occupancy certificate for the project in April 2021.

The developer argued that, out of fairness, it had already paid the house buyer back by charging GST at the previous, lower rate and that it would forgive a year's worth of maintenance fees for the specified unit.

Order of Maharera

MahaRERA decided that interest for delay or compensation for delay in possession is only applicable if the promoter (developer) fails to finish the project on or before the designated date after considering the reasons made by both the house buyer and the developer. not possible to transfer ownership in accordance with the selling agreement.

"After the complainant (home buyer) took real possession, the current complaint was submitted. As a result, the house buyer is not eligible for relief under RERA Act Section 18. This section's main idea is that filing a violation In a November 8 judgment, MahaRERA said that there is clarity about the filing deadline, saying, "The complaints are not such that they can be raised at any date in the future."

According to MahaRERA, a developer's default must still be ongoing on the complaint filing date in order for a claim for relief under Section 18 of the RERA Act to be filed.

View from the Tribunal:

Similar directives from the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MREAT) were issued in 2021. They said that in the event that possession is transferred beyond the deadline, Section 18 of the RERA Act would be triggered, offering homebuyers redress under the Act's provisions.

In the ruling, MREAT stated: "It is regrettable to see that the Authority (MAHARERA) is often following the aforementioned tried-and-true but incorrect approach, which if adopted might have far-reaching effects on the real estate industry. This method has been This tribunal has previously severely denounced this.