Builder not giving possession even after paying full agreement value

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Due to a landmark judgment passed in 1993 in the famous case of the Lucknow Development Authority v/s M.K.Gupta, the Hony’ Supreme Court of India passed a judgment stating that “all builders/contractor(s)/all concerned authorities of any State engaged in Housing Construction activity in any manner are amenable to Consumer Protection Act, 1986 for any act or omission relating to housing activity such as: “Delay in delivery of possession, non-completion of construction within the stipulated time, defective and faulty construction and more…”

The judgment clearly states the fact that a builder who constructs a house or hires the services of a contractor to develop a property is engaged in the act of providing service to his customer, and for which he is getting monetarily compensated. This makes him a service provider and hence liable under the clauses of Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

The International Consumer Rights Protection Council has listed down the following grounds in which a property buyer can drag an incompetent property developer to the Consumer Court.

A property buyer can file a case in the following scenarios:

a. Non-execution of relevant sale agreement despite having received a substantial advance amount

b. Non-issuance of copies of all relevant documents viz.; development agreement, power of attorney, sanctioned plan (by concerned Regional Authorities), specification of construction materials/design as per sanctioned plan and any other relevant documents

c. Charged higher than the agreed amount

d. No issuance of proper receipt(s) against the paid amount

e. Poor quality construction

f. Delivering of a house not complying to agreed specifications

g. No free parking space within the premises

h. Did not form a co-operative housing society and handed over to members

i. Non-provision of water storage tank

j. Non-provision of proper ventilation and light

k. Delayed possession beyond the stipulated time limit

l. Not obtaining completion certificate from the concerned registered (by the authorities) architect

m. Non-issuance of Occupancy Certificate at the time of delivery of respective flats/house to its occupants

n. Non-declaration of expenses against which the developer collected money

Any project falling short of above listed causes are liable and eligible to be taken an action against.

Advocate Siddhant Sharma LawRato