'Builders will pay penalty to all home buyers for delay in delivery'

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: India is not a banana republic and builders will have to pay penalty to all home buyers for delay in delivery- National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission's judgment on Friday drew the point home.

As per the NCDRC ruling, all home buyers would be eligible to get relief from the builder, which could be a delay penalty, irrespective of the fact whether they have filed a case against the builder or not.

“The failure of the builder/ developer to deliver possession of the flat / plot sold to them and a complaint filed for the benefit of or on behalf of all such consumers and claiming same relief for all of them, would be maintainable under Section 12(1)(c) of Consumer Protection Act,’’ NCDRC said while interpreting the Section 12(1)(c) of the Consumer Protection Act.

“The interest of the persons on whose behalf the claim is brought must be common or they must have a common grievance which they seek to get addressed. The defect or deficiency in the goods purchased, or the services hired or availed of by them should be the same for all the consumers on whose behalf or for whose benefit the complaint is filed. Therefore, the oneness of the interest is akin to a common grievance against the same person,’’ added the ruling.

The NCDRC had imposed a delay penalty of 12% per annum on Jaypee Group in May to buyers in Kalypso Court project on the Noida-Greater Noida expressway.

As per Liases Foras, a non-brokerage research firm, more than 50 percent of realty projects fall in the 'delayed' category.

On buyers' pressure, many builders have handed over the project to buyers without transferring the flat to the buyer or obtaining the Occupancy Certificate from the local authorities.