Gurugram: 23 builders ordered to refund Rs 50 crore to 63 buyers

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Gurugram has issued orders to developers asking them to refund homebuyers for their failure to give possession of flats in the stipulated time period.

New Delhi: The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Gurugram, has issued orders to Ansal, Raheja, Vatika, Orris Infrastructure Private Limited, International Land Developers (ILD) Private Limited, Anant Raj and CHD, and other developers, asking them to refund Rs 50 crore to 63 homebuyers on their failure to give possession of flats in the stipulated time period. The refund has to be done in 90 days "without fail along with interest at the rate of 9.70 percent".

The refund, the orders say, be paid keeping allottees right to seek compensation and the expenses involved in legal proceedings. The authority orders have come in the wake of multiple complaints from disgruntled city-based homebuyers who after losing their hopes to have their units had approached RERA for a refund of the amount paid by them to builders. ()

"The authority has ordered to refund deposited amounts to homebuyers after hearing both the parties i.e., builders and allottee and on finding builders guilty for non-delivery of units as per builder buyer agreements. The builders should not take homebuyers for granted. The RERA has to protect their rights," RERA chairman K.K. Khandelwal said. ()

"The builders failed to complete the projects and deliver the promised units to homebuyers within stipulated time even after collecting good initial amounts," said Khandelwal. He informed that, in July only, nearly 300 matters were listed before the authority for adjudication.

In the 63 cases, the authority adjudicated the matter allowing a refund with interest at the rate of 9.70 percent. These adjudications pertain to 17 builders and refund the amount is close to Rs 50 crore -- the Raheja developers alone have to refund close to Rs 12 crore to 11 homebuyers, of which one refund is Rs 2.35 crore.

V.K. Goyal, Member, HRERA, Gurugram said, "The authority has directed the respondent builders to follow the order. In case they don't, the complaint can approach the adjudicating authority for execution of orders." In another 15 matters, the authority ordered a refund after a deduction of 10 percent earnest money. In all 300 matters, the homebuyers largely wanted a refund and that shows the callous attitude of promoters, the authority observed.

"Complainant wanted authority to direct respondent builders to refund their deposited amount with the interest from the respective dates of deposit till the date of refund," reads an order. While adjudicating the order, the authority finds it pertinent to quote from a judgment of the Supreme Court: the unqualified right of the allottee to seek a refund referred under Section 18 (1) (a) of the Act is not dependent on any contingencies or stipulations thereof.

Adjudicating Ritu Gupta's matter, the authority directed Raheja developers to refund more than Rs 29 lakh the amount she had deposited with the builder in two parts at the time of booking in December 2013 a unit in an upcoming project Raheja Navodaya at Sector 92/95, Gurugram. The authority has also asked the builder to pay interest at the rate of 9.70 percent as prescribed under Rule 15 of the Act since the builder failed to offer possession to her in the stipulated time.

The modus operandi of builders was observed similar in all the cases - arbitrary execution of the agreement. "In the case of Gupta and Raheja developers, Gupta had to pay the balance amount at the time of possession of unit that was due in June 2016 but the builder failed and after the expiry of what the homebuyer refused to pay further. Yet, the builder continued to send her demand notice arbitrarily.

Just to extract money from the buyer the builder offered her possession of the unit even without obtaining the Occupation Certificate (OC) from the Town and Country Planning (TCP). This is a complete violation of the agreement and mental harassment to buyer," the authority observed during scrutiny of a complaint lodged with the RERA in October 2020 adjudicated after thorough scrutiny.

The officials said the authority gets hundreds of complaints daily in which most buyers want a refund or delayed interest.