A Mohali consumer commission has ordered a real estate developer to pay 9% annual interest on a homebuyer’s deposited amount of Rs 42.13 lakh, rectify construction defects and restore the buyer’s original parking space after finding that the apartment was handed over without the required statutory certificates.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mohali, also directed the developer to obtain occupation and completion certificates from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), provide amenities promised in its brochure and refund maintenance charges collected before the necessary approvals. The developer and its management have been given three months from receiving the order to comply.
The case concerns a 1,050 sq ft, two-bedroom apartment in Sector 66-A. The buyer had received a re-allotment letter dated June 30, 2021, while the project had originally been scheduled for completion within 36 months, by July 30, 2018. Possession was offered in December 2022 and the buyer took possession on March 10, 2023, after paying a final balance of Rs 2,40,153, according to the report.
After moving in, the buyer alleged that several facilities and amenities advertised in the developer’s brochure had not been provided. The complaint also cited construction defects, construction dust that aggravated the buyer’s bronchitis and the division of a single-car parking bay into smaller spaces. The developer had not obtained occupation and completion certificates from GMADA when possession was handed over.
The commission held that handing over keys without the requisite statutory certificates does not constitute a valid offer of possession. Citing precedents of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, it further held that builders cannot charge maintenance fees before obtaining completion certificates. The commission also observed that promises in promotional brochures form part of the service contract between a developer and a homebuyer.
On the parking dispute, the bench examined photographic evidence showing that the available space had been reduced. It noted that the developer had not produced a sanctioned parking plan to justify dividing the original bay and ordered it to restore and provide the buyer with the original, uncompromised parking space.
The commission partly allowed the complaint and directed the developer to pay 9% annual interest on the total deposited amount of Rs 42,13,678. The interest will be calculated from the originally promised possession date until the final completion certificate is obtained. In addition, the developer must pay Rs 75,000 as compensation for mental agony, harassment and litigation expenses, rectify the construction defects, provide the promised amenities and refund illegally levied maintenance charges.
The order places the certificate and possession requirements at the centre of the dispute, with compliance expected within three months of the developer receiving the commission’s directions.
