Haryana RERA Orders Magic Info Solutions To Refund Amount Paid By Homebuyer Of Godrej Summit
Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Authority) bench, comprising Sanjeev Kumar Arora (Member), has directed Magic Info Solutions to refund the amount paid by the homebuyer, along with interest. The homebuyer had booked a flat in the Godrej Summit project, a joint venture between Godrej and Magic Info, and had made payments to Magic Info.
Background Facts
On 13.02.2015 The homebuyer (Complainant) was allotted a flat measuring 1446 sq ft in the builder's (Respondent No 1) project named Godrej Summit, located in Sector 104, Gurugram. The total cost of the flat was Rs. 89,97,260/-, out of which the homebuyer paid Rs. 41,30,122/.
The homebuyer contended that when he visited the construction site to check the progress of the project, he was shocked by the state of construction, which was far from being complete.
Therefore, the homebuyer decided to withdraw from the project. On 27.09.2019, the homebuyer requested a refund with interest. However, the builder refused and instead offered to refund the amount after deducting 20% of the basic sale price.
The homebuyer continued to follow up for over a year, but the builder neither made the payment nor entertained further inquiries. On September 22, 2020, due to financial urgency, the homebuyer accepted the reduced refund amount on the condition that it would be processed within 60 days.
On September 23, 2020, the homebuyer received an email from Sanya Group, reducing the refund amount to Rs. 25,00,000/-. The email also revealed that a housing loan had been approved for a third party for the homebuyer's flat. The refund would only be processed after the builder received the loan money from the third party.
Aggrieved by the builder's conduct, the homebuyer filed a complaint before the authority seeking a full refund of his money with interest.
Contentions of Godrej Builders
Godrej contended that Magic Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Respondent no. 2) is solely responsible for the refund of the amount paid by the homebuyer. They argued that there is no privity of contract between Godrej Premium Builders Pvt. Ltd. and the homebuyer.
Observation and Observation by Authority
The authority observed that there exists a joint venture between Godrej Premium Builders Pvt. Ltd. and Magic Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd., for which a collaboration agreement was executed between them on 17.02.2011. Additionally, all payments from homebuyers were received by Magic Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Therefore, the authority held that respondent no. 2 is liable to refund the amount paid by the homebuyer.
To determine the possession date, the authority referred to the case of Fortune Infrastructure and Anr. vs. Trevor Dlima and others, where the Supreme Court held that a builder should be allowed a reasonable period of time to deliver possession. In this case, the Supreme Court considered a three-year period as reasonable for possession delivery.
Therefore, the authority held that the possession date of the plot would be considered as three years from the date of booking of the flat (13.02.2015). Thus, as per the booking date, the date of delivery of possession of the plot will be 13.02.2018.
Therefore, the authority directed the respondent no 2 to refund the amount of Rs.41,30,122/-paid by the homebuyer with 10.95% interest.
Case – Yogesh Kochhar Versus M/s Godrej Premium Builders Pvt. Ltd. & others
Citation - Complaint no. 5671 of 2022