Gujarat RERA Treats Godrej Properties As Promoter Of Green Glades Project, In A Joint Venture Project

Background Facts

The Homebuyer (Complainant) booked a flat in the Builder's (Respondent No. 1) project named Green Glades, located in Godrej Green City, Ahmedabad. This project is a joint venture between the Builder and Godrej Properties Ltd., where the Builder was responsible for development and Godrej handled marketing, advertising, and sales.

The Homebuyer contended that Godrej Properties cannot be considered a Promoter under Section 2(zk) of the RERA, 2016. Therefore, the Homebuyer filed complaint with the authority, seeking deregistration of the project and action against the Builder for misrepresentation.

Observation and Direction by Authority

The Authority referred the Explanation Clause of Section 2(zk) of the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act 2016, which states:

2. Definitions

(zk) For the purposes of this clause, where the person who constructs or converts a building into apartments or develops a plot for sale and the person who sells apartments or plots are different person, both of them shall be deemed to be the promoters and shall be jointly liable as such for the functions and responsibilities specified, under this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder.

The authority held that there is no misrepresentation done by builder as Godrej Properties Ltd in this project is acting through the Development Agreement with the Builder and the terms of the agreement executed with the homebuyer.

The authority observed that, according to the status report, construction in the project is complete, and 752 out of the 762 flats have been booked. If the project is deregistered at this stage, other homebuyers will suffer significant losses. Therefore, Authority dismissed the complainant of the homebuyer.

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Citation - Complaint No. CMP/A/Online/Ahmedabad/23052023/00212