Haryana RERA Orders Agrante Developers To Refund Amount Paid By Homebuyer

Background Facts

Homebuyer (Complainant) purchased a flat in the builder's (Respondent) project named Beethoven's 8 located in Sector 107, Gurugram by paying an advance of Rs.9,47,000. He decided to proceed with the purchase based on the builder's assurance of a loan tie-up with Tata Capital Housing Finance Limited (TCHFL) and a commitment to pay the EMIs until possession was handed over.

On April 24, 2015, the builder issued an allotment letter in favor of the homebuyer under a subvention scheme requiring him to pay 10% upfront while the remaining amount was to be paid at possession. A builder buyer agreement was signed on November 25, 2016, with possession promised within 42 months.

The homebuyer availed a home loan from TCHFL and the loan amount was credited directly to the builder's account. Since December 2019, TCHFL started deducting EMIs but the builder failed to fulfill its commitment to pay them.

As a result, TCHFL warned the homebuyer of serious consequences including declaring his account as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) and took possession of the property on November 9, 2021 under the SARFAESI Act, 2002.

Aggrieved by the builder's failure to deliver possession and fulfill its commitments, the homebuyer decided to withdraw from the project and filed a complaint before the authority, seeking a refund with interest.

Observation and Direction by Authority

Authority referred clause 18(a) of the Builder buyer agreement which stipulated that builder is supposed to complete the construction of the apartment within 42 months from the date of allotment. Therefore, Authority concluded that the due date of the possession of the flat was 14^th October 2018.

Authority held that the homebuyers could not be expected to wait indefinitely for possession especially after making significant payments. The authority referred to the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt. Ltd. v. Abhishek Khanna & Ors. Where it was held that the unavailability of an occupation certificate constitutes a deficiency in service and homebuyers cannot be made to wait indefinitely for possession.

Therefore, the Authority directed the builder to refund the amount paid by the homebuyer with 11.10% interest within 90 days. However, the Authority specified that the amount paid by TCHFL should be refunded first and the remaining balance along with interest should be refunded to the homebuyer thereafter.

Case – Lt. Col Rohit Sharma Versus M/S Agrante Developers Private Limited

Citation – Complaint No: 1146 of 2022

Date – 20^th december