In its first judgment, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Karnataka, intervened in a dispute and got a developer to return the booking amount to a customer.
A release from RERA said Sandeep Tol had tried seeking a refund of his booking amount from the developer multiple times, but to no avail. Finally, he filed a complaint with RERA. The developer later agreed to refund the full booking amount of ₹9 lakh to the customer.
M.S. Shankar, convener, Fight for RERA, said the authority first issued a notice to builder.
“The judgment was given based on merits of the case as he was supposed to have been given possession of the house by 2016 according to the agreement clause. Once the project is officially delayed, home buyers are allowed to take compensation or 100% refund. The builder will now have to pay the amount within 45 days,” he said.
Like in the case of Mr. Tol, delayed possession has been the biggest complaint among home buyers who have approached RERA. “We have had 92 complaints so far since July 23. This is the first case that has been completed and a few more cases are in the final stages. The most number of complaints has been of people seeking compensation for delay in possession — almost 75 of them. The other complaints comprise problems such as non-completion of some amenities,” Mr. Shankar added.
