Flat owners protest against developer’s demand of additional money

Several persons, who have booked apartments in the budget housing Sovereign Unnathi at Horamavu, staged a protest on Sunday against the delay in completion of the project and the developer’s demand for additional money.

The protesters said Sovereign Developers and Infrastructure Ltd. (SDIL), which is executing the project, had sold them apartments at Rs. 14 lakh. However, an additional sum of Rs. 8.51 lakh is being demanded now for completion and handing over of the apartment, which is over 50 per cent of the agreed sum, they said.

They said that when they entered into the agreement in 2010/ 2011, there was no escalation clause, and despite this they have been asked to pay up or face cancellation of booking. “Most of us have paid 90 per cent of Rs. 14 lakh as per the agreement. But now we either have to pay the additional money or take back our investment with 9 per cent interest,” a flat buyer said on condition of anonymity. He said most of them went ahead to buy the property because it was affordable, but with the additional cost it has gone beyond their means.

A complaint has also been registered against the developer in the Ramamurthy Nagar police station.

Meanwhile, defending the demand for additional amount, SDIL vice-president Sunjoy Mukherjee, said the cost of raw materials had increased over the last two years, and the demand raised is only “reimbursement” of what the company has invested to complete the project.

“Since last year we have been telling our buyers to understand our difficulty. We were working with 6 to 8 per cent margin and we are willing to forego it. This has not come as a surprise to them and some have already agreed to pay.”