Builder in Chennai fined ₹10 lakh for deviating from car parking plan

The complainants said the developer had agreed to provide two covered car parking spaces, but had later claimed it could not

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) imposed a penalty of ₹10 lakh on Casa Grande Engineering Pvt. Ltd. for deviating from its plan to provide covered car parking at its project in Alandur.

In their complaint, Tvl. Nivrutha and Arun Raghuveeran pointed out that the developer had agreed to provide covered car parking for their two apartments. The developer later said that they could not obtain approval from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority for sufficient number of covered car parking lots and that they could only provide one covered car parking and one open car parking space.

The buyers said they accepted it and the developer had reduced the rate for the open car parking space and revised the cost for one apartment. However, they pointed out that the developer had mentioned the open car parking space for both the apartments in the registered construction agreement, which they did not notice.

The buyers alleged that the modification was made without their knowledge.

They also noted that the project was registered under TNRERA and as per the project details on the Authority’s website it has been mentioned that two covered car park spaces have been approved by CMDA for their apartments and alleged that the developer had misrepresented the facts.

The Authority said it finds merit in the contention of the buyers and directed the developer to provide two separate covered car parking spaces and file a compliance report before June 30. The buyers would pay back the discount offered, it added.

It also ruled that the builder cannot insist on payment of interest on delayed payments if any, if the apartments are not delivered as per the date promised in the construction agreement.