The Adjudicating Officer of the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) has passed an order directing a property developer, Marg Properties Limited, to refund monies paid by homebuyers on grounds of failure to hand over apartments on time.
The order by TNRERA adjudicating officer G. Saravanan directed the developer to refund the amount with an interest rate of 8.7% within 30 days.
Homebuyers have also been permitted to execute cancellation of agreement and sale deed of the UDS land at developer’s cost. Apart from the refund, the homebuyers are entitled to claim a compensation of ₹1 lakh towards mental agony and inconvenience and ₹20,000 towards legal expenses.
The homebuyers had booked the flats in Pondur village, Sriperumbudur Taluk of Kancheepuram district and paid advances and further amounts as agreed to by them. The flats were allotted to the buyers and the due date for delivery of the flats was June 2013.
As per the provision of RERA Act, the developer is liable to return the amount with interest and compensation and costs to homebuyers.
Charges denied
The developer, however, denied the charges and claimed that the project has been registered with RERA and the date of handing over of the project was April 30, 2020, as per the registration certificate.
But the adjudicating authority pointed to Section 18 of the RERA Act which gives an option for allottees to withdraw from the project and demand amounts if a developer is unable to give possession of the flat on the dates specified in the agreement.
