The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) has directed Navin Housing & Properties Pvt Ltd to handover original documents to home buyers, after a redevelopment project failed to take off even after a lapse of eight years.
In its complaint, the Indira Nagar Kaveri Apartments Owners’ Welfare Association said that it had entered into a joint development agreement on February 13, 2012, with Navin Housing, for development of 36 flats owned by its members. The project pertains to Indira Nagar Kaveri Apartments, Adyar, which was originally purchased from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.
Till date, the developer had not started the project and was holding all their original documents, the association said, and sought for a cancellation of the joint development agreement and return of the members’ original documents.
“As on November 14, 2018, a total of 20 owners have signed the joint development agreement. The developer did not take any interest in convincing the remaining 16 owners to sign the joint development agreement,” the petition said.
The TNRERA rejected the developer’s plea that the dispute should be resolved through arbitration and said it was a re-development and real estate project which comes under the purview of the RERA Act.
It also said that it was the responsibility of the developer to get the consent of the remaining flat owners to take up the re-development project and it had failed miserably.
The TNRERA directed the developer to return the original documents to the buyers within 30 days from the date of its order (March 12, 2020). It also said that individual members of the association were free to cancel the agreement and return any money received from the developer, at the interest rate of 10.2%.
The TNRERA also gave liberty to the association to approach the adjudicating authority for claiming compensation for failure to commence the project.
