Nirmal Lifestyle has been asked by MahaRERa to pay interest to a homebuyer from the year 2006 till handing over possession. Homebuyers had booked the home in 2003 and were to get possession in 2006.
By Varun Singh
Homebuyers Vivek Shinde and Yojana Shinde, had booked a flat in Nirmal Lifestyle Blu Diamond, Mumbai.
Nirmal Lifestyle executed the agreement for sale in favour of the homebuyers in March 2003, but didn’t mention the date of possession
The homebuyers then informed MahaRERA that in a letter to the bank, the developer informed date of possession as March 2006.
The homebuyers were seeking interest for the possession of the flat for which they had already paid Rs 28.17 lakh.
Nirmal Lifestyle contented that, they had first received the commencement certificate in 2002, but in 2004 an 2005, circulars from the department for Forest and Revenue by which the project land was declared private forest.
Thus construction activities stopped until Supreme Court issued an order in January 2014.
The developer thus contended that the construction activites stopped since 2006. The builder also mentioned that the nationwide lockdown since March 2020, causing shortage of labour and material and hence further impacting the construction activity. The developer informed that the project would be completed by December 2021.
Nirmal Lifestyle thus contended that it was prevented by sufficient causes beyond its control, from completing the project as per timeline.
MahaRERA noticed that there was no dispute that the developer hadn’t mentioned the date of possession in the agreement.
As per MOFA and RERA it is obligatory to mention the date of possession in the agreement.
MahaRERA even noticed in the order that the developer hadn’t taken any steps to rectify the agreement even after RERA coming into force.
Dr B D Kapadnis, Member II, MahaRERA, who was hearing the matter noted that the developer had violated section 13(2) of RERA.
Kapadnis then quoted a Supreme Court order, where the Supreme Court in the case of Fortune Infrastructure Vs Trivor D’Lima had held that in agreement were date of possession wasn’t mentioned the reasonable date of possession is only three years.
Thus in this case, MahaRERA noted that the possession was due on March 2006, even as per MOFA the possession date cannot be extended beyond six months even if the project wad delayed for reasons beyond the control of the developer.
Kapadnis in his order mentioned that, therefore the liability to pay interest to the homebuyer by the developer starts from September 2006.
Nirmal Lifestyle was ordered to pay interest on the amount paid by the homebuyer at 9% per annum till handing over of the possession of the flat.
The developer was also asked to pay Rs 20,000 to the homebuyers towards cost of the complaint.
The developer was also asked by MahaRERA to handover the possession of the flat at the earliest but not later than December 2021, with agreed amenities and occupancy certificate.
