Buyer Denied Additional Compensation for Delayed Flat Possession

PROPERTY PULSE

Haryana: The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Haryana RERA) has clarified that a homebuyer who stops paying instalments cannot automatically claim compensation from a developer, even if the project faces construction delays.

The authority observed that since the buyer had already been declared a payment defaulter in an earlier order, he was not entitled to claim additional compensation from the developer.

The ruling was issued on October 7 by Adjudicating Officer Rajender Kumar while hearing a complaint filed by Gagandeep Singh, who had booked an apartment in ‘The Corridors’ project developed by Ireo Grace Realtech in Sector 67A, Gurugram. Gagandeep Singh, a resident of Greater Kailash-I in Delhi, booked a 1,726.9 sq. ft. apartment in 2013. On April 3, 2014, he entered into a sale agreement for ₹1.70 crore.

Under a construction-linked payment plan, he paid ₹48.40 lakh. However, claiming that construction was progressing slowly, he stopped making further instalment payments. Following this, the developer cancelled the apartment allotment on September 1, 2016.

The buyer initially approached Haryana RERA over the cancellation. On February 8, 2024, the authority directed Ireo to refund the amount paid after deducting 10% of the apartment's sale value as the booking amount. It also ordered the developer to pay 10.8% annual interest on the refundable amount from the date of cancellation.

However, dissatisfied with the order, the buyer approached the Adjudicating Officer seeking additional compensation. He demanded ₹50 lakh for mental harassment and inconvenience, another ₹50 lakh towards legal expenses, and a refund with 24% annual interest.

On the other hand, the developer argued that the buyer had failed to make instalment payments as agreed in the sale agreement, despite repeated reminders.The developer also stated that all the buyer's claims had been settled under a settlement agreement reached on July 15, 2024.

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Four-Year Delay in Possession

During the proceedings, the Adjudicating Officer also took note of an important aspect of the case. According to the agreement, the developer was supposed to hand over possession of the apartment by January 11, 2018. However, the company received the Occupancy Certificate (OC) only on January 27, 2022.

This meant that possession was delayed by more than four years. Considering the delay, the officer observed that the buyer's decision to withdraw from the project was reasonable.

However, the officer pointed out that Haryana RERA had already declared the buyer a payment defaulter in its earlier order. The authority had also recorded that the developer cancelled the allotment only after giving the buyer several opportunities to clear the dues.

The officer further clarified that under Rules 28 and 29 of the Haryana RERA Rules, the Adjudicating Officer can award compensation only when the authority has established that the developer violated its obligations.

Since the earlier RERA order had already identified the buyer's payment default, the officer concluded that there were no grounds to grant additional compensation. Accordingly, the complaint seeking further compensation was dismissed.

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