Demolition of Twin Towers in Noida

The recent affirmation by Hon’ble Supreme Court to demolish twin towers in the project Emerald Court developed by a giant developer Supertech Limited has acted as a booster dosage for homebuyers who are fighting for the rights against illegal demands of the builder.

A homebuyer after negotiating the selling price for the dream home price with the real estate agent sees surprises at normally all stages of a real estate project.  

Whether the home buyer is at a stage of signing an application form, signing of allotment letter, payments against construction linked demand letters, offer of physical possession, and at the time of physical possession of the flat, the home buyer normally finds that the builder always tries to extract more than the agreed selling price. 

Should a home buyer simply accept the illegal demands? Absolutely Not. Typically buyers go to the builder’s office and try to negotiate unofficially with the representatives of the builder.  Since builders understand the psychology and limitations of end consumers, homebuyers either fail to get the relief or receive a very minuscule relief against the escalated selling price.

The last decade 2010-2020 has witnessed the fall of many real estate developers.  The nexus of builders and officers of authorities have severely affected the financial health of home buyers. Therefore, it is of paramount importance for the home buyers to remain vigilant before selecting any real estate project and after signing the allotment letters with the developer. 

How can you remain vigilant? The following list is not exhaustive but definitely assists you to check the surprises of the developer in terms of poor construction quality, delayed possession of the dream home, escalated selling price, illegal compensation demand, overcharging for different types of connection charges, and illegal interest. 

1. First and foremost, in a housing project, don’t feel alone. The more you remain unattached to society, the fairer chances are that you will be cheated.  However, if you remain in a group of common buyers of the housing project, you will stay updated.
2. Always try to have written communication with the builder for any of the grievances or before signing the agreement till the physical possession of your home.  I have observed many homebuyers don’t write over an email.  Writing your concerns over email would assist your attorney to take your case with the appropriate authority with a stronger conviction.
3. In India, a real estate project typically is monitored by two bodies.  The first body is the competent authority such as NOIDA authority, GNOIDA authority, and the other body is an authority under RERA.  Homebuyers must effectively explore the option of the Right to Information Act, 2005 for seeking appropriate information such as layout details, occupancy certificate status, fire department approval status, pending dues of the builder with the competent authority, common area details, open and covered parking in the project, and other information which the developer or builder always try to hide from the buyer.  
4. A home buyer can approach different adjudicating authorities like Consumer Forum, RERA, economic offense wing of Police, NCLT, High Court, and Supreme Court of India.
5. However, half-hearted preparation, impatience, and absence of clarity on the scope of relief that can be obtained from the adjudicating authorities can affect the enforcement of their rights. I have personally observed one paragraph of grievance type RERA application.  
6. I have observed many cases where many homebuyers have taken successful possession of their home under RERA, have taken relief from the builder in the consumer court and got the major real estate developer on its knees by approaching the High Court and Supreme Court.  

Why? Because they were vigilant, persistent, had ample patience and strong conviction of their success to enforce their rights.  

Do share your feedback and success stories on how you are able to enforce your rights.  In any housing society project, the struggle is normally common, and don’t feel alone.