Track2Realty explains how an aggrieved homebuyer can file complaint before the consumer court. Gaurav Gupta, a homebuyer, was subject to dual cheating when he bought the house. Not only was he forced to pay additional amount for no fault of his but also the apartment had serious construction and seepage issue. He finally filed a complaint with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).
Backed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalty of Rs 630 crore on DLF, for “unfair trade practices” and “abuse of market dominance”, the Belaire Owners’ Association has suddenly become self-styled crusaders against developers.
The real estate market of Uttar Pradesh in general and Noida-Greater Noida in particular is hotbed of consumer grievances, ranging from delay to default and unmet promises to builder’s high handedness. As per the industry estimate nearly 40% home buyers’ grievances in India are reported to be from this market alone. It is hence no surprise that even when the Real Estate Regulatory Authority proposes to clean the market, the builders devise their own ways & means to dispose it.
Home buyers point out that it is not only lengthy litigation that defeats their cause but also the fact that the builder continues to challenge the orders of the District Commission in higher courts. Over and above that the builder can also file multiple false cases against the harassed home buyers. The home buyers hence demand that the way NCDRC admits the challenged judgment of the State Commissions on a case-to-case basis, the State Commissions should also adopt the same practice.
A closer look at the way the sector operates indicates that the ground realities are different than what is being anticipated post this historic judgment. The Supreme Court order has hence raised more questions than settled the answers that could goad the sector to best practices in the business. The court order touches upon some of the grey areas like “long & expensive legal battle” that the buyers have to go through. It nevertheless doesn’t offer any solution for the same. The fact remains that the long & expensive legal battle is the primary cause of home buyers’ suffering in silence at the hands of the builders.
It is pertinent to note here that there has been nothing posted on Hawelia Facebook page that could be defined as “Defamatory” by the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It seems builder does not believe in the IPC and wants to continue his fiefdom with HPC (Hawelia Penal Code). As per the law of the land, any comment/feedback/grievance could only be termed as defamation if it can’t be substantiated with the fact. Truth stands as biggest defence against the defamation. The chain mail between the builder and the home buyers of Hawelia Valenova Park could establish the fact that the buyers are not happy with the builder and the builder failed to even come forward to address the concerns.
Going by the developer’s remark, one wonders whether a real estate purchase can be termed as another expensive purchase. In a BMW purchase, for example, the buyer can look & feel the end product before one takes a final call. But in real estate it is only a promise and the product is yet to be produced.
Some discussions about best practices in the Indian real estate has started because today the investors also do not want their money to be locked in an asset that is neither growing nor is likely to get delivered. Worse even, there is no authority or court in India that has been successful in getting a stalled project restarted or in forcing a bankrupt builder into selling his assets to compensate his allottees.
Indian real estate, of late, has woken up to the new reality of consumer blackmailing. While in most of the cases the grudge of the homebuyers has been genuine; it seems there is an organized mechanism emerging that want to encash upon the homebuyers’ acrimony with the developers.
Nothing hurts Indian real estate more than their inability to connect with the consumers and showcase them was is their legal right. The seeds of lack of trust in the minds of the buyers are sown at the time of booking itself as the developers do not find it necessary to showcase approvals, even when asked to, and it continues throughout the construction lifecycle.