There’s no denying that buying a house is indeed a hectic job!
But the challenge does not end with just finding the perfect house in the perfect
location, successfully getting a home loan and booking the place. If the place is
not ready within the promised date (which happens in most cases), you have very
little choice other than to wait out the indefinite delay (from the builder’s end)
to actually possess your ‘dream property’.
Today, ‘what one can do when a builder delays handover’ is a raging issue
among house-buyers with a number of possible solutions for it.
Steps you may take:
1) Read through the Buyer’s Agreement: In the sales agreement initially
signed, you will see all the terms, conditions and stipulations, such as time of
property handover and compensation if handover is delayed, clearly stated.
Check for penalty clauses in the document and ask builders for compensation
wherever there has been a deviation.
2) Form a buyers’ association: Another smart way to go about this is to
interact with other buyers associated with the same project just like you and
form an association with them. A body of people with the same grievance and
objective will surely make the impact more powerful.
You can form a group using an online platform (like CommonFloor Groups) and discuss updates and collectively decide on measures to take in case of a
builder related disappointment.
3) Communication of cancellation: If the scheduled delivery is missed,
you should send a letter of complaint to the builder about this delay. If you get
no response, follow it with an agreement cancellation notice and demand for a
complete refund of amount paid (along with interest on it) and compensation
for mental harassment. These letters should be sent by registered post with
A/D (acknowledgement due). Remember to specify that they’ll next receive a
legal notice.
4) Legal Notice: If both these notices go unanswered, it’ll be time to send a
legal notice on consultation with a competent lawyer, clearly stating consequence
on failure to deliver property immediately.
5) Take Action: If builder does not respond to the legal notice, you should
either file a complaint in the consumer forum or file a lawsuit in the civil court
against the concerned builder.
Some laws in your favour to deal with this situation
i. Real Estate Bill: A developer can charge over 10% of the cost of the build
only on signing a written agreement with the buyer.
ii. Sub section 2 of section 17: The buyer must be informed of the date
of project completion.
iii. Sub-section 4 of section 17: The buyer is entitled to receive full refund
of paid amount if the builder is unable to handover the property within the time
mentioned in the agreement.
iv. Consumer Protection Act, 1986: The buyer can file a case with the
consumer forum for a quick redressal of his grievances.
6) Post your reviews on social media channels: Remember to write down
your experience, good or bad, on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter,
blogs and LinkedIn to help other prospective buyers make an informed decision.
Delay in property handover being a common occurrence these days, it’s important
to not fret and bring together other home buyers related to the same project.
There are many laws and organisations in place to help you out of such situations.
Have you had unpleasant experiences while buying a house? How did
you deal with it? Write down your story in the comment section below.
