Builders can be dragged to consumer court for construction defect
Any buyer of any apartment in India can sue the builder of the apartment for any king of construction defect under the Consumer protection Act.
The Supreme Court has said a private developer selling a flat to a consumer can be defined as a service and thus falls under the Act.
New flat owners will get speedier justice through consumer courts as they need not require approaching a cooperative court or High Court.
In an order the Supreme Court said that ‘if a builder of a house uses substandard material for construction or makes false or misleading representations about the condition of the house, then it is denial of a facility or benefit of which a consumer is entitled to claim value under the Act.’
According to the court ‘A flat with a leaking roof, or cracking wall or substandard floor is denial of service. When the contractor or builder undertakes to erect a house or flat then it is inherent in it that he shall perform his obligation as agreed to’.
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Source: Hindustan Times
