SC orders Gurgaon developer to refund Rs 33-cr maintenance fees
In a verdict which upholds the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)’s March 19 ruling, the Supreme Court has asked a Gurgaon-based realty developer – Ambience Pvt Ltd. – to refund Rs 33.38 crore maintenance fees charged from the residents of its project since 2002.
The mentioned maintenance fees which Ambience has been asked to refund is 70 percent of the maintenance amount which the developer has been charging from the 345 flat-owners of Ambience Lagoon Apartments since 2002. However, despite the fees, the developer has failed to provide the residents the amenities promised to them at the time of purchase of the apartments.
The Ambience Lagoon Apartments complex – located behind Ambience Mall on NH8 – is spread out in 15 blocks. The developer had told the buyers that one lift will be provided for every 10 flats; but, in most blocks, there are only two lifts instead of the four promised by the developer when the apartments were allotted.
With Ambiance failing to offer services that commensurate with the maintenance fees charged, 66 residents of Ambience Lagoon Apartments had initiated legal action against the developer in November 2004; and the NCDRC passed its ‘refund’ ruling in March this year.
Ambience, however, moved the Supreme Court to appeal the NCDRC’s ruling. But, with a bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Adarsh Kumar Goel upholding NCDRC’s verdict, each resident of Ambience Lagoon will now be refunded anything between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 15 lakh by the developer.
Source – The Times of India
Ambience Lagoon, Gurgaon developer, maintenance fees, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, NCDRC, Supreme Court
