RERA| Brochure Clause Allowing 20% Deduction On Refund Without Interest Is Unfair: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has recently held that a clause in a development authority's brochure permitting it to deduct 20% of the registration amount and return the balance without interest where an allottee withdraws after allotment is a one-sided, unfair, and unreasonable term of the contract. It held that the Lucknow Development Authority was not entitled to the benefit of such a clause. Clause 8.2 of the brochure of the Lucknow Development Authority provided that...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Unishire Property Attachment, Says Final K-RERA Order Can't Be Reopened

The Karnataka High Court on 6 October held that a developer cannot challenge a consequential property attachment after its appeal against the underlying Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) order has been dismissed and the order has attained finality. Justice E.S. Indiresh dismissed Unishire Promoters Private Limited's writ petition and upheld the attachment of its property in Bengaluru to recover unpaid dues owed to a homebuyer. The Bench observed: “In that view of the matter,...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Cancellation Of Occupancy Certificates For 33 Raffles Park Villas

The Karnataka High Court has recently upheld the cancellation of occupancy certificates issued for 33 villas in Raffles Residency Private Limited's Raffles Park project in Bengaluru, finding that the project was incomplete and unfit for occupation when the certificates were issued.Justice Suraj Govindaraj recalled an earlier order that had restored the certificates, finding that the developer had suppressed material documentary evidence bearing on the project's completion.The court observed that...

Are All Promoter-Allottee RERA Disputes Non-Arbitrable? Bombay HC Refers Question To Larger Bench

The Bombay High Court has referred to a larger Bench the question of whether every dispute between a real estate promoter and an individual flat buyer under an agreement for sale governed by RERA is non-arbitrable as a class. The court will consider whether arbitrability must instead be examined by looking at the subject matter, nature of relief and the matters RERA authorities are empowered to determine.Justice Amit Borkar observed, “The issue is whether the existence of a statutory forum under...

No Limitation To Claim Delay Interest Where Allottee Continues With Project: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on 23 September held that an allottee who continues with a real estate project can claim interest for every month of delay in possession, as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 prescribes no limitation for raising such a claim. A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar dismissed Antriksh Developers and Promoters Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal against the U.P. Real Estate Appellate Tribunal's direction to pay delay interest, holding that the expression “demand” in the...

Homebuyers Who Withdraw From Delayed Project Cannot Be Made To Wait For Refund Until Occupation Certificate: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has recently held that homebuyers who withdraw from a delayed housing project cannot be made to wait for a refund until the developer obtains an Occupation Certificate (OC).Justice Sandeep V. Marne held that the right of such homebuyers to receive their money back with interest is “absolute and unqualified”.“Thus, on plain reading of Section 18 of RERA, in my view, the right to seek return of amount with interest is absolute and unqualified. The right cannot be diluted by...

Transfer Of Stamp Duty, Registration Amount To Bank Not Proof Of Payment: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that transferring money to a bank account for payment of stamp duty and registration charges does not by itself establish that the charges were actually paid to the concerned authorities. Justice Sandeep V. Marne made the observation while setting aside orders of the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) and Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MahaREAT) directing JP Builders and Developers to execute a registered agreement for...

Calcutta High Court Directs WB Chief Secretary To Give Timeline For Filling RERA, REAT Vacancies

On Tuesday, 15 September, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary's office to specify a timeline for filling vacancies in the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) and the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA). A Division Bench comprising Justices Arijit Banerjee and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra directed the Chief Secretary's office to file a report indicating the status of appointments to the posts of REAT Chairperson and Judicial Member and a...

Bombay High Court Leaves Challenge To Goa RERA Enforcement Rule Open, Dismisses Sunstar Homes' Pleas

The Bombay High Court at Goa has declined to decide Sunstar Homes' challenge to the validity of Rule 4 of the Goa Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017. It found that the question had become academic in the facts of the case.“Though the vires of the provisions of Rule 4 has been challenged before us, in the aforementioned scenario, where the decree has partly been executed, and the proceedings pending under the Land Revenue Code are well within the powers of the Revenue...

Lack Of Written Allotment Or Agreement Itself Cannot Oust RERA Jurisdiction: Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that the absence of a written allotment document or agreement does not, by itself, oust the jurisdiction of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) over a complaint concerning an alleged real estate transaction.A Division Bench of Justice Parth Prateem Sahu and Justice Sachin Singh Rajput observed, “The word “aggrieved person” used under Section 31 of the Act, 2016 and under Rule 35 of the Rules, 2017, who can file complaint is very wide, therefore, only...

Substantial Question Of Law Essential For Appeal Under RERA Act: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that an appeal under Section 58 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is maintainable only where a substantial question of law arises, and that an order by which the Appellate Tribunal remands a matter to the Regulatory Authority, without finally determining the rights of either party, gives rise to no such question. Section 58 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 permits a person aggrieved by a decision or...

Tripura High Court Imposes ₹40,000 Costs On Four Homebuyers Over Parallel T-RERA, Municipal Body Proceedings

The Tripura High Court has imposed ₹40,000 in costs on four homebuyers over parallel proceedings concerning alleged unauthorised construction at an apartment complex in Agartala.The homebuyers had approached both the Tripura Real Estate Regulatory Authority (T-RERA) and the Agartala Municipal Corporation. They also filed an execution proceeding before T-RERA before approaching the High Court but did not disclose this fact.“It transpires that they have not approached this Court with clear hands,”...