Taking possession of a flat would not bar homebuyers from raising complaints against real estate companies upon their failure to provide services. The Supreme Court, while hearing a case, held that homebuyers can approach consumer forums against developers to seek compensation for delayed possession even after taking custody of the flat.
The apex court set aside an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which had held that a homebuyer ceases to be a consumer after taking possession of the flat and could not seek compensation for delay. The top court held that the arbitration clause in the homebuyer-real estate company agreement would not stop the former from approaching the consumer forum to raise complaints.
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Twenty-two years after receiving possession of a flat in a housing project in Dwarka, NCR, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and V. Mohana allowed a buyer's plea seeking compensation for the delay in handing over the flat. The bench said the NCDRC's reasoning was not tenable.
NCDRC's Reasoning 'Can't Be Sustained'
The bench of justices Vikram Nath and V Mohana said that the NCDRC's reasoning "cannot be sustained." The bench said, "The appellant's grievance was not merely about possession. His grievance was that there was a delay in handing over possession of the flat, and he was entitled to compensation for this delay. The claim for compensation for delay in possession is actually related to the period before possession. The granting of possession later does not automatically take away the allottee's right to have his claim for compensation for delay decided."
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The bench revived the complaint filed by the home buyer in 2005 in the district consumer forum and asked the forum to decide within a year whether there was any delay.