1.With no real estate dealing knowledge I booked a flat (No.1003) in 2014 for 8053000 with a reasonable time-bound payment plan and he also gave us an allotment letter (It is signed by him but has no company stamp). Way costlier due to 66% loading and i agreed to pay on built-up area. 2.My mother retired in 2015 and received a lumpsum hence i booked 2 more flats costing 8250000 (no. 303 & 304) each in the same building after 1 year, He showed us the same payment terms in rough paper similar to the first flat but didn't give an allotment letter, the broker who is also a family friend told my father we have already given you actually he also worked for the builder. 3.In 2016 I registered one of the flat (303) in that he mentioned possession date march 2018. I took a bank loan and paid him 43L. At the same time he handed over the allotment letter for 304 but also reissued the allotment letter for 1003. (flat booked in 2014) 4.My dad went to his office to receive the letter and signed both letters brought them and kept in his locker. For whole 2016 he was constantly sending us slab wise demand letters which mentioned please pay as per the agreed amount. We were under impression that there must be slight delay as per old payment plan which was time-bound payment plan. 5.By the end of 2016 i sold a property and repaid the bank loan, he immediately demanded payment saying he didn't charge delay penalty for 2015/2016 and our flat will be ready in six months and now we have to pay more so we paid him 47L and also paid him 36 lakhs in cash ( for which my dad took his sign on a diary.) 6. Now comes the main part of the story, In 2017 i saw the freshly issued allotment letters wherein he mentioned (50% booking amount, 38% on the plinth and 10% equal payment on slabs and 2% on possession) with delay penalty 24% which my dad already unknowingly signed post receipt. 7. He has delayed the possession to date and we still have 40L to pay him. Already paid him 2.10 cr till march 2017 along with service tax. 8. Now he is asking us for signature for RERA extension and more payment. I don't want to pay him an additional 40 L and want compensation but also scared he will take legal action against us for delayed payment with 24% interest as per the payment plan in new allotment letters (see point 6) and won't return us 36 L cash. The only proof i have is bank details on white payment and his old payment plan for comparison with new one. My parents' whole life savings have gone along with their property I sold to pay him, feeling very guilty about the same.
13 answers received from multiple lawyers
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There is no evidence of cash payment
2) further payment of such huge amount in cash would attract penalty under provisions of income tax act
3) inform builder you are willing to extension provided interest of 24 per ce t for delayed payment is withdrawn
4) if he refuses take legal proceedings against builder and claim compensation for delayed possession
If it has been unknowingly signed you can take that ground. Why was new allotment letter issued when old allotment letter was in place. You can file your case before rera or consumer court specially consumer court for delay in possession and compensation
File complaint to RERA. Allotment letters can not be revised once issued.
Claim compensation for each month of delay till possession is delivered.
Or claim refund of payment made by you along with interest as per prescribed rate of RERA.
All allotment letters issued except the first one are voidable in law.
You must file a Rera complaint for delay and claim interest and delay for compensation
What is done is done. No use being guilty about it.
The builder appears to not have registered agreements for 2 flats out of the 3 agreed to be purchased. That is another Rera violation
The builder cannot charge 24% interest for delay from you. If he is charging that then he has to pay delay interest at same rate to you for delay in handover of possession
Approach Rera!
Hi, you can lodge police complaint against him for cheating and also file a suit against builder for recovery of the money. First you have to issue a legal notice to builder for cancellation of allotment and demand him to repayment of the money.
You vent out your grievances in the form of a legal notice and send it to the builder by registered post.
Please remember that you make a mention of all those events that took place from the beginning till this date and express your grievances wherever you were affected and demand explanation and also reason for demanding excess amount in addition to the reasonable amount paid by you so far.
If his reply is not convincing then you may either drag him to the RERA or consumer forum seeking relief and remedy.
if i tell the builder to register the remaining two flats he will mention a new possession date, in that case, can i claim compensation in RERA based on my bank transactions, also for the cash paid shall i ask the builder to give me an allotment letter with reduced buy value or i can do the same in the agreement itself
1) don’t mention cash in any agreement or sale deed
2) only cheque amount should be mentioned
3) your best option is to obtain registered sale deed for balance 2 flats with new possession date
3) later claim compensation for delay in delivery of possession
For any subsequent Chane in possession delivery will attract RERA provisions for compensation and refund of payment.
Obtain acknowledgement of your cash payment first.
Then follow the same procedure.
You can make your justified claims with the builder but make sure that you create an evidence by making all such demands in writing in the form of a notice or a letter from your side with an acknowledgement from the builder side.
This step would enable you to successfully sue the builder either before the RERA or before the consumer forum in case of any further grievance or the reliefs not met by the builder subsequently.
Since the builder quoted price on super built-up which is 66% of carpet. Is there any chance of proving this overcharging in RERA, in the allotment letter he just mentioned the carpet area and price? Even if I consider 40% loading, the price comes to 67 lakh but he charged me 82.5L (too high for flat booked 6 years ago)
If you have documentary evidence that you have been charged on basis of super built up area. Then only would you have case
You can obtain a copy of the sanctioned plan and get it checked by any licenced surveyor or civil engineer for the super built up area attributable to your flat and also the carpet area of your flat.
If there is any significant difference in SBA then you can charge the builder for cheating and simultaneously claim compensation for loss and damages and recovery of any excess payment made by you.
The price of your flat is usually based on its saleable area. But there are many ways to interpret and calculate the saleable area. This can have a huge impact on (i) the actual area you get, and (ii) your total buying price.
Built-up area is the total area measured on the outer line of your flat, including balcony, terrace, etc. It refers to the usable or carpet area of your flat plus the area occupied by the walls and columns of your flat plus a little more. In other words, the built-up area will normally also include a percentage of:
Super built-up area or saleable area is the total built-up area of your flat (explained above) plus your proportionate share of the common amenities in your building complex.It is also called the saleable area. Proportionate share here refers to the sum total of all common areas divided by the total number of flats in your building complex. So the super built-up area includes – aside from the built up area of your flat – these areas also:
You’ve just seen how a different interpretation or calculation of saleable area can have a huge impact on both your carpet area and your total buying price. You’ve also seen that:
More saleable area does not necessarily mean more carpet area
Area calculation method can seriously affect your buying price
A lower price does not necessarily mean a better deal
Per square-foot rate can be misleading unless it is considered with other factors that affect saleable area (such as loading)
You can approach the Consumer Court in case you can prove that the super area was unilaterally increased or decreased by the builder and no approval was sought from you regarding variation of such area.
Dear Sir,
In every City so many builders cheating the innocent persons and even if the purchasers goes to RERA or Consumer Courts they are unable to get back their amounts. You may please immediately approach RERA for resolving your issue.
