Carpet con: Builders ordered to pay Rs 10 lakh to customer

MOFA and RERA have different interpretations for carpet area

State housing regulator MahaRERA has directed two developers to pay Rs 10 lakh to a customer, who had booked two flats in Andheri West and had paid over Rs 4 crore, which is almost the entire amount, for asking more money than mentioned in the agreements.

The centrepiece of the order is interpretation of area under two legislations - Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) and MahaRERA.

The complainant had booked one apartment each in projects developed by M/s Rockline Construction Company and M/s Poonam Builders. When the sale agreements were signed in August 2019, the buyer had already paid Rs 4.22 crore, including government charges. There was no mention of delivery date on either of the deeds.

The complainant said the developers later demanded more money under the pretext of increased carpet area approved by the BMC, though there was no change in the sanctioned plan. While the area mentioned in the agreements was 759 sqft for each flat, calculated under MOFA, the developers cited RERA portal which shows the size of one flat as 71.2 sq mtrs (766 sqft) and the other as 74.4 square metres (802 sqft) to seek extra money.

The complainant then moved the regulator seeking Rs 10 lakh relief for the unreasonable demand and on the grounds that the builders had failed to deliver the property with Occupation Certificate (OC) apart from amenities and forming housing societies.

Adjudicating Officer Madhav Kulkarni observed that barring only Rs 12.5 lakh, which was to be paid during possession, the buyer had paid everything by August 2017, a fact not disputed by the builders.

In the absence of a delivery note, Kulkarni observed, three years were a reasonable time to honour the contract. He also observed that the buyer was not given any justification for the deficiencies.

The Adjudicating Officer said it was illegal on the part of the developers to cite interpretation under RERA to demand additional money, also noting that the builders had failed on their other commitments.

Siding with the complainant's demand, the Adjudicating Officer directed the developers to pay the flat buyer R10 lakh for loss and mental torture along with 10.4 percent interest from September 1, 2020 till possession. The builders will also have to R20,000 towards the litigation cost.

"The order is a very pragmatic one which would curb the tendency of developers to fleece flat buyers," said Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who represented the complainant.

Pimenta said under MOFA, the carpet area is wall to wall, while RERA considers internal walls as well to measure the size. He said charging customers on built-up and super built-up is legally wrong.

2 Cr
The cost of each flat in the Andheri building