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Mumbai: Builder fine Rs 1.5 lakh for failing to register sale agreement

The complainant Manish Bhagtani had approached MahaRERA seeking directions again Ghanshyam Properties, to execute the registered agreement for sale under section 13 of the RERA act.

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In an interesting case, MahaRERA fined a developer for not registering the sale agreement with a buyer. During a hearing when MahaRERA found that its been over ten years and the developer hadn't registered the agreement in spite of accepting over 10 per cent of the total consideration. It decided to penalize the developer and asked him to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to MahaRERA for the violation of section 13 which makes it mandatory to register the agreement once the buyer has paid 10 per cent of the total consideration to the developer.

The complainant Manish Bhagtani had approached MahaRERA seeking directions again Ghanshyam Properties, to execute the registered agreement for sale under section 13 of the RERA act. He wanted this for the office premises he had booked in the developer's project known as Link Plaza, situated at Andheri.

In this case, Bhagtani claimed that he had booked the office premises for a total consideration of Rs 15.99 lakh and till date had paid 100 per cent towards the cost of the premises. Accordingly the developer had issued an allotment letter for the booking of the said premises. However, no registered agreement for sale was executed. The complainant further clarified that without obtaining occupancy certificate, the developer has handed over the fit out possession of the office premises in May 2018, but the complainant wasn't using the space since there's no Occupancy Certificate.

The developer disputed the claim of the complainant and argued that the present complaint filed by Bhagtani is liable to be dismissed since it is not filed in the proper format, further in the allotment letter dated July 5, 2007, no date of possession was mentioned Hence, there is no violation of section 18 of the RERA ACt, therefore the complainant is not entitled to seek any interest under this section. This section is brought in, when there's a delay in handing over possession and the buyer is seeking interest on the amount he has paid to the developer.

With regard to the claim of the relief under section 13, the developer argued that the buyer had sought no specific relief in his complainant. Hence, MahaRERA cannot grant the relief. He further mentioned that there was no intentional delay on his part in obtaining occupancy certificate and the same is pending before the competent authority.

MahaRERA examined the arguments by both the parties and found the complainant is an allottee in the project and he booked the premises in July 2007 and paid substantial amount towards the cost of the premises. Till date even after lapse of about more than 10 years, no registered agreement for sale has been executed with complainant by the developer, which shows that, the developer violated the provisions of MOFA prevalent at that time, and also section 13 of RERA act by nor executing the registered agreement for sale even after accepting more than 20 per cent amount as per MOFA act and 10 per cent amount as per the RERA act. Hence, MahaRERA found the developer liable to be penalized for such violation.

In his order Dr Vijay Satbir Singh, Member MahaRERA noted, "The developer has not given any justified reason for non-execution of agreement with the complainant. Merely by raising the echnical issue with regard to complaint filed by the complainant, the complainant, cannot wash out his statutory responsibility cast upon him by the legislation. Hence, The MahaRERA cannot accept submissions made by the developer."

Finally Singh while disposing the case, said, "Considering the facts, MahaRERA directs the develoepr to execute the registered agreement for sale with the complainant, and further directed the developer to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to MahaRERA for violation of section 13 of the RERA Act.

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