Promoter Pays Rs 16 Lakh Penalty to Homebuyer for 5-year Delay in Delivering Possession of Flat

A Delhi-based man has received around Rs 16 lakh as a delay penalty from the promoter of a residential complex project in Noida which handed over the possession of a flat to him five years after the promised deadline. According to Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), the buyer had booked the flat in Mahagun Mezzaria in Sector 78 of Noida in 2017 and paid Rs 1.35 crore to its promoter NexGen Infracon.

“The promoter had promised to deliver the flat in December 2018. However, following a delay in handing over the possession of the flat and with no resolution in the payment of a penalty, the buyer approached RERA in 2021,” the authority said in a statement.

The UP RERA was established in 2017 to regulate the fast-growing real estate sector in the state as well as bring transparency, protect the interest of home buyers and ensure speedy resolution of the disputes of consumers and builders.

According to a RERA official, the promoter had later pledged to hand over the possession of the flat to the buyer in 2021. Since the promoter did not honour the conditions of the builder-buyer agreement, the matter reached the RERA for resolution, the official said.

Upon hearing the complaints, UP RERA passed an order in favour of the home buyer.

“During further proceedings for execution of the order, the promoter handed over the flat to the home buyer meeting all conditions along with a delay penalty of around Rs 16 lakh earlier this week. The satisfied home buyer has submitted a copy of the possession with the local authority,” the RERA said.

The official said the interest for delay in handing over the possession of the flat was calculated based on the marginal cost of lending rate according to RERA rules, the official added.

According to a statement, the UP RERA has so far received requests in about 14,120 cases for compliance with orders issued by the Bench in matters related to refund and possession. Of these aound10,470 cases have been complied with, it said.

“If a promoter is not complying with the order received from the RERA to a consumer or complainant, the consumer should immediately inform UP RERA on the website www.up-rera.in or www.up-rera.in under the head ‘Order Execution Request’,” the statement added.