Builders are going to face hard time as SC finally rules in favour of flat owners

Supreme Court has finally come to the rescue of the middle-class flat owners who were fighting against the builders over delay of projects. The SC has ruled the flat owners can join hands to directly approach the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) against realtors.

According to the Consumer Protection Act, customers can directly file a plea in NCDRC if the cost involved is more than Rs 1 crore. Otherwise, complainants begin at the district consumer forums.

However, big builders like Amrapali Sapphire Developers Pvt Ltd had taken shelter behind this rule to plead that 43 flat buyers, who had together moved the apex consumer forum against it, were disqualified from filing such a joint plea before the NCDRC.

The 43 buyers had complained against delay in handing over possession of their flats.

According to the builders, the cost of each flat was way below Rs 1 crore, thus the owners were individually ineligible to approach the NCDRC directly.

"By joining hands, they have shown that the cost of their flats was above Rs 1 crore to maintain their plea in NCDRC, which was against the rule," the builder's counsel said.

But the bench understood that this was a bid to tire out flat owners and buy time for completion of delayed housing projects and rejected the plea.

After the SC ruling, Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India president Getamber Anand, who is also CMD of ATS Infrastructure, told ET, "Such a broad directive can be misused also. This will adversely affect the sector, which is already facing a tough time.''