The state wing of the consumers’ rights commission, in an attempt to rescue abut 35flat owners of Navi Mumbai, recently levied a fine of Rs. 1.1 crore on the developer and the construction company. The latter had failed to obtain an occupancy certificate for the 13-storey building. The Maharashtra State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission stated that Royal Developers had evidently failed to adhere to rules, which in turn, led to significant losses for Galaxy Heights Co-operative Housing Society, located at Airoli. Also, with the developer not having got occupation certificate for the project, residents had no way out but to pay electricity charges t commercial rates since 2011. Conveyance deed in favour of the flat owners was also not issued by the builder, and residents were also having to pay additional charges for water connection. Though a complaint was filed by the housing society in 2013, it is only now that the issue is being resolved. This case in study can prove to be an eye-opener for those planning to invest in property.
When you buy an under-construction property, there is a waiting period before taking possession. Even if a building has reached completion and your unit is inhabitable, it is crucial to ensure that the developer has procured all the documents required to hand over the projects to occupants. Despite a long delay in project delivery, as a buyer one should never be averse to checking with the builder if he has all the papers in place. Slackness is this direction will lead to greater hassles in the long run, to say the least.
As has been the case in the example mentioned above, government agencies will refuse to offer utilities in case the developer has failed to get the documents in place. Besides the financial loss, this would also prove to be a major hurdle if you want to resell the property. The new buyers will definitely ask for the property-related documents, and a look at your electricity bill would be enough to make it evident to them that they will have to pay commercial rates for utilities if they decide to buy the property.
