Delay in handing over property

Your property-related legal queries answered by S.C. RAGHURAM, Partner, RANK Associates, a Chennai-based law firm

I have purchased an apartment at Kelambakkam from a reputed builder and registered it in October 2012.

The builder had promised to handover the flat by December 2013.The statement of the builder in the agreement states ‘The builder undertakes to complete the construction of the said apartment by the end of December 2013 with a grace period of three months.

On completion of the construction of the said apartment, the builder shall intimate the allottes of the builder’s readiness to handover the possession of the said apartment.’

The apartment is still under construction. How do we proceed in this matter to get a compensation for the delay from the builder? I have availed a housing loan for this property and I have been paying my EMI since the month of registration. Due to the delay, we have also been paying rent our current residence.

Manjunath Dhanasekaran

Chennai

The agreement has to be read as a whole to ascertain the terms/compensation agreed upon between the parties in the event of delay in handing over.

The causes leading to delay should also be looked into.

If no fault can be attributed to the buyer and if no force majeure conditions have intervened, you may initially try to resolve the issue with the developer by mutual discussions.

In the event of no amicable solution, you can approach the Consumer Redressal Forum for necessary relief.

In the alternative, if the developer is a member of CREDAI, you can approach CREDAI and initiate their internal dispute resolution process.

This article was originally published on www.thehindu.com dated October 30, 2015.

Image Credit: www.thehindu.com

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