Deepak 27 December 2023

Changes in the project plan

I purchased a flat recently. The registration is completed and based on several demand letters I have paid 45% of the flat cost to the builder.

The project, as per the sales material shared with me, was a 9 acre project comprising of duplexes and penthouses. The sales material said that this is a luxury project and will have exclusivity as all the buildings will be 3-4 BHKs. Based on that assertion and the sales material that mentioned the project as 9 acre - 9 tower project I booked the flat. The sales material said that they are launching 2 towers out of 9 towers.

Now the builder launched 2 more towers and not only changed the name of the project (which is ok) but the new towers are budget homes of 2 and 3 BHK with no luxury and not exclusivity. There is no guarantee that the next buildings will not be 1 BHK. So they reduced a promised luxury project to a budget project. This directly reduces the value of the neighborhood and given that there are now budget houses in the project they will not have any luxury amenities.

Can I approach consumer court or RERA to get my money back as I would like to exit the project. The builder is no longer in a position to fulfil the verbal and written commitments made during the sales process.

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2 Replies

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 27 December 2023

This is an act of unfair trade practice by the builder, which is not only an act of cheating but also an act of breach of trust. The brochures promising the facilities are good evidence to drag him to consumer forum seeking compensation and other penalties.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently ruled that a developer is bound to not only fulfil promises made in agreements with flat buyers, but also provide the amenities mentioned in their promotional material.

File a petition with the Consumer Court, including details of the builder, yourself, the agreement, payment proof, grievance, property, and compensation sought

The RERA Act has a limitation period of one year from the date of possession, so it is important to act promptly.

Deepak 27 December 2023

Thanks Mr. Kalaiselvan. To clarify further the issue is not about the amneties but the fact that the builder promised that all buildings in the project will be 3-4 BHK in luxury segment. However the new buildings that the builder is constructing now are not in luxury segement but normal budget segment. This clearly degrades the value of the building in which I have my appartment because the neighborhood is no longer having the benefit of exclusitivity. I invested with the promise that this will be a society of luxury houses and hence will have like minded people but it is no longer the case.