MREAT alters RERA decision, Neelkamal Realtors' to pay for flat delay

In a recent judgment, the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal declared that the promoter of a real estate project at Mira Road would be required to pay interest from 2013 on the amounts paid by home buyers until the actual granting of possession of the flat. The tribunal modified a 2019 order of the housing regulator, MahaRERA, asserting that the latter's order suffered from infirmities. The tribunal further directed Neelkamal Realtors, the promoter of the housing project, to execute an agreement for sale and hand over possession of the flat promptly upon receiving the occupancy certificate. This decision contradicted the MahaRERA order, which had instructed the promoter to execute the agreement for sale but denied interest to a home buyer who had booked a flat in 2010 and had not yet obtained possession. The couple, who filed the complaint, had booked a flat in Orchid Ozone for a total consideration of about Rs 4 billion in January 2010. Despite the absence of a registered agreement between the parties, a letter of allotment was issued, and the couple paid approximately Rs 3.64 lakh. Subsequently, they paid up to 90% of the consideration amount for the flat.