Home Truths-Personal experience

Economic Times Coverage -5th August

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET_Features/The_Sunday_ET/Property/Home_truths/articleshow/msid-2256225,curpg-1.cms


After retirement, Sushil Khanna wanted to buy a house of his own. He and his wife, Veena Khanna, decided to book an Oriental Villa Home in Sushant Lok-III in Gurgaon and paid a sum of Rs 15 lakh from 1996 to 1998. The Khannas were promised possession of the house in 1999.

But they were disappointed when construction of the ground floor did not start even in 1999. In order to fight this delay, Mrs. Khanna filed a case in September 1999 against Ansal Properties & Industries and Ansal Buildwell in the State Commission. Eight years later in 2007, the National Consumer Court has ordered Ansal’s to either pay compensation or to hand over possession of the flat.

This is just one example. Each day, a number of cases are filed in the consumer court against erring real estate developers. The initial promises made are not duly delivered and it is the consumers who stand at a loss. But there are few things that need to be kept in mind. “

A prospective buyer should check into the developer’s credibility, past projects and performance and delivery record. He should also ensure that the project is funded by a known bank and has all the correct approvals. A buyer is entitled to ask for a copy of the project’s drawings, duly stamped by the municipal authorities. A project that has not met certain minimum standards of completion will not be issued a Completion Certificate by the local authorities,” says Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Meghraj.

Justice J D Kapoor, president, State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, agrees that real estate-related disputes are a regular phenomenon at the forum. “Cases abound where constructions have been faulty, excessively delayed or buyers have not been given possession of the said property. In such a situation, most of the times the end-user heads to the consumer court for redressal,” reveals Kapoor.

But there are consumers who also come out with some innovative strategies. In a recent video posted on a video-sharing website, a disgruntled consumer expressed his angst at real estate major Unitech’s UniWorld City in Gurgaon. The township project, which went by the tagline

‘The best in the world for you,’ had boasted of world-class luxury apartments and modern amenities for the buyers. However, the video showed a picture that stands in complete contrast to the promises made by the developer. Cracked and shabbily-finished walls, an unsafe playground area for children, an empty swimming pool and jacuzzi are all reflective of shoddy construction. On his part, Sanjay Chandra, MD, Unitech, says that the complaints have been taken care of. “All the issues have been taken care of now by our team. There may have been some faults in the project but not entirely. The agitation levels of some individuals are higher than that of others and hence they express it in this manner.”

However, developers argue that it is unfair to make a big deal out of minor faults in construction. “We normally bend backwards to keep our consumers happy. We also have a consumer grievance cell wherein the complaints are heard and corrective steps are taken if we see some fairness in them,” says Kunal Bannerji, president, marketing of Ansal API, which also has default cases related to unauthorised land practices pending in the consumer court.

In Bangalore, one of the cases filed with the Consumer Forum includes Bangalore-based BEML Welfare Association. Attracted by the housing scheme floated by the BEML Welfare Association, three buyers decided to purchase property in a layout developed by BEML Welfare Association called ‘BEML Bheemarao Nagar.’ The site cost of Rs 67,200 was paid by the buyers, but none of them were allotted sites in 1999. They then approached the Consumer Redressal Forum. The Consumer Forum after its srutinisations directed BEML in June 2007 to refund the complainants’ money along with an interest.

Clearly, more vigil and awareness about small details are needed from buyers to nip the problems in the bud. Avinash Prabhu, MD of the Bangalore-based Skyline Construction & Housing feels that “the buyer should ensure that the title of the property is okay and the builder has obtained necessary approvals. Also, the quality of materials being used for the construction should be as promised. If the consumer is unhappy, we attend to the complaints and sort out these areas even after the defect liability period is completed so that the customer is satisfied with the end product.” While cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore even see known names in property disputes, Kolkata has a different tale to tell. Here it is mostly the local, small real estate developers which are seen not living up to their promises made while selling apartments in buildings or complexes. Says Pradip Kumar Chopra, director, P S Group, “Consumers can’t ask for quality stuff while purchasing vegetables from an unorganized market at a discounted price. Vegetables and fruits bought from Spencer’s or even Food Bazaar is quality at a price which is marginally higher than the unorganised market. The same logic holds true for property transactions in the real estate sector as well.” The bottomline thus is to keep your ears to the ground. Verifying the developer’s track record and getting the necessary paperwork in place will always keep you in good stead even if things end up going wrong