The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority has instructed developer MRG to reinstate a buyer’s cancelled unit within 30 days and to pay delay-possession charges at the prescribed interest rate. The matter involved an allottee whose unit was cancelled by the promoter in July 2023.
According to the authority’s order, the developer must pay the complainant delay-possession interest on the amount already paid, as mandated under Section 18(1) of the 2016 Act, and also hand over the unit. Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority set aside cancellation and directed developer MRG Infrabuild to pay delay compensation at 10.9% per annum.
The dispute pertains to a flat in The Meridian project, allotted to Amit Kumar Pandey of South Delhi. Pandey had paid more than the total cost of the flat—Rs 25.8 lakh against the sale price of Rs 25.5 lakh—before the builder cancelled the allotment on July 14, 2023, citing unpaid dues. He told the authority that the developer had issued repeated payment demands, including interest, during the Covid period, which officials later acknowledged were system-generated and not actually payable. He said he continued paying instalments in good faith and eventually cleared the entire amount, yet the unit was cancelled and further interest was demanded.
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The order records that the cancellation in July 2023 was made on the grounds of alleged outstanding payments. It also notes that the complainant had already deposited Rs 25,75,559, exceeding the full sale consideration. When Pandey paid Rs 1,65,107 on July 21, 2023, he had already surpassed the total price, but the promoter still had not obtained an occupation certificate or issued a possession offer. Even after accounting for the developer’s claim of extra charges due at possession, HRERA held the promoter liable for the delay.
Pandey had signed the builder-buyer agreement in January 2020, shortly before the Covid-19 outbreak. The lockdown caused financial strain, yet the builder issued a demand notice in May 2020 seeking Rs 8,67,269.
Under the Affordable Housing Policy, an allottee must be given at least 15 days to make payment before cancellation can be initiated. In this case, the developer allowed only 10 days before issuing the cancellation letter.
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