RERA slaps Rs 5 lakh fine on builder

MARGAO
The Goa Real Estate Regulatory Authority has directed a real estate firm to pay a penalty of Rs 5 lakh to a senior citizen couple for accepting more than 10 per cent of the consideration towards the sale of an apartment, in violation of Section 13 of the RERA Act.

RERA Member Vincent D’Silva has further directed the firm to pay interest on the amount received from the complainants. The firm was also directed to pay costs of Rs 2 lakh to the complainants within 30 days of the order.

The RERA Member has further directed the firm to file a compliance report of this order in the form of an affidavit within 60 days, failing which further legal action will be initiated by the Authority under the RERA Act for execution of the order.

The complainants submitted that the real estate firm forced them to pay an advance booking amount of Rs 42,52,500, which was 62.50% of the total consideration amount of Rs 68,04,000. The firm accepted more than 10 per cent of the consideration without signing the agreement for sale and without presenting the same before the office of the Sub-Registrar for registration purposes, in complete violation of Section 13 of the RERA Act.

“Admittedly, the amount of 62.50 per cent, which is Rs 42,52,500 of the total consideration of Rs 68,04,000, has been received by the respondent, which exceeds the permissible limit stipulated under Section 13(1) of the RERA Act, 2016,” D’Silva said. He added: “Under Section 13 of the RERA Act, a promoter shall not accept a sum of more than ten per cent of the cost of the apartment, plot, or building, as the case may be, as an advance payment or an application fee from a person without first entering into a written agreement for sale with such a person and registering the said agreement under any law for the time being in force.”

He said Section 13 of the RERA Act makes it manifestly clear that the promoter is prohibited from accepting a sum exceeding ten per cent of the cost of the apartment as an advance payment without first entering into a written agreement for sale. A promoter accepting an amount beyond this limit before entering into an agreement constitutes a clear violation of the statutory provision, which is intended to protect consumer interests. This entitles the affected party to withdraw from the project and seek necessary relief against the promoter.