Consumer court tells builders: Pay Rs 8.80 lakh each to 2 consumers for deficiency in service

CHENNAI: The Chennai North District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a builder to Rs 8.80 lakh each to two complainants for deficiency in service.

The complainants, C K Sampath and K Sudharsanam, were the joint owners of a property in Nungambakkam and entered into joint development agreement with Bhoomi and Buildings (P) Ltd for developing the property into flats in 2016.

The developer agreed to complete the construction within 15 months with three months’ grace time from the date of handing over of vacant property or from the date of obtaining approval from the authorities concerned – whichever is later as per condition of the joint development agreement. The complainants handed over the vacant property in April 2019 to the opposite party which falls later to the date of obtaining approval from the authorities concerned.

The builders also agreed to pay each of the complainants Rs 50,000 per month as compensation on expiry of 18 months’ construction time till the date of handing over the possession of flat, apart from the rents payable by the builders as per agreement. The builders constructed and handed over two flats each to the complainants. But it was handed over in June 2024 and completion took 62 months.

The construction time of 18 months and 12 months due to the pandemic and, the total months delayed were 32 months. As per the agreement, the builders should pay Rs 50,000 to each of the complainants as compensation for the delayed period and also the total compensation amount of Rs 16 lakhs.

The complainants raised this demand to the builders, and later sent a legal notice which they failed to reply.

The case was brought to the consumer commission headed by the president D Gopinath, and members V Ramamurthy and Kavitha Kannan, who found deficiency in service in construction activities. “The builder is directed to pay Rs 8.50 lakh to each of the complainant towards the compensation for the delay in handing over the flats as per the agreement with 9% interest/year from the date of handing over the flats till the date of realisation. The builder is also directed to pay Rs 30,000 to each complainant towards compensation for deficiency in service, monetary loss, mental agony, pain and sufferings including litigation cost within two months from the date of receipt of this order. If not, the complainants are entitled to get the above amount of Rs 30,000 each with 9% interest/year from the date of this order to till the date of realisation,” the order stated.