Advocate S Selvakumar|Property advocates in Bangalore|Property lawyers in Bangalore
The Bombay High Court ruling
treating brochures as a part of the Agreement will bring in greater
transparency in the real estate industry, reports Yogesh Sadhwani.
Developers who over-promise and
under-deliver better beware.According
to a recent Bombay High Court ruling developers will now have to actually
deliver on all the fancy promises they make in their marketing literature.
In his land mark judgment passed on
March 16, Justice K.J. Rohee of the Bombay High Court ruled that though the
brochure printed and circulated by a developer was not part of the agreement,
but can be so treated Justice Rhohee was hearing two
petitions one filed by the residents of Maduvihar Co-operative Housing Society
(CHS) against the develop0ers, M/s. Jayantilala Investments and BMC and another
filed by the developers against the residents.
Both the cases dealt with construction of an additional building on the
plot that was earlier5 depicted as open space and recreations area in the brochures.
While the residents contended that
the additional building couldn’t come up on the plot as it was shown as open
space in the brochures while selling flats in Madhuvihar, the developers said
that they were within their rights to do so.
After hearing both the sides,
Justice Rohee passed the Judgment in favour of residents. He not only asked the developers to convey
the entire property in favour of the housing society but also restrained them
from constructing anything on the vacant plot.
The vacant space depicted by the developers in the brochures played a
vital role.
The buyers have lauded this
Judgment, while the developers say that only a small section of players who do
not believe in delivering what they promise will be affected.
Advocate and Consumer activist
Hemang Jariwala says, “While booking the flat, the buyers are show a rosy
picture,. It is only when they sign the
agreement, by which time they have paid a huge chunk of the consideration, they
come to know that several amenities shown in the brochure has been
deleted. A buyer has no way to back
out. With the HC Judgment, however, the
developers will no longer be able to take unsuspecting buyers for a ride.”
The real estate players, however,
point out that only a handful of developers would be affected by the judgment.
“Many time brochures are not indicative or reflective of the reality. This would affect only a few people. I don’t think the majority will be affected,”
says Nirajna Hiranandani, MD, Hiranandani Constructions Pvt. Ltd.
Mukesh Patel, Knowledge Worker,
Neelkanth Group says, “Whether it is a promise made in a brochure or an
agreement,, a commitment is commitment and all reputed developers would live by
them. But at the same there should be
some flexibility, especially in terms of large layouts.”Other believes that alterations in
plans are not done deliberately. “The reason why most alterations take place is
because there are changes in the FSI norms and the developers obviously want to
maximise their profits.
There are times when the developers
have to alter the designs of the originally planned buildings to cater to
certain class of people. In such cases if there is additional FSI left, they
construct more later,” justifies Suresh Haware, Haware Engineers and Developers
Pvt. Ltd. He quickly adds that a handful
of developers however, however, blatantly abuse the trust that the buyers
repose in them.
Haware says that any sensible
developer who is conscious of his image and wants to remain in business, will
never deviate drastically from his initial plans or break his promise.“It is only a few who have tarnished the
image of the community”, he says.
Similarly Savio D’Mello, Group Head
of Ekta Supreme Housing, points out that brochures are printed on the basis of
visual effect. “The exact dimensions are
never mentioned. Moreover, all depends
on sanctions from the civic body. All
genuine developers deliver what they promise and at the same time keep their
own profitability in mind,” he says.
All the developers, however, admit from
now on even the reputed ones, who never intend to dupe the buyers will have to
exercise extra caution while designing brochures. Giving real estate an industry status and
designing a code of conduct is another way to put an end to such problems and
bring in greater transparency, concludes Haware.
More,
Advocate Selvakumar
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