Developers to face action for not giving info, mistreating buyers

The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (H-Rera), Gurugram, on Wednesday observed that not providing information pertaining to plan, specifications and timeline

The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (H-Rera), Gurugram, on Wednesday observed that not providing information pertaining to plan, specifications and timeline of real estate projects to homebuyers shall be treated as violation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and may invite stringent actions against the promoter.

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The H-Rera bench, headed by Dr KK Khandelwal, the chairman, and members SC Kush and Samir Kumar, observed that a large number of complaints have been filed before the authority where serious allegations of misbehaviour and improper treatment with the allottees by the promoters have been levelled.

The bench observed that the allottee has the right to visit the project site and check the quality of construction going on. But, even after persistent requests, no such opportunity is given to the allottees and when the allottees visit the site, the security guards of the promoters not only prevent them from the lawful visit of the site but also, at times, mistreat them. The treatment meted out to the allottees is not only illegal and objectionable but also against the canon of decency and decorum, it observed.

Dr Khandelwal said that it has come to the notice of the bench that the customer relations department of the promoter also does not respond in a right and welcoming manner. The response of the customer relations department is totally antagonistic at times and the allottee has to face not only inconvenience, but also mental agony and pain. The authority is pained to observe that even during the proceedings of the authority, the representatives of the promoter rebuke, reprimand and scold the allottee in a very threatening manner, he said.

“Bad behaviour or lack of moral behaviour with the customer, denial of their rights as mandated in the Act, non-supply of requisite information to the allottee shall be treated as violation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and promoter will meet with strict actions and penal consequences,” the bench observed.

The authority has also directed two developers — Emmar and JMD Developers — to provide training to their customer relations department so that the employees behave with dignity and grace.

A spokesperson for JMD Developers said that the company is “very customer-centric” and that the managing director directly interacts with the customers to resolve their issues. “We will abide by the directions of the H-Rera and try to improve our customer relationship management more if the authority desires so,” said the spokesperson.

Representatives of Emmar did not respond to queries seeking comment.

H-Rera will also finalise a code of conduct for promoters and staff to deal properly with buyers and also conduct workshops to train employees in this regard.