Realty bites
Rajiv Kakar bought a 4-bedroom apartment in DLF Belaire on Golf Course Road, at the rate of Rs 6,250 per sq feet, two years ago.
Rajiv Kakar bought a 4-bedroom apartment in DLF Belaire on Golf Course Road, at the rate of Rs 6,250 per sq feet, two years ago. He was promised possession of the flat by December 2008. “I have visited the site and the project is nowhere near completion. I am paying an EMI of Rs 12 lakh every two months,” he says.
Minal Rajan, a homemaker, is upset as she has to pay a rent of Rs 40,000 per month in addition to a home loan EMI of Rs 45,000. Had her developer, Unitech, delivered the 4-bedroom apartment in Nirvana County on time, in August 2007, she could have saved a lot of money.
Likewise, Atul Razdan (name changed on request) pays monthly rent of Rs 70,000 as DLF has not delivered his up-scale apartment in the Pinnacle project. The delivery was due in July 2007.
“Why should I bear the added cost for no fault of mine? The compensation of Rs 5 per square feet that developers pay in case of delay is an eyewash. It does not compensate me for the rent I pay on a 4,000-sq feet apartment. What’s more, the developer does not pay me even this meagre compensation, saying it will be adjusted against the final payment,” says Razdan.
Surprisingly, Haryana Government laws do not protect the interests of property buyers in case of delays. “When developers default, no government ruling binds them to compensate buyers,” says Razdan.
A senior Town and Country Planning official told HT that the government is only concerned with the issuance and renewal of developers’ licenses. “Whether the project is delayed or the property buyers are not paid compensation for the delay, the Haryana Urban Development Act 1977 is silent on this issue. We would jump into the picture only when we notice any violation of the licensing norms,” he says.
