Telangana RERA fines developer ₹14.9 lakh for failing to register project, asks realtor to refund money to buyers

This comes after Bhuvanteza Infrastructures LLP, the developer, failed to register the project under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

“Respondents are jointly and severally liable to pay a penalty of ₹14.9 lakh towards violation of Sections 3 and 4 for non-registration of the Project Aura Velimala Phase 1,” the order said.

The regulatory body also directed the developer and its partners to return the funds collected from 62 homebuyers, along with an annual interest of 11%.

Also Read: Karnataka has over 2630 delayed real estate projects: KRERA

The case

The homebuyers said they had signed ‘unregistered’ agreements with the developer to buy flats in the project, located in Telangana’s Sangareddy district.

According to the agreement, the flats were supposed to be handed over by December 2023. However, the project has faced major delays, and as of June 19, 2024, only 20% of the construction was completed, the court order stated.

“The buyers further submitted that the delay in possession has caused severe financial hardship as they were burdened with paying both the rent for the current residence and the EMI for the home loan taken for the flat,” the order said.

The homebuyers stated that, as per the agreement, the developer had promised to pay rent to the buyers starting from January 2024 if the project was not completed by December 2023. However, even after several reminders, the company did not respond or make any rent payments, the order noted.

“It was also submitted that as the developer has not registered the land in favour of the homebuyers herein, and hence, they were concerned that the company may sell the project land to other buyers without any notice,” TGRERA said.

Also Read: Bengaluru real estate: Can homebuyers approach Human Rights Commission if the builder delays in handing over the flat?

TGRERA’s findings

TGRERA stated that after carefully reviewing all the documents and submissions, it found that the developer had violated Section 3(1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, by starting the project without getting the required registration from the Authority.

“No promoter shall advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, in any real estate project or part of it, in any planning area, without registering the real estate project with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority established under this Act,” the authority pointed out.

The order said that the developer could not have executed the agreements of sale with the buyers without having obtained RERA registration, which constitutes a glaring violation of the RERA Act.

“The developer’s plea that certain statutory approvals were pending or that registration was in process cannot serve as a legal justification for such noncompliance. The (RERA) Act makes no exception for provisional or pending applications,” the authority noted in its order.

TGRERA also noted that despite the passage of significant time since the execution of these agreements, many of which were executed between the years 2021 and 2023, the developer and its partners have neither completed the project nor handed over possession of the apartments to the respective allottees.

“The developer and its partners are liable to refund the amount to (all 62) homebuyers along with interest at the rate of 11% per annum,” the order concluded.

A set of queries has been emailed to the developer, Bhuvanteza Infrastructures LLP. If a response is received, the story will be updated.