Telangana RERA slams Flats-Builder for collecting Rs. 8.3 lakh Advance before Registration

A city-based builder has been fined Rs. 8.3 lakh by the Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA) for collecting the booking amount before obtaining RERA registration.

Additionally, the authorities ordered the builder to pay back the two complainants two lakh within thirty days.

The complainants, D Shruti and D Shravya, claimed that they paid an advance of Rs. 4 lakh in November 2020 for apartments in Jai Vasavi's Bliss Heights project located in Yamnampet, Ghatkesar, with the builder guaranteeing delivery within 2.5 years.

They added that the builder only reimbursed Rs. 2 lakh and kept the remaining sum, and that even after three and a half years, the project still lacked construction permits and the builder had failed to deliver the apartments.

The builder countered that as part of the compromise, the complainants gave up all original receipts and consented to a complete and final settlement of Rs. 2 lakhs in May 2024.

After going over the paperwork, TG RERA found that the builder had received the booking advance in 2020 much earlier than the September 2023 deadline for RERA registration. This was against the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act's Sections 3 and 4, which require real estate projects to be registered before flats are offered for sale.

The builder was ordered by TG RERA to return the outstanding Rs. 2 lakhs to the complainants, along with an order imposing a penalty under Sections 59 and 60 of the Act.