Plea in Supreme Court seeks model for builder-homebuyer pact

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to frame a model builder buyer and model agent buyer agreements to check frauds and deliberate delays by developers and to restrain their promoters from indulging in any arbitrary and unfair trade practices so as to protect interests of customers. Besides, the petition wants strict implementation of the model agreement, once framed, by the states.

The petition filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a lawyer, alleged that states were required to enforce RERA Act 2016 in letter and spirit but they failed to do so within the stipulated time till July 2017. He said that the real estate law was framed to ensure accountability towards customers and protect their interests, infuse transparency, ensure fair-play, reduce frauds and delays.

“The injury caused to public is extremely large” as the buyers were forced by the developers to enter into “manifestly arbitrary one-sided agreements,” thus no level-playing is given to customers, the PIL said, adding promoters/ builders and agents were using “lopsided agreements for misappropriation of buyers’ hard earned money” and are neither ready to compensate buyers for inordinate delays nor provide amenities promised at the time of booking. Besides, there had been many cases of deliberate inordinate delays in handing over possession and even police refuse to file FIRs citing arbitrary clauses of the agreement, it said.

Builders also keep extending possession dates and this deliberate delay in giving possessions of flats/units amounts to “criminal conspiracy, fraud, cheating, criminal breach of trust and dishonest misappropriation of property and violation of various corporate laws,” the lawyer said.