Background of the Consumer Complaint
A formal complaint was brought before the consumer dispute resolution forum under section 17 of the established consumer protection legislation. The core of the matter involves a real estate transaction and a dispute regarding the timeline of delivering property possession to the buyer.
Property Booking and Financial Transactions
The dispute began when a homebuyer secured an agreement for a flat within a proposed residential building located in the Aurangabad district in 2013. The total agreed financial consideration for the residential unit was set at 18 lakh rupees. The purchaser initiated the transaction by providing an initial cash advance in July 2013, for which a formal receipt was issued by the developers.
Following the initial payment, the buyer secured a housing loan from a financial institution to make a substantial secondary payment. This enabled the formal execution of a registered sale agreement between the involved parties. Additional financial arrangements included borrowing funds specifically to cover mandatory stamp duty fees, backed by security cheques provided to one of the respondents.
The final balance of the property cost was cleared later that same year through a separate housing loan secured from another banking institution. Subsequently, the final sale deed was executed in favor of the purchaser, cementing the legal transfer of ownership.
Delay in Possession and Compensation Claims
Despite the completion of financial obligations and the execution of the sale deed, the physical handing over of the apartment occurred in October 2014. According to the claims presented before the presiding member, this timeline represented a delay of ten months beyond what was reasonably expected for completion.
During this ten-month period of waiting, the buyer was forced to incur additional living expenses by paying monthly rent for alternative accommodation. Consequently, the complainant sought financial reimbursement for these rental expenses, calculating the total loss incurred during the delay period to hold the developers accountable for the inconvenience.
