Appeal No. 67 of 2019

What the proceeding concerns

Appeal No. 67 of 2019 was filed by home buyers K.S. Prateep Kumar and Srividhya against developers S. Elayaraja and S. Sivaraj. It challenges the Regulatory Authority’s order in C.No.309/2019 dated 19 September 2019, which dismissed the buyers’ complaint as not maintainable because the project was found to be outside the Real Estate Regulation And Development Act 2016.

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal heard the matter through video conferencing and framed two questions, whether the buyers’ complaint was maintainable and whether the appeal should be allowed.

Property and claims

The home buyers described a group development at Survey No.404/13 in Okkiam Thoraipakkam Village, now Sholinganallur Taluk, Kanchipuram District, within the Chennai Corporation area. Their case included the following claims:

• The development covered about 11,759 square feet, equivalent to 1,092.84 square metres.
• It consisted of five building blocks with 26 flats.
• The buyers booked and paid for a first floor flat, including undivided share, construction and other charges.
• The developer did not hand over possession.
• The buyers sought project registration, restoration of materials kept in the flat and delivery of possession.

Registration issue

The developers argued that the disputed development was a standalone project on less than 500 square metres and therefore did not require registration. They said the dispute was a money dispute that should be decided by a civil forum.

The Tribunal examined the registration provisions applicable to real estate projects. The extracted provision states that registration is generally required before a promoter advertises, markets, books or sells in a planning area. It also addresses ongoing projects without completion certificates and exempts projects where the proposed land area does not exceed 500 square metres or the proposed number of apartments does not exceed eight, inclusive of all phases.

The documents discussed included a total property measurement of 11,759 square feet, a disputed portion measuring 3,010 square feet, a power of attorney, a sale agreement and a registered construction agreement.

Result available in the source

The supplied extract stops during the Tribunal’s discussion of the sale and construction documents. It does not contain the final findings or state whether Appeal No. 67 of 2019 was allowed or dismissed.