Appeal No.75 of 2019

What the appeal concerns

Appeal No.75 of 2019 was heard by the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, which has jurisdiction for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Olympia Grande Apartment Owners' Welfare Association appealed against the Regulatory Authority's finding that its complaint was not maintainable.

The association had requested:

• Transfer of the corpus fund and project documents.
• Rectification of construction anomalies and deviations.
• Damages.
• Fulfilment of promises and commitments made at the time of sale.

The Regulatory Authority had concluded that all 16 residential towers were completed, completion certificates were obtained and possession was handed over before the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force.

Arguments of the apartment owners

The Olympia Grande Apartment Owners' Welfare Association argued that the development was a single integrated project containing 17 towers. It said all 788 owners had paid for undivided shares in the total common area and had rights to use those areas.

The association disputed the relevance and legal validity of three partial completion certificates dated 13 May 2015, 6 November 2015 and 15 February 2016. It also argued that the seventeenth tower had been converted from residential to commercial use in violation of the Act.

Arguments of the promoter

M/s. KSM Nirman Private Limited said the project began in 2012, possession was handed over in 2015 and the owners' association was formed in 2016. It maintained that the residential project had been completed before the Act came into force.

The promoter also stated that:

• Buyers had been informed that development would occur in phases.
• The association was notified about taking over common area maintenance on 6 July 2017.
• The corpus fund, with interest, had been placed in a fixed deposit with Federal Bank.
• The association had not produced its member register to establish that it was the rightful association.

Tribunal's consideration

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal framed two questions, whether the complaint was maintainable and whether the appeal should be allowed. It observed that the Regulatory Authority had not fully examined why each requested remedy was unavailable or what remedy the owners could pursue.

The tribunal discussed the Act's adjudication system, restrictions on civil court jurisdiction and the continued application of other laws. The supplied text ends during that discussion and does not include the final result of the appeal.