Appeal No. 81 of 2020

What the appeal concerns

Appeal No. 81 of 2020 concerns an agreement dated 3 May 2012 between M/s. Aknam Finvest Private Limited and M/s. Natesan Housing Private Limited for the sale of land and construction. Possession was handed over on 6 September 2012, and the admitted total cost was Rs.62,37,600.

The appellant alleged that the promoter had not provided the promised club house and sewage treatment plant. It also alleged that the promoter retained control over maintenance, did not provide expenditure details and had not transferred the corpus fund to the association of allottees.

Earlier regulatory decision

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority dismissed the complaint as not maintainable in C.No.408 of 2019 dated 10 February 2020. The Authority treated the project as completed and handed over in 2012, meaning that the complainant could not invoke the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

The appellant argued that handing over individual possession did not complete the project when promised common facilities remained unfinished. The promoter responded that all common facilities had been provided and that transfer of the corpus fund was delayed by disagreements among apartment owners.

Evidence considered

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal reviewed 24 documents from the appellant and 10 from the promoter. These included the sale and construction agreement, possession certificate, property tax receipts, email communications, association records, balance sheets and a Trichy Corporation letter.

The Tribunal stated that the 34 documents did not disclose anything establishing that the club house or sewage treatment plant remained incomplete, or that the development was an ongoing project. It also noted that photographs and compact discs listed by the appellant were not available with the filed materials.

Registration issue

The Tribunal considered Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and the definition of an ongoing project in the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Rules, 2017. The quoted provisions address project registration, completion certificates and certain projects outside the Chennai Metropolitan Area that were structurally completed.

The supplied text ends during the Tribunal's discussion of these provisions. It does not contain the final finding on maintainability or state whether Appeal No. 81 of 2020 was allowed or dismissed.