Appeal No. 86 of 2021

What the appeal concerns

Appeal No. 86 of 2021 before the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal concerns Tulive Viha Apartments. The promoter sold an approximately 230 square foot corridor on the fourth floor to the owners of Apartments 401 and 402. Other home buyers argued that the corridor was a common area belonging to the apartment owners’ association and could not be sold privately.

The appeal was filed by the two purchasers of the corridor. The promoter did not appeal against the Regulatory Authority’s decision.

Regulatory Authority directions under challenge

The Regulatory Authority, in C.No.1/2020 dated 19 April 2021, made the following findings and directions:

• The project had to be registered.
• The sale of the common area was null and void.
• The promoter had to execute a rectification deed deleting the common area from the appellants’ original sale deed.
• The promoter had to refund the sale consideration of Rs.17.25 lakhs to the appellants.
• A penalty of Rs.5,00,000 was imposed on the promoter.
• The promoter had to transfer the corpus fund to the apartment owners’ association with interest at 9.30 per cent.

Questions considered by the Tribunal

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal listed five main questions:

• Whether the promoter’s sale of the corridor was legally sustainable.
• Whether an individual allottee could complain after an allottees’ association had been formed.
• Whether the complaint was barred because an attempted amicable settlement had not been completed.
• Whether the appeal should be allowed.
• Whether the direction to execute a rectification deed was legally sustainable.

The appellants argued that the association and a mediation committee should have handled the corridor dispute. The opposing home buyers argued that mediation could not correct an illegal sale of common area and that directly affected allottees could approach the Regulatory Authority.

Importance of the corridor

The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Appellate Tribunal referred to the National Building Code of India 2016 provisions on internal corridors. The quoted material treats corridors as circulation and accessible routes, with requirements concerning unobstructed width, wheelchair turning space, clear height, stable and slip-resistant floors, and the avoidance of obstacles.

The supplied text ends during that discussion. It does not state whether the appeal was ultimately allowed or dismissed.