MahaRERA Orders Godrej Properties to Refund Booking Amount for a Pre-RERA Project

2024-11-15 03:20:20

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has directed Godrej Properties to refund Rs 15 lakh to a homebuyer for a pre-RERA project, concluding that the project was still ongoing when the real estate law took effect. The refund order concerns a luxury property in Mumbai’s Kurla area valued at Rs 4.3 crore, which the senior citizen buyer had canceled within 10 days of booking.

Godrej Properties argued that the cancellation occurred before the project was registered with MahaRERA and that it did not have promoter status until July 2017, suggesting the authority lacked jurisdiction in this case. However, MahaRERA maintained that the project was active at the time of RERA’s enactment and instructed the developer to refund the full booking amount.

The case involved homebuyer Kishore Shamji Chheda, who paid Rs 15 lakh to reserve a unit in The Trees Origins in Kurla and subsequently canceled the booking. Godrej Properties initially informed Chheda that the full booking amount was forfeited. MahaRERA, citing Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, noted that the project lacked a completion certificate at the time and should have complied with RERA guidelines.

MahaRERA further stated that forfeiting the entire amount was against the spirit of the Act, which aims to protect homebuyers. The authority ordered the developer to refund the sum with 2% interest by November 30, 2024. Godrej Properties did not respond to questions on the matter.

This case is one of several recent MahaRERA rulings against Godrej Properties for not refunding booking amounts. In a similar case, the authority directed the developer to return Rs 97 lakh to an NRI buyer, and in another case, ordered partial forfeiture while refunding the majority of the advance paid.