MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (MahaREAT) set aside a MahaRERA order, which rejected complaints of eight homebuyers stating that the disputes between the complainants, regarding the ‘One Park Avenue’ project in Thane, and the respondents, are of a civil/criminal nature. The complainants paid advance amounts in 2012, but the first promoter, Man Global, failed to provide allotment letters or execute agreements for sale.
The project was later transferred to Man Realty Ltd and subsequently taken over by Purva Oak under SARFAESI provisions.
The Tribunal recognised the complainants as allottees based on payment receipts issued by the first promoter, and pointed out that under Section 15 of the Act, all pending obligations transfer to the new promoter.
MREAT directed Purva Oak to execute agreements for sale with the appellants. The MREAT said that Purva Oak stepped into the shoes of Man Global and Man Realty and therefore, the accrued rights of the complainants remained unaffected and are subsisting, valid, as well as binding on parties.
The eight complainants booked the flats and paid advance amounts of 30% of the total considerations to Man Global Ltd in 2012, in anticipation of the flats in the proposed project at Thane. The homebuyers, who were represented by advocate Omkar Khanvilkar, made advance payments based on the promise that allotment letters would be issued within 30 days of the initial payments.
Thereafter, Nikhil Mansukhani, who was one of the directors of Man Global, approached the complainants to brief them on the cause of the delay in the issuance of allotment letters and for executing the agreements for sale. He then gave them options for exit and refunds of paid amounts.
Subsequently, the promoter issued refund letters with cheques to the appellants. However, these cheques were not deposited as per the oral instructions of the promoter not to deposit them.
MREAT observed that Man Global formally acknowledged advanced payments by issuing receipts that contain all the essential ingredients of the booking confirmation/allotment letters in favour of the appellants for the respective flats of their bookings.
The tribunal pointed out that the title search report, which is uploaded on the RERA website, also clearly shows that R1 and R2 are sister concerns and the complainants made these payments in the said project and not in Man Global or Man Realty entities.
MREAT also stated that Man Global took payments more than the threshold of 10%/20% of the total consideration, which is a breach/violation of the provisions prescribed, and the responsibility to execute the agreement lies with the present promoter.
Source Homevior.in
