shweta (NA) 13 February 2012

Cancellation of purchase agreement - help required

Hi All,

We bought a flat from a reputed builder in 2008, which was to be completed in 2009, however it got delayed and few months back we received call that the handover has begun. Since we are not currently in India, we were not able to check on the progress, but while we visited the property last week while we were in India, the property is not as expected, there are cracks all over the walls, parking lot is still not finished and the promised amenities not in place. However the owners of other flats in the same apartment have accepted the handover and gave it on lease to other company.

The sheen for which we had purchased our flat has all gone, it looks like a gloomy place, with no amenities. Now we do not want to accept the flat. Is there any way to cancel the purchase agreement.

We had paid 100% amount and we are ready to lose some amount as penality but really would like to cancel it. When we approached the builder, we were told its not possible. Pls could somebody assist us if there is any way to come out of the purchase agreement ?

Regards,

Shweta

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4 Replies

Adv.R.P.Chugh (Advocate/Legal Consultant (rpchughadvocatesupremecourt@hotmail.com)) 13 February 2012

Dear Ms.Shweta,

Serve the builder a legal notice - expressing how the real apartment is different from the one that he promised - and ask for a cancellation. If he refuses to do so. We can obviously go to the court - rescinding the contract as the same can be avoided on the grounds of misrepresentation and fraud.

Bharatkumar (ADVOCATE ) 13 February 2012

Hi,

U cancellation your booking and if builder is not agree with u, u can give a notice for that and u can file a suit in consumer court for that.

malipeddi jaggarao (retired banker) 14 February 2012

If you serve a notice and if there is no positive response, you may have to file a suit for rescinding the contract. The problem is you have paid 100% sale price already which will be locked in during the pendency of the case. Alternatively as you willing to bear some loss, you can ask the builder to arrange for another party and make adjustments to transfer the property to new buyer. This may be possible because there are two positive points in your favour. All other co-purchasers accepted the property. That means the property is not that bad but it is not suitable to your requirements/taste etc. The second is since you are even willing to forego some amount, the prospective buyer can take this advatange and also the advantage of cost esclanation of the property. Have a dialogue with the builder to find out alternative buyer. If this is not possible only way is to take legal recourse initially serving a notice. If the builder is renowned, he would help you in finding alternative buyer.

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer) 17 February 2012

Going to the consumer court will be better than going to Civil Court. You may have to file your complaint before the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission depending on the value of your claim. " All other co-purchasers accepted the property. That means the property is not that bad but it is not suitable to your requirements/taste etc" This is the standard excuse for all dealers and sellers of things. They take advantage of this argument because the awareness of consumer rights is very poor in this country. You will only weaken your case if you give space to that argument. Also you will suffer heavy loss when you try to sell to another purchaser. If that was possible the builder himself can repurchase the property from you. Before you resort to legal remedy get the quality of the property assessed by a qualified architect and get an assessment certificate from him to be produced in the court. If you try to do this after filing the case, the builder may play some make-up tricks.