Delays in building projects, property frauds, defaulting on agreement ? if you have booked a project with a wrong developer, you can face all these issues.You can always take the legal route, but that takes so much time, that it can end up adding to your pain. This is the reason why consumer courts have started handling the real estate cases where the purchased goods or services are worth less than Rs 1 crore. There is no need to even hire a lawyer for registering a complaint in the consumer court.

File a Case against Real Estate Agents in Consumer Court

First Step

Firstly, you should send a legal notice to the construction companyor builder before you complain to the consumer court. Ensure that the legal notice is well-drafted by an experienced lawyer who handles consumer court cases. It should include all the necessary information like the gap in the service that was faced by the consumer and what remedies were asked for.

Second Step

If the builder is willing to resolve the issue, they can send a reply to the legal notice stating a sincere reason for the delay or take the necessary steps to rectify their errors. If the builder does not do any of these things, you can continue and file a consumer complaint against the builder.

Third Step

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 allows you to file a complaint against the builder after consulting with a good property lawyer in India. The lawyer will examine the facts of your case and file a complaint with the rightconsumer forum in India. The consumer forums in India are categorized on the basis of the value of cases they can accept:

• If the property value and claim made is less than Rs. 20 lakhs, the complaint should filed with the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum.
• If the property value and claim made is more than Rs. 20 lakhs but less than Rs. 1 crore, the complaint can be filed with the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission.
• If the property value and claim is more than Rs. 1 crore, a complaint should ve filed with the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission.

The complaint should contain the following information:

• Details of the builder and the buyer.
• The property details
• The nature of grievance faced by the buyer.
• The relief requested for from the consumer court.

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Fourth Step

You must submit relevant documents like a copy of the legal notice, the property agreement, the proof of payment made to the builder, and so on as well as the designated court fee in the form of a demand draft along with the complaint.

Fifth Step

You can cancel the property booking and ask for a full refund of the amount paid to the builder along with interest on this amount as well as compensation for damages. If you do not want to cancel your booking, you can request the court to order the builder for to deliver the property within a suitable period.

Types of defaults you can complain against Real Estate Agents

• Construction on illegally acquired land
• Delay in delivering possession
• Not providing completion certificate
• Sub-standard work
• Enhanced external development charges
• Forfeiture of the amount
• Construction without approvals
• Creation of third party interest
• Change of land use, layout plan, structures with the approval of allottee
• Fraud in booking
• Cancellation of the project
• Hidden charges

Consumer Court Fee Details

In district forums

0-1 Lakh Rs- 100 Rs

Beetwen 1-5 Lakh- 200 Rs

Beetween 5-10 Lakh- 400 Rs

Beetween 10-20 Lakh- 500 Rs

In State Forums

Large than Rs 20 Lakh but Less than Rs 50 Lakh- 2000 Rs

Large than Rs 50 Lakh and till Rs 1 Crore- 4000 Rs

 

In the National Commision

A standard amount of Rs 5,000

There are many good property lawyers in India who can help you file a consumer complaint. If your building developer has caused you unnecessary hassle, this is the way you can ask for redressal.