Hi All,
I have a 1 bedroom apt in JVS ( Manhattan)and its developed by Al Faraa group. I will be receiving the handover by Mid Aug. My question is:
1. I bought the apt in 2007 and in my agreement is says the handover date as Dec 2009 or 24 months from obtaining building permit. Al Faraa receievd the building permit only in feb 2009. However, they took almost 40-50% of the payment by mid 2009. Am i eligible to get a compensation since they sold the flat in 2007 without having the permit.
2. I have inspected the property and as per the agreement its 1054 SQFT. However the apt size is hardly 700 Sqft.I understand that there is a diff of 15-20% between actual carpet area and what's mentioned. But in this case its more than 30-35%. Also, when i asked Alfaraa to send me the internal dimensions of the apartment,they refused and said I can measure it after handover...
I feel cheated.
In my opinion, its hardly the case that you get any kind of compensation. Still you can visit some legal advisers dealing in property issues and discuss the matter with them. Then act according to their advise.
You can also visit the developer and discuss all the issues with him.
For the first part of your question, believe me you can pretty much forget about getting any compensation from the developer. Even in the good days, during the property boom when properties were not delivered in time, there was hardly any compensation paid.
Your best option is to contact the developer and discuss this matter with them and if they do not agree then you can seek advice from relevant authorities or contact RERA, but as I mentioned before it will most definitely be in vain. Anyways you should consider yourself quite lucky that at least your apartment will be delivered soon, I personally know many people who have paid 100% in advance a few years ago and are still waiting for the construction to being, which by the way there is no sign of happening. So honestly count your blessing and enjoy your apartment. Some things in life are not fair but the phrase something is better than nothing is totally applicable here.
Regarding the second part of the issue about the area not being the same, this is a clear breach of the contract and you should definitely seek legal advice or get the matter cleared with the developer. Having said that, there is one thing you need to clarify. There is a marked difference between the two terms, Net Area and Gross Area. Net area is the actual area of your apartment whereas Gross area is the actual area of your apartment plus the area of balcony and corridor area or landing area of your floor, which is outside your apartment (this is approximately the area of corridor divided by the number of apartments).
If they have quoted the Net area as 1054 Sq.ft and now the apartment area has been reduced, then you must confront them, perhaps seek legal advice and get your compensation. However its likely that they might have quoted the area as Gross area. If this is the case then for a Gross area of 1054 Sq.ft the apartment area will usually be 700 - 800 Sq.ft. Just check in your contract and clarify what kind of area has been mentioned so that you can weigh your options better.
I too have the same issues with my Apartment that i got. Firstly it has been delayed by over 1.5 years but nothing can be done about that but i too had a concern on the apartment size. The 1BHK i purchased is supposed to be 1154 Sq.ft but on inspection it looked smalled but i didnt think too much about it later on. Now that someone else has the same concerns, i too feel conned. The contract says 1154 sq.ft goss.
So my suspicion was correct. They advertised the area as GROSS.
As I mentioned above, the gross area would include the area of your apartment plus other areas such as floor corridor and balcony etc. In general the net area (actual area of your apartment) is usually 20% less than the gross area.
So in effect your apartment would seem 20% smaller than it should be; had the net area been 1154 Sq.ft.
In my opinion the developers should clarify this point at the time of selling the apartment, however this is a very common tactic that is used to lure the buyers into buying the apartments by making them look huge. I think this should be illegal, however not much notice of this issue has been taken by the land department.
I am sorry, but according to the contract your developer wins this time. Its unfortunate, however legally not much can be done about it. You can't challenge them as; per the contract the area is most likely correct.
Thanks Zeeshan, Yes i was aware that nothing can be done now but at handover i would ask this question to the developer since a other investors in this property also face the same issue.
An extract from the contract says:
Gross Saleable area means:
a) The net area of the unit, plus
b) A percentage of the common property; but does not include:
c) Any vertical transport area like lift core & ground floor substation
d) Any basement area of "The Manhattan", or any external or other car parking areas .
Additionally the building is ready and i had gone for inspection/snagging on June 15th 2011. Till date the handover has not happened and the reason cited by the developer is that the completion certificate is not yet been issued from the respective govt. agencies and the new handover date would be end of September. How long does it usually take for handover from the time of inspection? Does it usually take such a long time to get the completion certificate after the building is ready?
From my experience, sometimes there can be unusual delays and nobody knows exactly why but they do happen. Could be a delay from the land department as indicated by your developer or maybe they have an internal issue to sort out.
Even in the good days, these delays use to happen. Just be a little more patient and hopefully things will sort out in time.
I would second with Mr.Zeeshan as the delays usually happen without any real cause. Almost every buyer have to wait some extra time because the projects are too big to be completed on time. You have waited so long for the completion of this property, why not just wait for another month or so.
(7 Answers)
