 "Home buyers protest")
Some 350 members of a Gurgaon home owners’ association gathered at Jantar Mantar this morning in the autumn Sun. It was the same venue in the capital that was on fire since 2011 when Anna Hazare began his agitation against the system, giving activism a new coinage. Today, the unrest was against a leading developer, DLF, for not delivering apartments on time and its alleged refusal to pay a compensation to frustrated buyers. This is not a solitary case. Most big developers across the country are experiencing customer activism and the trend is only likely to pick up in a big way, pointed out analysts tracking the sector, that’s been in the middle of a slowdown due to dip in demand. In fact, another protest by a group of home buyers is ready to hit the streets tomorrow itself against Unitech, a prominent builder.
With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) putting an end to the 80-20 subvention scheme, new governor Raghuram Rajan has perhaps indicated the central bank’s lack of confidence in builders, said Sanjay Sharma, managing director at Qubrex, a real estate consulting firm. That, in turn, would encourage more and more buyers to come out in the open and speak against developers, according to Sharma. With investors finding it hard to exit a market which has seen prices stagnant, consumer activism will rise even further, he said.
Nitin Grover, president, New Town Heights Home Owners Association, Gurgaon, told Business Standard that he and other members, who had collected at Jantar Mantar this morning and had then moved to the corporate headquarters of DLF just a small walk away to shout slogans, would continue to agitate till they are treated fairly. Most of them professionals, the protestors included many from as far as Dubai, Bangalore and Mumbai.
Responding to a query on the protest, a DLF spokesperson said, “we have started the process of giving possession of housing units at New Town Heights project as per the commitment given to the valuable customers.” He added that the company has so far received payments from 948 of the 2607 allottees and issued 871 possession letters. “The remaining possession letters are under process and will be issued as customers complete payments and paperwork.” He also said that “as a responsible developer, we have addressed most of the concerns of our valuable customers.”
Meanwhile, the buyers’ association of Unitech Uniworld Gardens, which is planning a march at MG Road (Gurgaon) tomorrow, is also working out the modalities of a protest at the company’s upcoming annual general meeting on September 26. That protest will be for delay in delivery of flats across four projects, said Shailendra Bais, a member of the association. This is a project with 16 towers and 896 apartments, sold for up to Rs 3,000 per sq ft.
According to a Unitech spokesperson, “we have submitted to the state town planner and other relevant authorities that we will start delivery of Uniworld Gardens from the first quarter of 2014.” He added that the deliveries would be dependent on the clearance of encroachment on adjoining HUDA land which will provide approach road to the Uniworld Garden society. The spokesperson pointed out that Unitech was following up with the relevant authorities to clear the encroachment.
Analysts observed that a common pool of lawyers is helping out consumers facing significant delay in delivery of houses and who are now in a mood to agitate against unfair practices. Grover, while admitting that Hazare movement has had its rub-off effect, argued, “lawyers may be helping us in the court, but consumers are protesting because of their frustration. They realize they need to be on the street, otherwise abuse will only increase.”
Apart from DLF, developers dragged to CCI by agitated home owners in the past two years include Hiranandani Infrastructure & Real Estate Company, Raheja Developers, Omaxe Group, Kolkata West International City, Exact Developers and Today Home.
With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) putting an end to the 80-20 subvention scheme, new governor Raghuram Rajan has perhaps indicated the central bank’s lack of confidence in builders, said Sanjay Sharma, managing director at Qubrex, a real estate consulting firm. That, in turn, would encourage more and more buyers to come out in the open and speak against developers, according to Sharma. With investors finding it hard to exit a market which has seen prices stagnant, consumer activism will rise even further, he said.
Nitin Grover, president, New Town Heights Home Owners Association, Gurgaon, told Business Standard that he and other members, who had collected at Jantar Mantar this morning and had then moved to the corporate headquarters of DLF just a small walk away to shout slogans, would continue to agitate till they are treated fairly. Most of them professionals, the protestors included many from as far as Dubai, Bangalore and Mumbai.
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They had bought flats, ranging from 1900 sq ft to 3300 sq ft, at New Town Heights for anything between Rs 50 lakh and 1 crore around four years ago, but most of them are yet to get possession. The project for 3,400 flats was launched in 2009, with a promised delivery in 2011. Recently, 80 flats were given out for possession but construction is yet to complete there, according to Manish Kamra, a buyer. “We will come back to Jantar Mantar again and again to protest. We were here two months ago also, but we didn’t get any commitment from the builder.” The case is already with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which had earlier imposed a fine of Rs 650 crore on DLF for a different housing project—Bellaire—but the company secured a stay on the matter subsequently. Advocate ML Lahoty, who was a key lawyer for the Bellaire buyers, is advising the New Town Heights association too.
Responding to a query on the protest, a DLF spokesperson said, “we have started the process of giving possession of housing units at New Town Heights project as per the commitment given to the valuable customers.” He added that the company has so far received payments from 948 of the 2607 allottees and issued 871 possession letters. “The remaining possession letters are under process and will be issued as customers complete payments and paperwork.” He also said that “as a responsible developer, we have addressed most of the concerns of our valuable customers.”
Meanwhile, the buyers’ association of Unitech Uniworld Gardens, which is planning a march at MG Road (Gurgaon) tomorrow, is also working out the modalities of a protest at the company’s upcoming annual general meeting on September 26. That protest will be for delay in delivery of flats across four projects, said Shailendra Bais, a member of the association. This is a project with 16 towers and 896 apartments, sold for up to Rs 3,000 per sq ft.
According to a Unitech spokesperson, “we have submitted to the state town planner and other relevant authorities that we will start delivery of Uniworld Gardens from the first quarter of 2014.” He added that the deliveries would be dependent on the clearance of encroachment on adjoining HUDA land which will provide approach road to the Uniworld Garden society. The spokesperson pointed out that Unitech was following up with the relevant authorities to clear the encroachment.
Analysts observed that a common pool of lawyers is helping out consumers facing significant delay in delivery of houses and who are now in a mood to agitate against unfair practices. Grover, while admitting that Hazare movement has had its rub-off effect, argued, “lawyers may be helping us in the court, but consumers are protesting because of their frustration. They realize they need to be on the street, otherwise abuse will only increase.”
Apart from DLF, developers dragged to CCI by agitated home owners in the past two years include Hiranandani Infrastructure & Real Estate Company, Raheja Developers, Omaxe Group, Kolkata West International City, Exact Developers and Today Home.