The Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TN RERA) has said labour shortages, material constraints and approval delays are ‘lame excuses’ for project delays, holding a developer in breach for cancelling an allotment and reselling the unit.
The authority ordered the builder to provide the buyer with a comparable unit within the same project, matching the original specifications and pricing agreed at the time of booking.
“This authority is of the view that the Respondent shall handover the possession of an apartment with similar specifications similar to the originally booked apartment in the same project to the Complainant at the terms and conditions agreed between the parties…,” the order said.
The case
In this case, the buyer had booked a 2.5 BHK flat on the 19th floor of a project in Jalladianpettai, Sholinganallur, Chennai. The flat had a saleable area of 1,489 sq ft and included one car parking space.
The total cost of the flat was ₹62.59 lakh. He paid an advance of ₹50,000 on March 20, 2021. The builder also agreed to transfer 298 sq ft of undivided land share for ₹7.82 lakh.
“The complainant submits that at the time of booking in March 2021, the Respondent had assured the delivery of the flat on or before 30.06.2021, based on which the Complainant paid the booking amount of Rs.50,000/- on 21.03.2021 and a further sum of Rs.9,12,896/- on 24.03.2021, in compliance with the payment schedule under the Construction Agreement dated 24.03.2021,” the order mentioned.
The buyer later discovered through an encumbrance certificate that the same flat had been sold to another buyer on October 24, 2024, for ₹1.11 crore.
The complainant maintained that he had fulfilled his payment commitments and was not responsible for any delay in the project. He said the cancellation of his allotment and subsequent resale of the flat put him under financial pressure, as he was simultaneously paying rent and servicing his home loan.
The developer, however, attributed the delay to external factors such as natural calamities, labour shortages, lack of construction materials, and delays in securing approvals. It also claimed that the complainant had defaulted on subsequent payments despite repeated reminders.
The order
Rejecting these arguments, the authority held that such reasons cannot constitute valid grounds for project delays under the regulatory framework. It observed that developers are expected to factor in such contingencies while committing delivery timelines to buyers.
“The Respondent has submitted that delay in construction occurred due to natural calamities, labour and material shortage, delay in statutory approvals etc. All these reasons are very generic in nature and cannot be held as valid reasons for delay,” the authority said.
“It is the responsibility of the Respondent to arrange labour and construction material and obtain statutory approvals. It is beyond the apprehension of this Authority what kind of statutory approvals the Respondent is talking about when the project has already been registered with TNRERA. All these approvals are obtained before launching the project. The Authority is of the opinion that the reasons cited for delay by the Respondent are lame excuses and not convincing. Thus, the Respondent is held responsible for the delay in handing over the possession of the apartment to the Complainant in spite of the Complainant paying the amount as required by the agreement,” the order said.
