Real Estate: Relief for home buyers: Society’s right to vacant land along with building, blow to builders

Real Estate | The Bombay High Court has given a very important and comforting decision for housing societies and home buyers. The verdict has brought clarity to thousands of societies across the state regarding their rights and has largely given direction to the years-long dispute between builders and buyers.

The court clearly stated in its judgment that the rights of the members of the housing society are not limited to the four walls of the building. Rather, society members also have equal right to all facilities necessary for the smooth and safe use of that building, such as open spaces, parking areas, internal roads, gardens, playgrounds and other public utility spaces. Therefore, the court held that it was against the law for the builders to transfer only the constructed portion and retain possession of the remaining vacant land. Real Estate

The case started with a petition filed by a co-operative housing society in Bhayandar. This organization had challenged the order passed by the district deputy registrar. According to that order, only the transfer of the land under the building was granted, while the rights to the rest of the open space were denied. This created dissatisfaction among the society members. However, the High Court quashed this order and gave an important decision in favor of the society.

The judgment delivered by a single bench headed by Justice Amit Borkar made extensive reference to the MOFA Act. The court explained that the basic purpose of this Act is to protect the rights of home buyers. Therefore, builders controlling the vacant or valuable land and giving only the building portion to the society defeats the very purpose of the Act. Real Estate

The court further noted that the facilities such as parking spaces, entryways for emergency services, internal roads, gardens and playgrounds are all integral parts of the building. Therefore, it is mandatory to include these seats in the accepted transfer. Besides, if there is more than one society in a large layout, all those societies will get proportionate rights to the common spaces, the court also clarified.

Pursuant to this judgment, the authorities concerned have been directed to issue a revised Acceptable Transfer Certificate to the society within eight weeks. So the concerned society will get legal rights not only on the building but also on the open spaces in the entire layout. Real Estate

The impact of this decision will not be limited to just one case, but will affect thousands of housing societies across the state. In many places, vacant lots were being retained by builders for commercial use or reserved for future profits. Now this verdict is likely to put a stop to such practices.

Also, this decision will give more confidence to home buyers. Along with the house they have bought, they will also get legal assurance that they are entitled to the open space, parking and other facilities in the area. This will reduce disputes between societies in future and bring more transparency in the housing system in urban areas.