Buying an apartment/flat? Few things to be cautious about
Are you planning to buy an apartment or have already booked one and waiting for possession? Every builder these days claims to be the best in the industry, but ever wondered what the reality is?
Here I share the story from my own buying experience and a few pointers to keep in mind. Hope these help you in your endeavor.
The builder I bought my apartment from, like all others claimed to be the best in the industry, but in reality, the apartment complex dint even have a properly implemented ‘Rainwater Harvesting System’, which by the way is mandatory.
Another major problem was the fire water pump. The starter of the pump is placed at the open terrace which is the 10th floor of the apartment building. In case of a fire, we are expected to run all the way up to the 10th floor of a burning building (considering the lift is not to be used during such emergencies) and switch on the pump and run all the back down to put off the fire. Seriously, is this what you call planning, Mr. reputed builder?
Anyways, moving further there were much more such issues, which the builder promised to take care of but gradually ignored. When I voiced this concern, 85% of the resident owners of my apartment complex disregarded these flaws and now, when the control of the apartment complex has been transferred to the Resident Owners Welfare Association, want the association to resolve the problems using the maintenance funds.
Few pointers to keep in mind while you buy a flat/apartment;
- Defects found inside your flat or in the common areas must be reported to the builder in registered letter.
- Employ a suitable consultant (a chartered engineer or similar) to identify flaws in construction as soon as the flats are handed over (this point was suggested by a lawyer).
- Keep sending reminders for consolidated list of complaints and keep record of such reminders. Don’t be complacent with the promises of the customer care personnel of the companies.
- If the issues are not resolved; submit a consumer complaint petition to the Consumer Forum before the completion of two years from the date of the handing over first apartment in the complex. I consider the two year period in which the consumer complaint petition is to be submitted against any issue is calculated as below;(a, b and c below are only my logical assumptions and may not be correct. Readers are suggested to verify these from suitable persons).
a. For problems within individually allotted area (i.e. within the flat or car park), 2 years may start from the day the key was handed over to the buyer.
b. For problems in common areas and common amenities, 2 years may start from the date of hand over of the complex to the Residents Association and/or hand over of all drawings and documents to the Residents Association.
c. For problems raised out of any contradicting clarifications issued by builder regarding the sale of the property or amenities in the complex, probably you can appeal to the consumer court as and when such litigation arises because of the act of the builder. Builder is supposed to be transparent with every deal. If he tries to conceal/hide certain facts regarding the sale or the amenities, it may be possible to raise it anytime when it is revealed.
- Documents and drawings need to be handed over to the Association of Residents. This includes parent documents of land, building approval drawings with the seal of the respective building approval authority, electrical drawings approved by the Chief Electrical Inspector, plumbing drawings, internal wiring layout of flats and common areas, fire water pipeline and hydrants layout.
A builder must supply maintenance and operations manual of all equipment such as water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, swimming pool filtration units, Reverse Osmosis units, diesel generator sets, air conditioners in common areas, lifts etc.
- The original receipt of Metro Water Board must be collected from the builder. The builder deposits a substantial amount to the Metro Water Board on behalf of buyers. This amount can be adjusted against future water consumption bills by surrendering the original receipt of the deposit with the list of Metro water tax assessment number of all owners and a covering letter to that effect by the Association to Metro Water Department.
- According to a Supreme Court ruling in Maharashtra, the stilt covered car parks cannot be charged and they are common areas that come under undivided share of land. But, many builders seem to foul play with the stilt area by favouring some buyers and allocating larger area car parks for them. Buyers should be cautious about such acts of the. If the builder says that he will allocate additional car parks on ‘first come first served’ basis, his right to do this must be checked & questioned.The sale deed is registered for undivided share of total land and the built up area of the flat is between the builder and buyer. The undivided share of land is common area and jointly owned by all buyers and the builder doesn’t have any right to charge the buyer for spare area of the common land by allotting a second car park for some buyers.
- All ‘common’ and ‘not common’ areas must be made known to the buyers.
*The content of this article is user generated and CommonFloor.com does not take any responsibility nor guarantee toward the facts and figures mentioned in the content of this article.
