KRERA orders Sterling to Handover Villa to Homebuyer After 12 Years Delay

After a 12-year delay, the Karnataka RERA Tribunal (KREAT) has ordered Sterling Developers, a realtor located in Bengaluru, to deliver a luxurious villa to a 75-year-old buyer. The Tribunal ordered Sterling Urban Developers Pvt Ltd to give physical possession of the villa and pay interest at a rate of 9 percent annually for each month of delay for five years, overturning an earlier Karnataka RERA judgment.

In accordance with Section 8 of the Karnataka Ownership Flats (Regulation, Sale, Management and Transfer), Act, 1972, the Tribunal further mandated that the developer pay 9 percent annual interest for each month that the villa was not turned over till April 2017.

The buyer in the case, Devki Nandan, had paid more than Rs. 3 crore for the home and had been waiting since 2012 to move in. In accordance with Section 8 of the Karnataka Ownership Flats (Regulation, Sale, Management, and Transfer) Act, 1972, the Tribunal further ordered the real estate developer to pay delay interest at a rate of 9 percent annually for each month of delay until April 2017.

On September 6, 2012, Nandan signed a contract with the developer to pay Rs. 3.2 crore for a home, with possession due in December 2013. However, the developer did not provide physical possession even after registering the absolute sale deed in January 2014.

The Tribunal's ruling states that between 2014 and 2019, Nandan sent the developer many emails asking to take control of the villa.

Nandan complained to KRERA and requested an order to transfer possession after the developer ignored her repeated efforts to comply. KRERA, however, dismissed the complaint in May 2023, stating that the project had obtained a partial occupancy certificate (OC) in January 2017—before the RERA Act of 2016 was put into effect.

"The order dated May 2023, passed by the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority, is hereby set aside. Sterling Urban Developers Private Limited is directed to hand over the physical possession of the Villa bearing No C-96 to the allottee within one month," the order stated.