Your property-related legal queries answered by S.C. RAGHURAM, Partner, RANK Associates, a Chennai-based law firm

I booked a house in a gated community in Chrompet and the builder handed it over in 2014. Although he had a completion certificate, the community lacked amenities such as a club house, for which I paid an additionalR1.5 lakh. When we questioned the builder he said since there is no mention of a specific timeline for amenities in the agreement, he would take his time to get the work done. Besides charging exorbitant maintenance costs he also collected consumption charges without applying for a common meter. No accounts have been submitted by him for any expense and we haven’t been able to form a resident association yet.

Anonymous

Chennai

The terms of the agreement, correspondence between the parties or any representation made by the builder at the time of booking the apartment are the factors which have to be looked into to address your query. If all the residents of completed blocks are not coming together to form the association, you can explore the possibility of taking up the matter individually with the builder based on the terms agreed. If your grievance persists, you can approach the consumer redressal forum for necessary relief.