By I C Naik
In a recent story on Mumbai Administration extending deemed conveyance facility to housing societies till December 31 2014, we raised a question as to why the Developers who are entrusted with a statutory responsibility to transfer rights, title and interest in the property by executing deed of conveyance under MOFA are not dealt with appropriately. We are closed to finding an answer.
As per a recent report the Building Contractor is ordered to reimburse Rs 7,80,000 paid as tax and expenses by the flat owners prior to formation of the housing society in Mumbai.
In a breathtaking order the Maharashtra state consumer commission has held” “The builder is liable to pay municipal taxes and other expenses towards the building constructed by him, till the property is conveyed to the cooperative society of home-owners”
The forum has directed builder to refund to Heritage View cooperative housing society at Vile Parle as municipal taxes and other outgoings, along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from September 2011, when the society had filed the complaint.
“Provisions of Section 6 of the MOFA (Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963) are squarely applicable in this case for the neglect and failure of the opponents to discharge their duty to transfer rights, title and interest in the property by executing deed of conveyance,” the consumer commission declared.
The panel ruled in their favour, after the lawyer for the housing society, Ajay Pawar, pointed out provisions of section 6 of the MOFA, which say that it is the builder’s duty to pay property tax, ground rent, municipal taxes, water and electricity expenses, among others until the property is transferred to the cooperative housing society.
One Hemani Builders had constructed the building and handed over the possession of the flats to the residents in 1999. But he had failed to obtain the occupancy certificate (OC) from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, to register the cooperative housing society and to convey the property to the society.
The ad-hoc committee of the enlightened members of the cooperative society to be formed, approached the consumer commission in September 2011, seeking direction for the builder to obtain the occupancy certificate, convey the property to the society and refund the ` 7.8 lakh it had paid towards statutory outgoings an example worth emulating by thousands of societies spending fortunes on getting deemed conveyance after nothing is left by builders to benefit out of it.
Even though the notice was issued to builder, he decided not to contest it rather ignore it. The State Consumer Commission decided on the complaint ex-parte and held the builder guilty and liable to refund outgoings already paid by the society.
The forum also asked the builder to refund the ` 63,000 he had collected from homebuyers for the registration of the housing society, which the home-owners had done themselves in 2013. The forum has also asked the builder to obtain the OC from the civic body and convey the property to the society within the next four months.
With increasing awareness and courage to lock horns with builder lobby, the cooperators can certainly have their way to set things in place. Cooperative housing society should be thankful to the Maharashtra state consumer commission to show the way. Cooperatives need not beg of the Government to extend Deemed Conveyance facility.