SC Ruling: Homebuyers Can Seek Compensation After Possession

The Supreme Court ruled this week that homebuyers can claim compensation for delayed possession of apartments even after they have already taken possession. The decision, reported by The Economic Times, sets aside a 2016 order from the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission that had blocked a Delhi homebuyer's claim on the grounds that he was no longer a 'consumer' once he accepted possession.

The case dates back to 2003, when the buyer joined a Delhi housing society, paid the full amount and signed an agreement in February 2004. Possession was delayed. He filed a complaint with the consumer forum in August 2005 seeking compensation. The dispute went through arbitration, the Delhi State Commission, the NCDRC, and finally the apex court. The NCDRC had dismissed his revision petition in 2016, saying the homebuyer was not a consumer at the time of filing. The SC rejected that reasoning, calling it unsustainable.

The ruling clarifies that a claim for compensation relates to the period during which possession was delayed, not to the act of taking possession itself. 'The subsequent receipt of possession cannot, by itself, extinguish the right of the allottee to seek adjudication of a claim for compensation for the alleged delay,' the court said.