• Builder not paying Pre-EMI Legal Notice received from Bank

Hi,
I had booked a flat with a reputed builder in 2016 in subvention scheme. The promised possession date given was of Dec'18. However the project is delayed now and new date of possession as per latest information is in Mar'2023. During the course of time, Builder has now stopped paying the Pre-EMI citing lack of funds and is asking me to pay the amount which he would adjust in final settlement. I also have received a bank legal notice asking to pay for the same. The reason for investing in subvention at a higher price was to not pay EMIs till possession, however with this seems the purpose is defeated.
Bank is now pressurizing either to pay the EMI or they would follow below

i. Recall the entire Facility, together with all its related outstanding dues.
ii. Commence appropriate legal proceedings under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 whereby the possession of the secured asset will be taken and auctioned vide public auction/ sale;
iii. Initiate suit of recovery of debt in a court of law and seek attachment of personal asset/s of the borrowers/ guarantors;
iv. Invoke provision of the cancellation as per Tripartite Agreement executed between Borrowers, Builder and Bank, if applicable, and direct the builder to cancel the property and refund the complete amount to Bank. Please note that the Borrowers will continue to be liable to pay the residual amount left after payment of cancellation amount by Builder
iv. Any other remedy available to bank under law for recovery of its debt

What are my legal options as i feel once i start paying the pre-emi's , builder will not take responsibility and there is no guarantee as far as delay in possession is concerned?
Is there a way ,
a) To ensure builder pays the Pre-EMI as advertised by them till possession?
b) Get my initial payment back from builder and cancel the deed altogether so that bank can recover its money?
c) Ensure that the in case i clear current dues, Builder pays the rest of EMI till possession?
Asked 2 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

2 answers received in 1 hour.

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7 Answers

1. you have to approach the RERA court u/s 18 for withdrawing from the project and for refund of your money so far paid with interest

2. you can join the bank as a respondent party 

3. however if you wish to continue in the project, then too i would suggest that you file the RERA complaint and before the final judgment, the parties can enter into consent terms in which it will be agreed that in case you agree to pay the pre-EMI of the bank, then the builder unconditionally undertakes to adjust the said amount against the final payment to be made by you and also undertakes to handover the possession of the flat within the period stated in the consent terms

4. have these consent terms filed in the RERA court and take a consent order which will be binding on the builder

5. this course is much better than entering into any private agreement with the builder

6. additionally since you would be agreeing to pay the pre-EMI of the bank, take a bank guarantee from the builder which you would invoke in the event the builder defaults in his commitments under the consent terms. This will ensure that there is an inbuilt mechanism in the consent terms itself which will safeguard you in the event the builder does not honour his obligations under the consent terms

7. however if you do not have the funds to pay the pre-EMI of the bank at all then you can simply withdraw from the project and take a refund of whatever money you have paid with interest. That will also terminate the triparty agreement for paying the pre-emi to the bank by the builder

8. the bank has to then recover its money from the builder. however this also depends on what was agreed in the triparty agreement. if the funds were credited to your account by the bank which you then paid to the builder then the bank will look to you for recovery of its dues. so if you get a favorable order from rera against the builder then he has to pay that money to you or to your bank directly. however enforcing such an order will be a headache

Yusuf Rampurawala
Advocate, Mumbai
7509 Answers
79 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

File complaint against builder before consumer forum and seek orders to pay per EMI as promised 

 

2) if builder fails to pay then you are liable to pay pre EMI as per terms of agreement 

 

3) if you fail to pay bank will take legal  proceedings against you 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94692 Answers
7527 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

- As per law, one can cancel the agreement for purchasing the said flat , and the builder is bound to refund the entire amount with 10% interest due to delay in possession of the flat.

- Since, the bank sanctioned the loan for purchasing the said flat in favour of you, then on the default of builder to pay the pre-EMI , the bank will force you for the same , and not the builder. 

- The agreement of promise to pay the EMI  is between you and the builder, and not with the bank.

- if , the builder not paying the same , and doing delay in possession , then for that the builder is responsible for breach of contract /agreement. 

- You should issue a legal notice to the builder, and thereby mention that by entering into the promise, the builder is bound with the clauses of the agreement, and to pay the pre-emi of the bank, and further state that if not doing so, then you will be constrained to file a case against him for the deficiency of services.

- If, no response, then file a complaint before the Consumer forum on the ground of deficiency of services.

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
13211 Answers
198 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Send a legal notice to builder and file a consumer complaint against the same

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
31930 Answers
179 Consultations

4.1 on 5.0

Under subvention schemes, the home buyer, banker and the developer enter into a tripartite agreement where the buyer pays 5-20 per cent of the money upfront. The rest is paid by the bank in the form of a loan which is disbursed to the developer to continue the construction work.

Importantly, the developer pays interest of the loan till the buyer takes possession of the property or till such time as mentioned in the buyer-developer agreement.

While you may consider one of the offers if you find it suitable, you should be wary of subvention schemes even if they look attractive.

Remember that nothing comes for free.

Under such arrangements, the actual borrower remains the home buyer. So if there’s any default in payment by the developer, it will be you, the home buyer, whose credit rating will get affected.

Complete due diligence must be done on the developer’s track record, past execution capabilities, completed versus under-construction ratios, project ownership arrangements and titles, among other things," 

If you still want to go for a subvention or similar scheme, double-check the developer’s credentials.

The National Housing Bank (NHB) has decided to put an end to the subvention scheme. This decision was taken in response to several complaints regarding frauds.

Therefore if the builder/developer fails to pay the EMI amount then the bank would initiate action against the home buyer/borrower to recover the loan amount as per the provisions of law. 

You cannot force the builder to abide by the conditions of the agreement, if there is any, but you can no doubt drag him to consumer forum for deficiency in service and unfair trade practice for this default in service and repayment. 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84893 Answers
2190 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Move to RERA. Get direction  to pay all arrear pre EMI by the buider.

File a case in consumer forum against the bank ill motivated and biased action to favour the builder. Seek order to restrain the bank from any recovery from you till project is completed.

All these steps to be taken without any further delay.

 

Kallol Majumdar
Advocate, Kolkata
2837 Answers
14 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear sir,

You can file a complaint before the Consumer forum against the builder seeking the payment. If builder fails to pay then you have to pay the Pre-EMI after which the bank has a right to proceed against you.

Thank you

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
8854 Answers
110 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

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