Builder told to form flat owners’ society

Panaji: The North Goa District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission ordered a builder to form a society or association of flat owners within three months for management of the building. If the builder failed to comply with the order within the given time, flat owners would be allowed to form the society on their own.

The commission issued the order on the complaint by A M Ashwinkumar, a resident of Carambolim who bought two single-bedroom flats for his aged parents on the first floor of the Dimension Residency from Dimension Builders in 2010. Ashwinkumar told the commission that he, along with his parents, moved into the flats in June 2012 and immediately noticed that bathroom tiles were improperly fitted, misaligned, and not properly filled. After he informed the developer about it, necessary repairs were done.

But a month later, he said, multiple defects in the flat were noted. Bathrooms and bedrooms were leaking, and faults in the electrical control panel were found.

The builder assured to carry out repairs post-monsoon, but despite multiple complaints, nothing was done, the complainant told the commission.

With no sign of Dimension Builders repairing the building, on June 30, 2023, Ashwinkumar sent a legal notice claiming compensation of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 35,000 as cost towards legal expenses.

The commission, comprising president Bela Naik and members Auroliano De Oliveira and Rejitha Rajan, observed that even though the agreement of sale does not impose an obligation to form a society, the framework of the contract dictates that it be formed, and failure can be construed as deficiency of service.

The commission refused to consider the plea for compensation by Ashwinkumar since the complaint was filed eight years after the deed of sale was signed.

The law states a complaint should be filed within two years from structural deficiencies in the structure being found.