Builder made to pay for leak in flat

Following article was published in The Times of India Mumbai edition on 30^th August 2011. This article may be of interest to readers of the blog and is being reproduced here. If you are the flat-owner whether in Mahindra Eminente complex or anywhere and are faced with the problem of the leakage, now you know that builders can’t go scot-free for deficiency in service. One just needs to wear “Mein Anna Hoon” topi and get after the cheat developer of your complex. Is top management of Mahindra Lifespaces Developers Limited getting the message? Or they continue to allow the mediocre project management team & band of contractors to play havoc with brand for short-term gains.

 

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Builder made to pay for leak in flat

 

Rebecca Samervel TNN 

In a victory for citizens who are short-changed by builders, a district forum recently ordered a developer to pay Rs 50,000 to an Andheri resident for leaks in his flat due to faulty construction. 

Cordcon Builders Pvt Ltd will have to pay the amount to Anant Shirotiya as reimbursement for the money he spent on repairing the damage and the mental agony he suffered due to the leakage. 

In March 2002, Shirotiya booked a flat in Cordcon’s highrise, Sagar City. He received possession of the flat in December 2004. In the complaint filed in the Mumbai Suburban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in 2008, Shirotiya said he noticed dampness in his flat due to leakage during the monsoon in 2004 and brought it to the notice of the builder’s management. He faced a similar problem during the monsoon of 2005. Between August 2005 and January 2006, Shirotiya sent three written complaints to the builder about the problem. However, he received no response. Shirotiya said household articles such as bed, cupboard and kitchenware were damaged due to the leakage. 

In August 2006, Shirotiya sent the builder a legal notice and asked the firm to repair the damage within five days. But he did not get any response. Shirotiya sent another notice to Cordcon in September 2006, saying he was going to repair the damage on his own. On September 20, 2006, Cordcon said it would do the needful after the rainy season. 

Having already spent Rs 31,000 on repairs, Shirotiya filed a complaint in the forum and submitted photographs showing the damage. 

The forum held Cordcon guilty of deficiency in service.

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