No possession of flat after 3 years of signing sale agreement: Homebuyer to get Rs 14.17 lakh refund with Rs 6.4 lakh interest; know how she won the case in TGRERA

In a recent judgement, Telangana RERA provided relief to Mrs Lily Sahu from Brahmapur Sadar, Ganjam, Odisha. This came after the builder based in Banjara Hills, from whom she had bought a flat, stopped responding. It has been over three years since HMDA gave permission for the project, yet she still hasn’t received her flat.

Telangana RERA noted that the Agreement of Sale signed by the builder and Sahu stipulated that the flat was to be handed over within 36 months from the date of obtaining building permissions from HMDA. However, the builder has neither obtained the requisite statutory approvals nor started any legal construction work on the site. Consequently, no progress has been made towards completion of the project, and Sahu hasn’t received possession of her flat.

What happened with Sahu?

Mrs Sahu signed the agreement of sale on June 21, 2022 after paying Rs 14.17 lakh out of total price Rs 56.7 lakh. She was allotted a 3BHK flat in the 1st Floor and measuring 1575 square feet. Her flat is a west facing unit and includes all amenities and car parking along with proportionate undivided share of land. The site is in Velimela Village, Ramachandrapuram Mandal, Sangareddy District, Telangana.


Mr Chekka Venkata Subramanyam is the MD of the company which is developing this project. However, despite receipt of Rs 14.17 lakh as part payments the builder has neither completed the project nor handed over possession of the subject flat even after expiry of the contractual period.

Moreover, when Telangana RERA sent the builder a notice, nobody turned up and chose not to dispute the averments (allegations) made by Sahu.

On August 24, 2026 Sahu won the case in Telangana RERA as the RERA authority said that Sahu should be refunded the full money with interest and on failing to do so, the builder would have to pay a penalty under Section 63 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

Also read: 5069 sq ft advertised, 3900 sq ft delivered : Telangana RERA orders Rs 20 lakh refund for homebuyer and Rs 98 lakh penalty for builder. Know what happened

How did Mrs Sahu win the case?

Aradhana Bhansali, Senior Partner at Rajani Associates, said to ET Wealth Online that the events leading to the present case are peculiar, as the promoter/developer had already been declared a defaulter under RERA and the project registration had been revoked.

The promoter was already prohibited from undertaking, advertising, marketing, booking, selling, or registering any new project, or acting as a real estate agent, until all outstanding dues, refunds, interest, penalties, and regulatory compliances were discharged. These circumstances clearly demonstrated the promoter’s abandonment of the project and failure to discharge its statutory obligations.

Bhansali says: "Therefore, the homebuyer had not only succeeded on legal grounds but also on the basis of the facts supported by documents entitling the allottee to withdraw from the project and obtain refund of the amount paid with applicable interest under Section 18(1)(a) of RERA."

According to Bhansali, the amounts adjudicated by the Telangana RERA Authority against an erring promoter are required to be paid within the stipulated period prescribed in the order. Failure to comply with a refund order attracts a continuing penalty for every day during which the default persists, which may cumulatively extend up to five per cent of the estimated cost of the real estate project, as determined by the Authority.

However, in order to recover the amounts payable by the promoter, the homebuyer has a statutory right to seek execution of the order. The amounts ordered to be paid under RERA are recoverable as arrears of land revenue. Accordingly, the allottee is entitled to seek disclosure of the promoter’s assets and, where necessary, attachment and sale of such assets for recovery of the amounts due under the order.

Also read: Paid Rs 14.51 lakh for a home in Gurugram, buyer finds no progress at construction site as builder lost registration; HRERA directs refund with 10.80% interest

Bhansali says that the powers available for enforcement and recovery are akin to those exercised by a Civil Court, particularly with respect to disclosure, attachment, and sale of properties for satisfaction of the amount awarded.

Bhansali says: "These mechanisms are encapsulated in Sections 40(1) and 40(2) of the RERA under which amounts payable towards interest, penalty, or compensation may be recovered from the promoter as arrears of land revenue."

Telangana RERA discussion

The builder already has been declared as defaulter and many other homebuyers had already filed cases against it

Telangana RERA authority observed that several homebuyers have already filed complaints against the builder and the TGRERA authority has adjudicated them for undertaking sale and marketing of units without obtaining mandatory registration under the RERA Act, and accordingly imposed the statutory penalty upon the builder.

The Telangana RERA observed: “...In Complaint No.264 of 2024, the Authority had taken cognisance of similar violations and had declared the Respondent (builder) as a defaulter.”

Builder has deliberately chosen a dishonest course of conduct

The Telangana RERA authority observed that the builder has failed to honour its obligations under RE(R&D) Act, 2016 and also the contractual obligations undertaken under the sale agreement.

The conduct of the Respondent clearly shows continued inaction and abandonment of its obligations towards Sahu.

Telangana RERA authority observed: “Such continued inaction, despite having collected substantial amounts from the Complainant, reflects a deliberate and dishonest course of conduct on the part of the Promoter.”

Builder has completely abandoned the project; so Sahu should get a refund instead of continuing with the project

The Telangana RERA observed that the builder has completely abandoned the project and, in all proceedings pertaining to this project, has failed to establish any genuine intent or credible plan to initiate or resume construction.

As it stands now, the housing project has remained stalled for several years now and all indications say that the builder has abandoned the development altogether. The Telangana RERA said that they deemed it appropriate to grant relief to Sahu in the form of a refund of Rs 14.17 lakh she paid.

Accordingly, Telangana RERA said that Sahu will get Rs 14.17 lakh refund plus interest prescribed under Rule 15 of the Telangana Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017 which is State Bank of India's Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR) plus 2% per annum extra.

The rules also say that the time period of this interest calculation must start from the respective dates of payments made until the full and final realisation of the refund amount.

By our estimated calculations, if the Rs 14.175 lakh was divided roughly equally between the three dates and applying the historical SBI MCLR + 2% rates:

• Principal: Rs 14,17,500
• Estimated interest till August 24, 2026: Rs 6,40,000