Two pieces of news in the papers cheered me up this morning.
The Times of India reports that the Mumbai High Court has ruled that builders must fulfill promises made in the brochure.
The court observed that the facilities mentioned in the brochure can be treated as part of the agreement even if it not part of the pact between the builder and the flat buyer.
For long builders have been conning home buyers with glossy brochures and shabby amenities. This judgement should change that.
The other in the Hindustan Times says that the HC has fixed a ceiling on non-occupancy charges that societies collect from members who do not live/let-out their premises.
'The Contentious issue of non-occupancy charges was recently decided by the Bombay High Court, which upheld a state government circular fixing the ceiling for the charges at 10 per cent of maintenance dues. Justice D G Karnik, in a judgment on Sunanda Rangnekar versus Rahul Apartment, held that the circular in August 2001 had not been challenged and would have to be enforced. The judgment is expected to benefit large numbers of harried society members who’ve let out their premises and are exploited in the name of non-occupancy charges. 'In law, non-occupation charges would mean charges for not personally occupying the premises, ie, keeping the premises unused or locked or letting out or giving on licence,' said the judgment.
As for me, I never understood why there must be non-occupancy charges in the first place. If I want to keep my house locked, it's my business. Why should I pay for that? As long as I pay my other dues, the society should have no problems.