Pay 18% interest for delay in plot handover: SC to builder

In a relief to home/plot buyers, the Supreme Court has said that a developer/builder who imposes 18 per cent interest on buyers for delayed payments cannot evade the same liability if it fails to deliver possession of a plot/flat on time to the consumer.

“There is no principle of law that interest in default charged by the builder can never be granted to the buyer,” a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih said, enhancing interest from 9 per cent to 18 per cent for delayed handover of possession of a plot to a buyer.

In this case, the possession of the alternative plot allotted in 2011 to appellant Ranjesh Sharma was offered only in 2018. He paid a total sum of Rs 43,13,312.67 of which Rs 83,300.76 was towards interest @ 18 per cent per annum charged by the respondent (developer)