Builder disputes in Kolkata: which forum actually hears them
West Bengal does not apply the central RERA of 2016. It has its own statute, the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017, which mirrors the central law in structure but creates a state authority and a state appellate tribunal. A buyer of a flat, plot or building in Kolkata therefore files a complaint before the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Authority, not before a Maharashtra-style MahaRERA bench, and appeals go to the West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Appellate Tribunal. The Supreme Court upheld the state law in 2021, so this is the operative route and not a temporary arrangement.
Three other forums run in parallel and are often confused with it. The consumer commission hears deficiency-of-service claims and can award compensation and interest. The civil court hears suits for specific performance, refund and damages where the contract itself is in dispute. The National Company Law Tribunal hears insolvency applications against a developer who has defaulted, and since 2020 homebuyers are treated as financial creditors for that purpose. Choosing the wrong forum at the start can cost a year, which is why the first step in any builder dispute is reading the agreement, the payment schedule and the possession clause together.
Delay in possession: what the buyer can claim
Where possession is delayed beyond the date stated in the agreement, the buyer can seek interest on the amounts paid for the period of delay, and in a proper case a full refund with interest. The rate is not fixed by statute; the authority and the consumer commissions generally award interest linked to the State Bank rate or a rate specified in the rules, and the appellate tribunal has corrected awards that were either punitive or nominal. A buyer who has already taken possession under protest does not lose the right to claim delay interest, but a buyer who accepted possession without protest and signed a fresh handover document with a no-claim clause faces an uphill argument.
Documents that decide the complaint
- Allotment letter and the registered agreement for sale, with the payment schedule and the promised date of possession.
- Receipts and bank statements showing every payment, including those made to a collection account not named in the agreement.
- The sanctioned plan and the commencement certificate, to establish what was approved and when construction could lawfully start.
- Correspondence about delay, requests for a revised timeline, and any one-sided extension letter sent by the developer.
- Photographs and inspection notes showing the actual stage of construction against the promised stage.
- For a refund claim, a written notice demanding refund and the developer's reply or silence.
Timelines in practice
| Stage | Typical time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to developer | 15 to 30 days to reply | Creates the record for later pleadings |
| Complaint before WBHIRA | Admission within weeks | Fee computed on the value of the flat |
| Hearing and order | 6 to 18 months | Depends on pleadings and expert reports |
| Appeal to the tribunal | 6 to 12 months | Limitation 60 days, condonable |
| Execution of the order | 3 to 12 months | Attachment of the developer's assets |
What a builder typically argues
The common defences are force majeure, delay in statutory approvals, buyer default in payment, and a clause in the agreement allowing the developer to extend possession by twelve or twenty-four months. Each has a limited life. Approval delay caused by the developer's own defective application is not force majeure. A buyer's payment default excuses delay only for the period attributable to that default. An extension clause does not override the statutory obligation to disclose a realistic completion date, and a clause that gives the developer a unilateral right to extend indefinitely is vulnerable to challenge as an unfair contract term.
Structural defects and change of layout
A complaint about defective construction is handled differently from a delay complaint. The authority can direct rectification within a stated period, and where the defect is structural the developer remains liable for five years from possession. A deviation from the sanctioned plan, an extra tower in the common area, or a reduction in the promised amenities is a separate grievance: it is not cured by paying delay interest, and the remedy is either restoration of the approved layout or compensation measured by the loss of amenity and the value of the promised common area.
Before you file
Read the agreement for the arbitration clause, because a one-sided arbitration clause naming a developer-appointed arbitrator is now a recognised ground to approach the authority or the court instead. Confirm that the project was registered and that the registration number appears on the agreement and on every advertisement. Check whether the developer has already been ordered to refund in another matter, which is admissible and often decisive for interim protection.
Advocate Panchanand Shaw appears for homebuyers before the West Bengal housing authority, the appellate tribunal, consumer commissions and the Calcutta High Court in builder delay, refund and possession matters.
Questions buyers ask before filing
Can I file if the project was never registered? Yes. An unregistered project is itself a violation, and the authority can entertain a complaint about it. The absence of a registration number on the agreement is evidence, not a bar.
Do I have to stop paying the instalments? No. Withholding payments weakens the claim and gives the developer a default defence. Pay under protest, record the protest in writing, and claim interest for the delay separately.
Is a refund better than possession? It depends on how far the project has progressed and whether the developer has the funds to refund. Where construction is stalled and the developer is already facing insolvency, a refund order may be worth less than a possession order with a penalty clause.
Can several buyers file together? Each flat is a separate contract, so each buyer files separately, but the complaints can be heard together and the same evidence on delay can be adopted, which reduces cost and produces consistent findings.
What if the developer has already given possession? A delay claim survives possession, provided the handover was taken under protest or the delay is documented. A fresh agreement signed at handover that waives all claims is the one document that can end the remedy.
Interest, penalty and costs
The authority can award interest for the period of delay at a rate it considers just, and it can impose a penalty on the promoter for violating the disclosure and registration obligations. Costs are usually borne by the party that loses, and a developer who fails to comply with an order faces further penalty and, in a continuing default, prosecution. For the buyer, the practical point is to claim interest from the promised possession date rather than from the date of the complaint, and to plead the delay month by month so that the calculation is not left to the authority's discretion.
Where the developer is in insolvency, the claim must also be lodged with the resolution professional as a financial creditor. That filing is separate from the complaint before the housing authority, and failing to lodge it within the timeline fixed by the professional can leave the buyer with an order that cannot be executed against the company's assets.
Practical first steps
Collect the agreement, every receipt, the sanctioned plan and the developer's delay correspondence into a single indexed file. Send a notice demanding possession with delay interest, or refund, within fifteen days. If the reply is evasive or the deadline passes, the complaint can be drafted on the material already collected, and the notice itself becomes the foundation for the interest claim and for costs.