TS RERA slaps Rs 4cr fine on Buildox for pre-launch sales
Without having a land parcel or any agreement with land owners, the Hyderabad-based real estate developer has allegedly sold out flats in a proposed group-housing project in Hafeezpet
image for illustrative purpose
Hyderabad, April 4: Telangana State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TS RERA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 3.96 crore on a Hyderabad-based real estate developer Buildox Pvt Ltd for the pre-launch sales of a proposed group-housing project in Hafeezpet without having a land parcel or any agreement with land owners.
According to the TS RERA, Buildox has attracted the home buyers on social media to sell units in the project situated at Survey No 80 at Hafeezpеt, Hyderabad. On receiving complaints, the authority has issued a show cause notice for posting commercial advertisements and conducting marketing activities without obtaining 'RERA' registration.
Sharath Chandupatla, a complainant, informed that he had seen an ad on facebook.com for sale of flats by Buildox at Kondapur. When he clicked on the link, he was re-directed to a Whatsapp Chat box and the sales team reached out to him offering flats for sale in pre-launch scheme. After observing the details of the project including master plan, floor plan, and others, he met the Director of the company.
Impressed by the offer, he paid Rs 2 lakh through RTGS to Buildox in February, 2024 as a token amount for purchase of a flat in that project. Later, he learnt that the project was not registered with theTS RERA. Despite several announcements of the authority, the homebuyers in the city are falling prey to such unscrupulous builders and developers.
On the other hand, Buildox management claims that such pre-launch sales were organised by malicious entities aiming to tarnish its reputation. They have informed the TS RERA that a complaint was lodged with facebook.com to report the unauthorised creation of the page having their name. It also said that the receipts submitted by the complainant were fraudulent and were not issued by the company.
As the advertisements still exist on social media till date and are accessible to all, the TS RERA has directed Buildox to release a caution notice in local newspapers to warn the homebuyers of the fraud. The company has recently published a Caution Notice in a newspaper to prevent the potential buyers from such unauthorised sales.
Dr N Satyanarayana, Chairperson of TS RERA, advised the home buyers not to get cheated by investing in and buying unapproved real estate projects. He said that the authority will take all measures for the protection of the buyers by assuring them support. He said that issuing commercial advertisements and conducting marketing activities without obtaining RERA registration is a violation of the regulations.
