Authority orders penalty proceedings for RERA violation but rejects homebuyer’s ₹51 lakh refund claim.

TG RERA Penalises Developer, Landowners for Selling Flat Before Project Registration.

The Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA) has ordered penalty proceedings against Nizamabad-based developer Manik Infra and three landowners for selling a flat before the project was registered under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The Authority found that the sale deed was executed on February 23, 2023, while the project received TG RERA registration only on July 7, 2023, violating Section 3 of the Act. Penalty proceedings will be initiated under Section 59. However, TG RERA rejected the homebuyer’s request for a ₹51 lakh refund, observing that a registered sale deed had already transferred ownership and that the buyer had mortgaged the property and undertaken interior work, demonstrating ownership rights. Although the buyer alleged construction delays and project deviations, the Authority ruled that the transaction could not be treated as a withdrawal under Section 18(1), while directing action for the registration violation.