Tribunal rules builders cannot impose unfair interest or cancel allotments after granting payment extensions.

OREAT Declares Builder’s Flat Cancellation Illegal, Grants Relief to Homebuyer.

The Odisha Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (OREAT) has declared a builder’s decision to cancel a flat allotment in a premium housing project at Kalarahanga as illegal, overturning an earlier ORERA order. The buyer had booked the apartment in 2017 for ₹91.36 lakh, paid the booking amount, and later cleared the balance after securing a home loan in January 2023. Despite this, the builder cancelled the allotment and demanded over ₹1.23 crore, including delayed interest and possession penalties. OREAT ruled that charging interest from 2017 was unjustified because the builder had extended the payment deadline until December 31, 2022. It also rejected the penalty for delayed possession, stating it was inapplicable in this case. The tribunal directed the builder to issue a revised demand, calculating interest only from April 1, 2022, to January 18, 2023, and allowed the buyer one month to make the payment.