India: Dodgy Construction? Sue Them
Announcement posted by DesignBuild Source 22 May 2012
Indians who buy property directly from property developers and later discover poor construction or other problems such as leaks and cracks can now sue the developer under that country’s Consumer Protection Act.
Relying on precedents from earlier cases, a division bench of Justices TS Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra has said that property development constitutes a service under the Act.
“If a builder of a house uses substandard material for construction or makes false or misleading representations about the condition of the house, then it is denial of a facility or benefit of which a consumer is entitled to claim value under the Act,” the court says. “A flat with a leaking roof, or cracking wall or substandard floor is denial of service….when the contractor or builder undertakes to erect a house or flat then it is inherent in it that he shall perform his obligation as agreed to.”...