Credai’s forum to address grievances of home buyers

In the past when consumers had any complaints like delays in completion of a project or any other issues with the builder, their options were limited to either approaching the Courts or going for arbitration. This is not the case as Suresh Krishn, President of Credai, Chennai and MD of Isha Homes (India) (P) Ltd, says, “We have a consumer redressal committee, which would resolve complaints raised by customers of real estate developers that are members of Credai.” 

“The association has a code of conduct with all our members. Consumers can air their grievance to the Credai Secretariat. The Committee will look into the customers’ complaint and will resolve it amicably. This will help in disposing off issues in a faster way,” he said. According to WS Habib, President Elect of Credai Chennai, “With Credai’s two-member consumer redressal committee, consumers can approach the association for a speedy resolution to their complaints.” “We hope the issue between the developer and consumer will get resolved on the first level itself,” he adds. 

This is a far cry from the times when consumers had to seek legal help from the Courts or through arbitration, which were time-consuming. Consumers have expressed optimism that this mechanism would help them as developers would abide by the regulations laid down by their industry body. Welcoming the committee, Sanjay Chugh, founder, Skylines Property Consultants said consumer complaints include delay in completion of projects, quality of apartments and issues in statutory approvals in the project. 

“Builders and customers are partners in a project and it will be good when both of them work together. When the builder and consumer work together the consumer will get to know the challenges the builder faces in the project,” he said. Credai Chennai has also unveiled its vision statement for the next 10 years consisting of five goals to achieve that could change the industry over the years. The association also has a committee to study the real estate bill in detail and standardise the format of home buyer agreement taking into account the real estate bill.