Homebuyers Can Claim Delayed Possession Interest Even After Executing Conveyance Deed, But RERA Complaints Must Be Filed Within Reasonable Time; Three Years From Possession Held Reasonable: Punjab & Haryana High Court
Case Name: Emaar India Limited v. Poonam Goel and Another
Date of Judgment: 05.10.2026
Citation: RERA-APPL-146-2026
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Jagmohan Bansal
Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court held that execution of a conveyance deed or acceptance of possession does not extinguish a homebuyer’s statutory right to claim interest for delayed possession under the proviso to Section 18(1) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Such liability cannot be defeated merely by payment of partial compensation or acceptance of possession.
However, the Court clarified that the absence of an express limitation period under Section 31 does not entitle an allottee to initiate proceedings at any indefinite point in time. Complaints must be filed within a reasonable period, determined according to the facts and circumstances of each case. In the cases before it, the Court considered three years from the date of possession to be a reasonable period, excluding the COVID-19 period from 15.03.2020 to 28.02.2022.
Summary: The controversy arose from a batch of appeals filed by Emaar India Limited challenging orders directing payment of interest for delayed possession. In the lead case, possession of a flat in the Gurgaon Greens project was contractually due on 16.11.2016 but was offered on 31.05.2019. The Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority awarded interest at 11% per annum for the delay, which was upheld by the Appellate Tribunal.
Emaar contended that execution of the conveyance deed and acceptance of compensation concluded the contractual relationship and barred subsequent claims. It further argued that complaints filed several years after possession were not maintainable.
Rejecting the first contention, the High Court observed that the liability to pay delayed possession interest under Section 18(1) is statutory and crystallises upon handing over possession. Contractual arrangements cannot override this obligation, and execution of the conveyance deed does not, by itself, establish waiver of the allottee’s rights.
On limitation, the Court disagreed with the Appellate Tribunal’s conclusion that complaints under Section 31 could be filed without any temporal restriction. Drawing upon Supreme Court precedents governing the exercise of statutory powers where no limitation is prescribed, the Court held that the doctrine of reasonable time applies to RERA complaints. While the Limitation Act, 1963 cannot be mechanically applied, three years from possession was considered reasonable in the circumstances of these cases.
Decision: The High Court partly allowed Emaar India’s appeals, upholding the homebuyers’ right to claim delayed possession interest notwithstanding execution of conveyance deeds, but accepting the promoter’s objection regarding the applicability of a reasonable limitation period.
The matters were remanded to the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority to determine whether the individual complaints had been filed within the reasonable period of three years from possession, after excluding the COVID-19 period.