HYDERABAD: The Telangana Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (TREAT) has ordered the Telangana RERA to refund the Rs 4.27 lakh penalty imposed on Sanali Housing Projects, ruling that the order was not legally sustainable.
The case stemmed from a Development Agreement-cum-Irrevocable General Power of Attorney signed in April 2021 between Sanali Housing Projects and landowner Mohammed Mushtaq for a project titled Sanali Pinnacle at Shaikpet.
While RERA had penalised the developer for not registering the project, both parties appealed — the landowner seeking a higher penalty and the developer contesting its validity.
The Tribunal held that landowners executing Joint Development Agreements (JDAs) are co-promoters, not consumers, and thus cannot file complaints under Section 31(1) of the RERA Act.
It further clarified that project display boards or website listings without pricing or sale information do not amount to advertisements.
Declaring the penalty order ultra vires, TREAT directed RERA to refund the amount.