In a landmark decision, the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority (K-RERA) has instructed a real estate developer to refund ₹2.56 crore to a homebuyer who faced a delay of over five years in receiving possession of a flat in Mantri Webcity 2A, Bengaluru.

The homebuyer entered into a sale agreement in April 2015 for an apartment priced at ₹1.46 crore. According to the contract, possession was due by March 31, 2017. However, the developer failed to meet this deadline, and despite passing years, the buyer never received possession or any updated timeline.

Following the buyer’s complaint, K-RERA conducted an investigation and confirmed the developer’s failure to uphold the terms of the agreement. The developer had even promised delivery by December 2018, with a grace period, but after 60 months, the flat was still not delivered.

As a result, K-RERA mandated the developer to return the total paid amount of ₹1.46 crore plus ₹1.27 crore in interest, bringing the total refund to ₹2.56 crore. The refund must be completed within 60 days. If the developer fails to do so, the buyer has the right to initiate recovery proceedings under Section 40 of the RERA Act, treating the amount as land revenue.