Flat buyers cannot be bound by one sided agreements: SC

The Apex court found that such agreements were an unfair trade practice under Section 2 (r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that home-buyers can no longer be bound by one-sided agreements signed between them and the builder.

The Apex court found that such agreements were an unfair trade practice under Section 2 (r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

A bench including Justices UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra could not bind a flat under agreement with one-sided contractual terms. It also observed that such agreements were stringent to the buyers but had lenient provisions for builders in case of violation of terms.

The bench was considering an appeal against National Consumer Commission order which held that the Clauses relied upon by the builder to resist the refund claims made by the complainant buyer, were wholly one-sided, unfair and unreasonable, and could not be relied upon.