The Bombay High Court has held that a developer cannot postpone execution of a conveyance deed merely because the development of the entire layout has not been completed. The Court ruled that contractual clauses making conveyance contingent upon completion of the entire project cannot override the statutory mandate under Rule 9 of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Rules.
Justice Sandeep V. Marne allowed a writ petition filed by Upvan Woodlands Co-operative Housing Society, challenging the Competent Authority’s order rejecting its application for deemed conveyance on the ground that the layout development remained incomplete.
The society’s building had already received an occupation certificate and the society was registered in 2018. However, the developer refused to execute conveyance, relying on a clause in the agreement stating that conveyance would take place only after all buildings in the five-plot layout were completed.
The High Court held that MOFA is a welfare legislation intended to protect flat purchasers and that statutory obligations cannot be defeated by private contractual arrangements. It observed that Rule 9 prescribes a definite timeline for conveyance and cannot be replaced by an uncertain future event such as completion of the entire layout.
Rejecting the finding that the application was premature, the Court observed that housing societies are entitled to seek deemed conveyance even during phased development and that grant of conveyance over their proportionate land does not prejudice the developer’s right to continue construction on the remaining land.
Finding no dispute regarding the extent of land to be conveyed, the Court set aside the Competent Authority’s order and directed issuance of a deemed conveyance certificate in favour of the society for 2,799.90 square metres within six weeks. The developer’s request for a stay of the judgment was also rejected.
