"No order for refund with interest can be passed since no agreement for sale has been executed." This is what the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulator Authority (MahaRERA) said to a party which was seeking refund along with interest after they had cancelled the booking for a property. Most cases that come to housing watchdog MahaRERA are about a homebuyer seeking interest on the amount they have paid to the developer and the reason is delay in possession. Recently two people had booked a shop in a project being constructed by Haware Engineers and Builder Pvt Ltd in Rainbow Business Park located at Navi Mumbai. The buyers, Ranjan Sinha and Madhuri Sinha, alleged they made the booking via Sai Estate Consultants, which had orally promised the date of possession as March 2019. They stated that the developer sent a draft agreement for sale saying that the date of handing over possession of the property would be on or before December 2021. So the complainants cancelled the booking, but are yet to get the refund. The buyers prayed that the developer be directed to refund the entire amount paid by them along with interest. The advocate for Sai Estate Consultants stated that his client was no longer associated with the project and also denied that they had made an oral contract about the possession date being March 2019. During the course of hearing Gautam Chaterjee, the chairman of MahaRERA, told the buyers that no order for refund with interest could be passed since no agreement for sale had been executed and registered between the parties. Chaterjee said if the buyers wanted to continue with the purchase, an agreement for sale had to be executed under section-13 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. But if they decided to cancel, then the refund, if any, would be accordance with the conditions of the booking letter. The case clarifies that for MahaRERA to pass an order of interest to be paid by the developer with refund, an agreement between the buyer and the developer is necessary. PUT IT IN WRITING The ruling clarifies that for MahaRERA to pass an order directing a developer to refund the booking amount along with interest, an agreement between the buyer and the developer is necessary

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