Best Club, Parking, Lifts or Promised Amenities Not Given Lawyer

The brochure showed a clubhouse with a swimming pool, a gym, a badminton court and a banquet hall. There was a jogging track around landscaped gardens, a children's play area in every cluster, 100% power backup, high-speed lifts, an amphitheatre, and a shopping arcade "for daily needs". Five years after moving in, residents have a half-built club shell, a pool that has never held water, two lifts per tower instead of three, and power backup that covers only the lights and fans.

Missing and incomplete amenities are among the most common complaints in NCR group housing. They're also among the hardest for individual buyers to pursue, because the loss is shared and the builder is often no longer actively involved. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 gives buyers and associations several ways to deal with them. This page explains them.

What counts as an amenity

Under the Act, the facilities that serve the whole project mostly fall within "common areas", defined in Section 2(n). The definition includes the land and the building, staircases, lifts, lobbies, fire escapes and common entrances, common basements, terraces, parks, play areas, open parking and common storage, premises for the lodging of community service staff, installations for central services such as electricity, gas, water and sanitation, air conditioning and incinerating, water tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts and other equipment for common use, and community and commercial facilities as provided in the real estate project.

In practice, amenities in dispute usually fall into these groups:

• Recreational facilities: club, pool, gym, sports courts, jogging track, play areas, community hall.
• Building services: number and capacity of lifts, power backup, fire-fighting systems, water treatment, sewage treatment plant, rainwater harvesting.
• Infrastructure: internal roads, boundary wall, security systems, landscaping, street lighting.
• Convenience facilities: shopping arcade, school site, health centre, crèche.
• Specifications inside the flat: brands of fittings, flooring, modular kitchen, wardrobes, air conditioning provisions.

Where the builder's obligation comes from

A builder's duty to provide an amenity can come from more than one source, and the strongest cases use all of them.

• The agreement for sale. Most agreements list the common facilities and specifications, often in an annexure. Section 11(4)(a) makes the promoter responsible for all obligations under the agreement for sale.
• The sanctioned plans. If the club or the pool appears on the sanctioned layout, Section 14(1) requires the builder to develop the project according to it.
• The RERA registration. When registering the project, the builder had to disclose the proposed facilities and their timelines. Those disclosures are part of the public record.
• The brochure and advertisements. Under Section 12, if a buyer makes an advance or deposit relying on information in a notice, advertisement or prospectus, or the model apartment, and suffers a loss because that information was incorrect or false, the builder is liable to compensate, and the buyer may withdraw with a refund and interest.

"The brochure was only an artist's impression"

Builders often defend amenity claims by pointing to the small print on the brochure: "artist's impression", "subject to change", "for representation only", "the developer reserves the right to modify". These disclaimers have some effect, but less than builders hope.

An artist's impression explains why the colours of the tiles or the shape of the trees may differ. It doesn't explain why the clubhouse shown on the plan doesn't exist at all. Section 12 was enacted specifically to make builders responsible for what they advertise. And if the facility also appears in the agreement, the sanctioned plan or the RERA disclosures, the disclaimer on the brochure becomes largely irrelevant.

Keep the original brochure, price lists, emails and any screenshots of the project's marketing website. If you don't have them, other residents often do.

What you can ask for

Completion of the amenity

The first remedy is usually a direction to the builder to complete the missing or incomplete facility within a fixed time, according to the sanctioned plan and specifications. Where the builder is still active, has funds, or still holds unsold units or land in the project, this is often realistic.

Compensation

Where completion isn't realistic, or has been delayed for years, compensation is the alternative. Section 18(3) provides for compensation where the promoter fails to discharge any other obligations imposed on it under the Act, the rules, the regulations or the agreement for sale. Section 12 provides compensation for losses caused by misleading advertisements. Compensation is decided by the adjudicating officer under Section 71.

Refund or withdrawal

For buyers who haven't yet taken possession and for whom the missing amenities are fundamental, such as a senior citizens' project without the promised medical facilities, Section 12 allows withdrawal and a refund with interest where the buyer relied on incorrect advertisement information.

Transfer of funds to the association

Where the builder has collected money specifically for an amenity, such as club membership charges, and not built it, the association can seek a direction to account for and transfer those funds, so the residents can build or complete the facility themselves.

Penalties

The authority can penalise a builder for contravening the Act, including under Section 61 for contraventions not separately provided for.

Individual claims or RWA claims?

Missing amenities affect everyone, so who should complain?

• The association is usually best placed to seek completion of common facilities, because the remedy benefits all residents and the association will eventually own and manage them. Section 31 allows an association of allottees to file complaints.
• Individual buyers can still complain, particularly about specifications inside their own flat, about club charges they paid personally, or where they want compensation for their own loss.
• A combination often works best: the association seeks completion, and individuals with specific losses claim compensation.

Where there's no registered association yet, a group of allottees can file together. Section 11(4)(e) requires the builder to enable the formation of an association within three months of a majority of units being booked. If your builder has stalled on this, that's itself a point to raise.

Club charges for a club that doesn't exist

A specific and common grievance: buyers were charged club membership fees, sometimes Rs 1 lakh or more, at booking or possession, for a club that was never built or never opened. Some builders also charge monthly club fees through their maintenance agencies.

If the club doesn't exist, the charge was for something not delivered. Individual buyers can seek a refund of the club charge with interest, and the association can seek a direction for the builder to build the club or transfer the money collected for it. Monthly club charges for a non-existent club should stop altogether.

Lifts, power backup and building services

Shortfalls in building services can be more than an inconvenience.

• Lifts. Fewer lifts than promised, lower capacity, or a different make can mean long waits in a 30-storey tower and serious difficulty for elderly residents. Compare the specification in the agreement and the sanctioned plans with what was installed.
• Power backup. If the agreement promised a specific backup load per flat, or 100% backup, and the installed generators can't deliver it, that's a shortfall in a promised service.
• Fire safety. Missing or non-functional fire systems are a safety issue first. Report them immediately to the builder, the association and the fire department, and ask the authority for urgent directions.
• Sewage treatment and water. An undersized or non-functional sewage treatment plant can lead to environmental violations and penalties that fall on residents. These are among the most important services to get right before handover.

Amenities and the handover to the association

The moment of handover of common areas to the association is when missing amenities should be put on record most carefully. Under Section 17, the builder must hand over the common areas, along with the relevant documents and plans, to the association. A good handover process includes:

• a joint inspection of every common facility against the sanctioned plans and the agreement;
• a written list of incomplete, missing or defective facilities, signed by both sides;
• handover of operation and maintenance manuals, warranties and annual maintenance contracts for lifts, generators, fire systems, pumps and the sewage treatment plant;
• handover of approvals and certificates, including fire clearances and pollution control consents;
• transfer of funds collected for maintenance and for specific amenities; and
• a timeline, in writing, for completing what's missing.

Associations sometimes feel pressured to accept handover quickly, because the builder's maintenance agency is charging high fees. That's understandable, but accepting handover without a written list of shortfalls makes later claims much harder. Insist on the list, even if you accept handover the same day. See our page on RWA handover.

Specifications inside your own flat

Individual buyers often find the specifications in their own flat don't match the agreement: different flooring, cheaper sanitary fittings, no modular kitchen, windows of a lower grade, wiring of a different brand. These are individual claims under the agreement and under Section 14. Record the differences at possession, with photographs, and compare them with the specifications annexure. Remedies include installation of the promised specification, compensation for the difference in value, or both.

Facilities on adjoining land or in later phases

Some projects promised facilities that were to be built later, in a separate phase or on adjoining land: a school, a shopping centre, a hospital, a sports complex. Builders sometimes argue that these were never part of the buyer's project. Whether that's right depends on how the facilities were presented in the agreement, the sanctioned layout and the marketing. If they were shown as part of the project buyers were buying into, and buyers paid a premium for them, a claim may lie even if they were to be built in a later phase.

When the builder says there's no money

A common response to amenity complaints is that the builder simply doesn't have the funds to finish the club or the landscaping. Sometimes that's true. It isn't a legal defence, but it does shape what remedy is realistic.

A few options are worth exploring in that situation.

• Unsold inventory. If the builder still holds unsold flats or commercial units in the project, the authority can be asked to direct that sale proceeds be used to complete the common facilities, or to restrict sales until they're completed.
• The 70% account. For projects registered under RERA, the builder must keep 70% of the money collected from buyers in a separate account for land and construction costs of that project. If money was withdrawn without completing the facilities, the authority can examine whether the account was properly operated.
• Funds collected for amenities. Club charges, IFMS and similar sums collected from buyers should be accounted for. If they haven't been used for their purpose, the association can ask for them to be transferred.
• Completion by the association. In some cases, the most practical outcome is for the association to complete the facility itself, with the builder ordered to pay or transfer the funds. That needs careful drafting so the association doesn't take on the builder's liabilities.

Amenities and resale value

Missing amenities affect more than daily life. Resale buyers compare societies on their facilities, and a half-built club or a dry pool lowers prices across the whole project. If you're quantifying a compensation claim, brokers' evidence of price differences between comparable societies with and without working facilities can help. It's the kind of evidence adjudicating officers find more convincing than general statements of inconvenience.

Where to file

Complaints about amenities go to the RERA authority of the state where the project is located. Compensation claims are decided by the adjudicating officer of that authority. For NCR projects, that's UP RERA, Haryana RERA in Gurugram or Panchkula, or Delhi RERA.

A simple amenities audit for your society

Before any complaint, it helps to have an amenities audit: a single document that lists, for every promised facility, what was promised, where the promise came from, and what exists today. Associations can prepare one themselves in a weekend. A simple table works well, with columns for:

• Facility: for example "swimming pool, 25 m, with kids' pool".
• Source of promise: brochure page, agreement annexure clause, sanctioned plan, RERA disclosure.
• Promised timeline, if any.
• Current status: built and working, built but not working, partly built, not started, replaced with something else.
• Evidence: photographs with dates, and names of residents who can confirm.
• Money collected specifically for the facility, if any.

An audit like this does three things. It focuses the complaint on what matters, it shows the authority that the residents' case is organised and factual, and it makes it hard for the builder to answer with generalities. It also helps residents agree among themselves which shortfalls are worth fighting for and which can be traded in a settlement.

Settlements on amenities

Amenity disputes settle more often than delay disputes, because both sides can see a practical outcome: the builder completes some facilities, pays for others, and hands over the rest to the association. If a settlement is on the table, make sure it lists each facility, the specification it will be completed to, the date, and what happens if a date is missed. Record it before the authority if possible, so that it can be enforced like an order rather than becoming another promise.

Amenities for senior citizens and specialised projects

Some projects were marketed to a particular group: senior living communities promising medical support and assisted living, "wellness" townships with spas and health centres, student or co-living projects with shared kitchens and study areas, or golf-course communities. In these projects, the amenities aren't extras. They're the reason buyers chose the project and often paid a premium. When they're missing, the claim is correspondingly stronger, and Section 12's protection against misleading advertisements becomes central. A senior citizen who bought into a "retirement community" relying on a promised round-the-clock nursing station has suffered a real loss if it never opened, and that can justify substantial compensation or, before possession, withdrawal with a refund.

Amenities that were built but don't work

A different problem from missing amenities is amenities that exist on paper but don't function: a pool that leaks and has been empty for three summers, a gym fitted with equipment that broke within months, a sewage treatment plant that was installed but never commissioned, a solar water system disconnected since handover. These are defects in workmanship, quality or provision of services under Section 14(3), and the builder must rectify them if they're reported within five years of possession. For common facilities, the five-year period is generally counted from the handover of possession, and the association is well placed to report them. See our page on defects after possession.

Our approach

We work with associations and buyer groups to build the evidence, identify what can realistically be achieved with your builder, and press for it before the authority. Where the builder still has assets in the project, completion is often achievable. Where it doesn't, we focus on funds, compensation and enabling the association to complete facilities itself. We'll be straightforward about which outcome is likely.

An illustration

A simplified, made-up example.

A 900-flat society in Gurugram was sold with a 40,000 square foot club including a pool, gym, squash courts and a banquet hall, shown in the brochure, the agreement's list of facilities and the sanctioned layout. Buyers paid Rs 1.5 lakh each as club membership. Residents moved in between 2017 and 2019. By 2024, the club was a concrete shell, the builder said it was "awaiting funds", and the association had taken over day-to-day maintenance.

The association can complain to Haryana RERA in Gurugram, seeking a direction to complete the club within a fixed time according to the sanctioned plan, or in the alternative to account for and transfer the club membership money collected from 900 buyers, so the residents can complete it. Individual buyers can seek refunds of the membership charge with interest if the club isn't completed. The builder's own RERA filings and quarterly updates will show what it told the regulator about the club's timeline.

How we handle amenity cases

1. List what was promised, from the agreement, the specifications annexure, the sanctioned plans, the RERA registration and the brochure.
2. Compare with what exists, with photographs and, for technical services like lifts and power backup, an expert's note.
3. Trace the money: what buyers paid specifically for amenities, such as club charges, and what the builder has spent.
4. Decide on the claimants: association, group of buyers, individuals, or a combination.
5. Send a notice to the builder listing the shortfalls and calling for completion within a reasonable time.
6. File a complaint seeking completion, accounts and transfer of funds, compensation and penalties as appropriate.
7. Follow through on compliance, and on penalties if directions are ignored.

Documents to gather

• The brochure, price list and any marketing material
• Agreement for sale with its list of amenities and specifications
• Sanctioned layout and building plans, if available
• The project's RERA registration and quarterly updates
• Receipts for club membership and similar charges
• Photographs and videos of missing or incomplete facilities
• Correspondence with the builder about amenities
• Association records, including any handover documents

Frequently asked questions

Is a brochure legally binding on the builder?

Under Section 12, a builder is liable to compensate buyers who suffered loss by relying on incorrect or false information in an advertisement or prospectus. Where the brochure's promises also appear in the agreement or sanctioned plans, the obligation is even clearer.

The builder says the brochure was only an artist's impression. Does that end my claim?

No. It may explain minor differences in appearance, but not the complete absence of a promised facility.

Can our RWA file a complaint about the club?

Yes. An association of allottees can file a complaint under Section 31, and for common facilities it's often the best placed to do so.

I paid club charges but the club was never built. Can I get the money back?

You can seek a refund with interest of charges paid for a facility that wasn't delivered.

Can the authority order the builder to build the club?

Yes, it can direct the builder to complete facilities within a fixed time. Where that isn't realistic, compensation or transfer of funds to the association are alternatives.

We got fewer lifts than promised. What can we do?

Compare the promised specification with what was installed. A shortfall can support a complaint for installation of the missing lifts or compensation.

Does the claim end once the RWA takes over maintenance?

No. Handover of maintenance doesn't extinguish the builder's obligation to provide what was promised.

Is there a time limit?

RERA doesn't set a fixed limitation period for complaints, but delay makes evidence harder and remedies weaker. Act once it's clear the builder isn't going to deliver.

General information about amenities and common facilities under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. Not legal advice. The example is an illustration, not a real case.