On Tuesday, India’s Supreme Court asked banks to waive the penalties imposed on Amrapali home buyers and their loan accounts as “standard” and not non-performing. The court order takes into account the fact that the builder had to pay the EMIs for the buyers till they were given possession of their houses. But that didn’t happen, it was Amrapali who missed. However, after the developer’s customers get their homes, banks can recover their dues.
Apart from the contractual specifics of Amrapali’s case, most home purchase agreements are tilted in favor of builders and banks, leaving little room for home buyers to exercise their due rights. Ironically, advertisements by developers liberally use bank-loan deals to attract buyers, who often assume bank backing for projects. Still, if builders fail to meet their commitments, banks chase homebuyers for dues. It may be according to law, but people are left with debt burdens instead of a place to live, especially cheated by banks, whose involvement with a project forced them to opt for it. . This is a market that suffers from very high credibility gaps. Banks should be more careful.