The government-appointed board of directors at Unitech Group has issued a stern warning to homebuyers who are defaulting on payments, indicating that construction of their flats could be halted and allotments canceled if payments are not made promptly. After nearly a decade of stalled construction, work has resumed on several Unitech projects across cities like Noida, Gurgaon, and Bhubaneswar. However, inconsistent payment compliance is hindering progress. For example, projects in Greater Noida have seen only a fraction of the demanded payments, with some buyers opting to pay penalties rather than dues. Unitech has urged defaulting homebuyers to settle outstanding amounts or face severe consequences.
The government-appointed board of directors at Unitech Group has issued a warning to homebuyers who are defaulting on their payments, cautioning that construction of their flats may be halted, and in extreme cases, allotments could be canceled. This notice comes as construction has resumed on several Unitech projects after nearly a decade. The board emphasized that it is facing challenges in maintaining the pace of construction due to an inconsistent flow of funds.
In a notice to homebuyers, the Unitech board expressed concern that a large number of homebuyers across various projects were not taking timely payments of their outstanding dues seriously. The board warned that if this issue persisted, it would become extremely challenging for the management to sustain the current pace of construction and make regular payments to contractors. As a result, the board indicated it might be compelled to take two significant actions: advising contractors to halt work on the units of defaulting homebuyers and possibly canceling their allotments.
In addition to Noida and Greater Noida, construction on Unitech projects has also resumed in cities such as Gurgaon, Ambala, and Bhubaneswar. However, the payment compliance rates in Greater Noida projects have raised concerns. For example, homebuyers in the Cascades project have paid INR 1.5 crore, falling short of the INR 3.3 crore demanded by the board. Other projects, like Heights, have performed even worse, with only INR 4 lakh paid out of a total demand of INR 71 lakh.
In the Habitat project, only 4.4% of the INR 12.6 crore demanded by the board has been paid. Horizon has a slightly better compliance rate at 25.7%, with INR 2 crore collected out of a total demand of INR 8.1 crore. The Verve project has seen just 12.4% compliance, with INR 87 lakh paid out of INR 7 crore. In neighboring Gurgaon, the situation is relatively better. In the Escape project, nearly half of the payment has been made, with INR 47 lakh cleared out of the INR 1 crore demanded. Sunbreeze has a stronger compliance rate of 78.5%, with INR 18.3 crore paid out of INR 23.2 crore. Vistas also shows a healthy compliance rate of 76.2%, with INR 20.2 crore cleared out of the INR 26.5 crore demand.
According to unofficial sources, the Unitech board has reportedly learned that many homebuyers are deliberately delaying payments due to the relatively low penalty for non-compliance. Under the revised payment plan, homebuyers are charged a 9% simple interest on overdue amounts, which is significantly lower than the interest on home loans. As a result, it appears more financially feasible for some to pay the penalty. However, this delay is causing serious disruptions to construction schedules, as contractors must be paid regularly to keep the work on track, a source indicated.
The notice also pointed out that some buyers had previously failed to make payments despite demand notices issued by the former Unitech management, resulting in a significant accumulation of overdue amounts. It highlighted two specific cases of homebuyers with large outstanding balances. For instance, in Amber Tower 2 of the Unitech Golf and Country Club project in Noida, one homebuyer has an overdue amount of INR 1.9 crore. Despite receiving repeated demand notices, the buyer has only made an initial payment of INR 23.9 lakh, according to the board.
In Burgundy Tower 1, another homebuyer owes the company INR 68.8 lakh, even though construction has progressed to the 30th floor. In both instances, the buyers have been instructed to pay the full overdue amount-not in installments-within 30 days to avoid high interest penalties and the potential risk of cancellation.
The Unitech board's warning is a clear signal to defaulting homebuyers that further delays in payments could lead to serious consequences, including halted construction and possible cancellations. To keep projects moving, homebuyers must adhere to payment schedules, or risk penalties and losing their allotments altogether.
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