The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed a Mohali builder to cease collecting maintenance charges until a complete occupation certificate is obtained from the competent authority.

This decision came after M/s Singla Builders and Promoters Limited, along with Nxtep Maintain Infraz Pvt Ltd, filed a revision petition challenging an interim order from December 11, 2023. The interim order had been issued by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, UT, in response to a complaint from a Mohali resident.

In the revised interim order, the petitioners were instructed not to collect maintenance charges from any occupants, including the complainant, until they secured the necessary occupation certificate. The state commission upheld the district commission’s order but with a modification. It clarified that the district commission had misinterpreted the national commission’s findings. The relief of non-payment of maintenance charges should have been granted exclusively to the complainant rather than extending it to all occupants of the project.