Can’t alter common area minus nod of 2/3rd residents: Tribunal
Times of India | 4 January 2026
Kolkata: Ruling in favour of the homebuyers at ‘Atmosphere – the luxurious condominium' off EM Bypass, the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (WBREAT) on Friday upheld RERA's interim order restraining promoters from ‘alienating, transferring or dealing' with any part of the project or its common area.
Earlier, 10 residents of the project had alleged that the plans were unilaterally modified by the promoter without obtaining mandatory consent of 2/3 of the existing allottees. On Feb 25, 2025, the HC had permitted continuation of construction in terms of the modified plan, but such construction was subject to the outcome of the arbitration proceedings initiated by separate allottees. In the latest order by WBREAT, the tribunal chairperson, Justice Rabindranath Samanta, held: "Viewed from any angle, it is a legal mandate on a promoter to first obtain prior written consent of 2/3 of allottees and then submit a modified or revised plan of the original sanctioned plan to the concerned municipal authority."
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) was also directed to inspect the site and verify whether construction at the designated common area on the first-floor E-deck level and the additional duplexes was done in accordance with sanctioned plans. WBRERA officers were also directed to conduct an inspection to verify and confirm compliance with the documents submitted during registration of the project. The residential complex, comprising 2 towers, 82 apartments and several other amenities, has been built on 3 acres. The facilities in the common area are
to be shared proportionately by all unit holders of the project. It was noted that the promoter unilaterally modified the project by applying for sanction of a revised plan for the construction of one additional duplex each over the highest floor, that is, the 35th floor of each tower. It was further alleged that the promoter, without prior written consent of 2/3 of the allottees, illegally converted common areas at the first floor, referred to as ‘E' deck level, into an additional apartment. The modified sanctioned plan was obtained in Nov 2018.
The developer had taken the modified sanction based on a change in the building rules of KMC in June 2018 that had allowed properties within 500 m of a metro corridor to get an additional FAR of 20% if the road in front is wider than 24 m.