A Hyderabad homebuyer has successfully won a case against a builder who delivered a smaller villa than promised, with Telangana RERA ordering a full refund and penalty. P. Krishna Reddy, a resident of Old Bowenpally in Hyderabad, filed a complaint against a builder based in Chikalguda area for malpractice in the Bentley Woods project located at Quthbullapur Mandal, Medchal–Malkajgiri District. According to reports from The Times of India, Reddy paid a token advance of ₹20 lakh on October 12, 2024, for a ₹3.6 crore worth villa that was initially promised with 5,068.96 sq ft area but delivered with only 3,900 sq ft. The discrepancy came to light when Reddy noticed that the area mentioned in the sale agreement did not match what was represented to him earlier or what appeared in the project brochure.
The homebuyer alleged that the builder classified the remaining 1,169.76 sq ft as 'open space' for the entire project, which was never disclosed earlier and not mentioned in previous documents. As reported by The Times of India, Reddy claimed this nearly 30% open space addition effectively overcharged him by ₹90 lakh, which he termed as unethical and unlawful. The complainant also alleged that the sale agreement contained unfair terms, declaring the token amount as non-refundable without proper cancellation policy or refund mechanism, and that the builder coerced him into proceeding with the purchase under threat of forfeiture. The builder's advocate, Baddam Laxma Reddy, maintained that the open area mentioned by Reddy related to the setback portion within the individual plot.
The builder rejected Reddy's allegations, stating that the villa sale was not based on per square foot valuation or precise area measurements. According to The Times of India, the builder's legal representative asserted that any mention of area in the sale agreement was only indicative and approximate, and that the property brochure was meant for building plans and municipal requirements rather than pricing basis. The builder also claimed Reddy paid only ₹5 lakh as token amount and that he was fully aware of the villa's dimensions from the outset with full knowledge and satisfaction. However, the Telangana RERA authority found that the Agreement of Sale dated October 12, 2024, clearly recorded ₹20 lakh as the token advance received from P. Krishna Reddy, and the builder was unable to produce any document supporting its contention that ₹15 lakh was only a notional figure.
On August 24, 2026, Telangana RERA ruled in favor of the homebuyer, directing the builder to refund the entire token advance of ₹20 lakh within 30 days from the order date. As reported by The Times of India, the government body also imposed a penalty of ₹98.03 lakh on the builder, which must be paid within 30 days from the judgment date. The RERA observed the builder's advertising practice as serious misrepresentation, noting that buyers paid money thinking they would get a bigger villa only to receive a smaller one. The authority held that a promoter cannot change the description of an area from saleable space to 'open space' or common area after an Agreement of Sale has been executed, and that the builder's argument that the 44-villa development could be divided into individual units to avoid RERA registration was rejected.
The Bentley Woods project, spread across roughly 2.7 acres, comprises 44 villas and was originally marketed as a gated villa development. According to The Times of India, the Telangana RERA authority noted that the builder obtained RERA registration only after the authority raised questions about the project, but the registration presented the development as a collection of individual plots. The authority said the contradiction between marketing and registration indicated an attempt to avoid registration of the development as a villa project, with the composite development appearing to have been artificially divided into individual plots, each measuring less than 500 sq metres, even though the villas were being sold with common infrastructure. The builder was also penalised for not providing the area and charge-wise break-ups required under the Telangana RERA Rules.
