Response

After the purchase deal of a house is finalised between a buyer and a seller, a formal process is initiated to conclude it legally. At this stage, the buyer pays the seller a small portion of the transaction value, to show his intentions of purchaidng the property. This payment is commonly known as the Ôtoken amountÕ.

The token money is paid when the buyer and seller reach to an agreement verbally to finalise the deal. Generally, the sellers get to forfeit the entire amount, if the buyer changes his mind and contravenes from his verbal promise. The seller, on the other hand, will have to return the token money to the buyer, if he cannot complete the transaction, due to any reason.

If, for any reason, the buyer fails to complete the transaction, then the seller would forfeit the token money, unless the parties have made a notarised agreement stating otherwise.
Legally it is difficult to ensure the refund of the token money thus, in case the property purchase fails, the buyer must keep the token amount very low and commit to a seller, only after making all monetary arrangements to complete the transaction.

In the present case, you can file a suit for Specific Performance of the contract against the buyer for violating the terms of the contract.

Reference: Specific Relief Act, 1963

202100190-20210024-1638

LAWAYZ-2023-176