A house-buyer in Ho Chi Minh City has become the first-ever customer to file lawsuit against the investor of an apartment project that failed to hand the house over to her on time, and eventually win compensation.

On Monday the District 3 People’s Court ruled that the Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Group has to provide VND248 million (US$11,923) in compensation to a customer named Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, who brought the company to court over a late house transfer.

According to the contract, Ngoc, who resides in the Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Apartment in District 7, would receive her apartment in July 2009, but the transfer “was only completed 13 months later,” she said.

Ngoc said she had to lodge the lawsuit because the company refused to compensate.

The People’s Court ruled that since Ngoc had already paid 95 percent of the apartment value, or VND1.1 billion, after signing the contract, the company was responsible for handing over the apartment to her at that time.

But as the company could only carry out the transfer in April 2011, it was requested to compensate the customer, the court said.

Unprecedented case

Disputes between apartment investors and their customers, like the case of Ngoc, are not uncommon in the realty industry, said lawyer Ha Hai.

“But this is the first case to have such a ruling, and it is the beginning of many other cases to come,” he said.

Similarly, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCMC Realty Association, said many customers will follow Ngoc in taking investors to court.

“This is also a warning for the dishonest realty developers, and will help increase the transparency of the realty market,” he said.

Some customers said they are encouraged by Ngoc’s victory.

Nguyen Thi Hong, for instance, said she is completing legal procedures to take the investor of a condo project in Binh Tan District to court.

Hong, hailing from District 5, inked a contract with the company in June 2011 to buy an apartment, under which the house was supposed to be transferred in December 2011.

But Hong couldn’t move in even a year and a half after that, she said.

“I have paid for 70 percent of the house value, but no one has told me when I will be able to move in,” she said.

Meanwhile, Huynh Thanh Liem, a Thu Duc resident, said his apartment project has not even been started, even though he has paid VND500 million for an apartment.

“According to the contract, I was supposed to have already received the house,” he said.

Liem said he has repeatedly asked for a refund, but the company refused to take responsibility.

“After reading the news about Quoc Cuong Gia Lai, I decided to do the same as Ngoc,” he said.

“But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get the compensation as the company currently seems to be in financial trouble.”