Best MahaRERA (Mumbai & Pune) Lawyer

Maharashtra's Real Estate Regulatory Authority, known everywhere as MahaRERA, was one of the first authorities in the country to start working when the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force in 2017, and it remains one of the largest. It registers more projects than almost any other authority, it was early in putting registration and compliance online, and it has built up an extensive body of orders on everything from delay and refunds to parking, carpet area and redevelopment.

Many of our clients in the NCR have property in Mumbai or Pune, bought as an investment, for family, or after a job move. Many Maharashtra residents also have property in the NCR. This page explains how MahaRERA works, what's distinctive about real estate disputes in Maharashtra, and how buyers and developers can deal with the authority from a distance. We handle Maharashtra matters with associate counsel in Mumbai and Pune.

What MahaRERA covers

MahaRERA deals with real estate projects anywhere in Maharashtra: Mumbai city and suburbs, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Panvel, Vasai-Virar, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and the rest of the state. It has its main office in Mumbai and has run regional offices, including one for Pune, along with extensive online systems.

Like other authorities, it:

• registers real estate projects and agents;
• receives and publishes promoters' quarterly and annual filings;
• hears complaints by allottees, promoters and others under Section 31;
• through its adjudicating officers, decides compensation claims; and
• takes action against promoters for non-compliance.

Interest on refunds and for delayed possession under the Maharashtra rules is at the State Bank of India's highest marginal cost of lending rate plus 2%, the same formula used in UP and Haryana.

Maharashtra's older law still matters

Before RERA, flat purchases in Maharashtra were governed by the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the Promotion of Construction, Sale, Management and Transfer) Act, 1963, usually called MOFA, and housing societies by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. RERA didn't repeal these. Section 88 of the Act says its provisions are in addition to, not in derogation of, other laws, so MOFA and the societies law still operate alongside it.

That matters in practice:

• Society formation. In Maharashtra, flat buyers in a building usually form a cooperative housing society. The promoter's duty to enable formation of the association under Section 11(4)(e) of RERA sits alongside obligations under MOFA and the societies law.
• Conveyance and deemed conveyance. MOFA requires the promoter to convey the land and building to the society. Where the promoter fails to do so, the society can apply for deemed conveyance under Section 11 of MOFA to the competent authority (the District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies). Deemed conveyance has been a crucial remedy in Mumbai, where many older societies never received conveyance from their developers. RERA's Section 17 adds an obligation to execute the conveyance, but the MOFA route remains important.
• Older agreements. Many agreements signed before 2017 were in the MOFA form. Since the Act applies to ongoing projects, as the Bombay High Court held early on in Neelkamal Realtors Suburban v. Union of India (2017) and the Supreme Court later confirmed in Newtech (2021), buyers under those agreements can still complain to MahaRERA.

Filing a complaint

Complaints to MahaRERA are filed online, with the fee prescribed by the authority. The complaint states the project and its registration number, the facts, the provisions of the Act said to be violated and the relief claimed, with documents uploaded. As elsewhere:

• refund and interest claims go to the authority;
• compensation claims go to the adjudicating officer; and
• complaints should be specific about the relief sought.

The core documents are the agreement for sale (in Maharashtra, almost always registered, since agreements for sale of flats attract stamp duty and registration), payment receipts and bank statements, the allotment letter, correspondence, any possession letter and the occupancy certificate status.

Hearings have commonly been conducted online, which makes MahaRERA accessible to buyers in the NCR and abroad. Because of the volume of complaints, there can be a wait before a matter is heard and decided.

The conciliation forum

MahaRERA was one of the first authorities to act on Section 32(g) of the Act, which asks authorities to facilitate amicable conciliation. It set up a conciliation and dispute resolution forum with the participation of consumer and developer associations, where trained conciliators, often a pair with one from each side's background, help buyers and developers reach a settlement.

Conciliation is voluntary. It works best where the developer is solvent and the dispute is about timing, amounts or specific defects rather than outright failure. A settlement reached in conciliation can be recorded so that it is enforceable. Where conciliation fails, the complaint continues. See settlement and mediation.

What MahaRERA hears most

• Delay and refunds, especially in large projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune. See refunds and delay interest.
• Parking. Disputes about sale of open and stilt parking spaces, which the Supreme Court held in Nahalchand Laloochand v. Panchali Co-operative Housing Society (2010) are common areas that a promoter can't sell separately under MOFA, while covered garages are treated differently. RERA's own definitions of garage and common areas carry this distinction forward.
• Carpet area. RERA requires sale on carpet area, and disputes about the area actually delivered compared with the area agreed are common.
• Redevelopment projects, discussed below.
• Society formation and conveyance, alongside the MOFA remedies.
• Possession without occupancy certificate, which in Mumbai has been a long-running problem for some buildings. See possession without OC.
• Developers' compliance failures, which MahaRERA has pursued through notices, suspension of registrations and freezing of accounts.

Redevelopment in Mumbai

A very large share of Mumbai's new housing comes from redevelopment: old cooperative society buildings, cessed buildings and slum areas are redeveloped by a developer who rehouses existing occupants free of cost and sells additional flats in the open market. These projects are typically registered with MahaRERA because of the sale component.

Two groups have rights in such projects:

• Buyers of the sale flats, who are allottees under the Act in the usual way and can complain about delay, defects and so on.
• Existing members or occupants being rehoused, whose rights come mainly from the development agreement with the society and from the governing schemes (for example, for slum rehabilitation, the scheme administered by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority). Their disputes, such as unpaid rent for temporary accommodation or delay in handing over rehab flats, may be heard in different forums, including MahaRERA in some situations, civil courts and the specialised authorities.

Redevelopment disputes are often complex, involving the society, the developer, the municipal corporation and sometimes MHADA or the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. Getting the forum right is the first step.

Compliance pressure on developers

MahaRERA has been one of the most active authorities in enforcing developers' continuing obligations. Over the years it has issued notices to large numbers of projects for missed quarterly updates and annual audit reports, published lists of non-compliant and lapsed projects, and in some cases suspended registrations, barred further sales or frozen project bank accounts until compliance. It has also issued detailed directions on matters such as the format of agreements for sale, disclosures in advertisements, and the structure of project bank accounts.

For developers active in Maharashtra, that means compliance needs to be routine and documented, not something attended to only when a notice arrives. See ongoing compliance, the project account and replying to notices.

Agents in Maharashtra

Agents dealing in registered projects in Maharashtra must register with MahaRERA. MahaRERA has gone further than most authorities by requiring agents and their staff to complete prescribed training and obtain a certificate of competency, as part of an effort to professionalise the brokerage market. Agents from other states who sell Maharashtra projects need to comply with these requirements as well. See agent registration.

After the order: recovery

As everywhere, amounts due under MahaRERA orders are recoverable as arrears of land revenue under Section 40. MahaRERA issues recovery warrants or certificates to the Collector of the relevant district, who then pursues recovery under the state's land revenue law. Recovery rates have varied, as in other states, and buyers who help by identifying assets and following up do better. See recovery and builders ignoring orders.

Appeals

Appeals from MahaRERA and its adjudicating officers go to the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal in Mumbai within 60 days, with the promoter's pre-deposit under Section 43(5). Further appeals on substantial questions of law go to the Bombay High Court under Section 58. See appeals to the tribunal and High Court appeals.

Buying in Maharashtra from the NCR: points to check

• Registration and filings on MahaRERA's website, including the project's quarterly updates and any notices against it.
• The agreement for sale, which in Maharashtra should follow MahaRERA's model terms and be registered, with stamp duty paid.
• Carpet area, stated in the agreement in square metres according to the RERA definition.
• Parking, what exactly is being allotted and whether it is a covered garage or a common area parking space.
• For redevelopment projects, the status of approvals, the society's development agreement and the rehabilitation component.
• Occupancy certificate before taking possession of a completed flat.
• Society formation and the developer's plan for conveyance.

See our page on agreement review.

An illustration

Here's a made-up example. A couple in Noida bought a 2BHK in a large project in Thane in 2016 for Rs 92 lakh, under a registered agreement promising possession in 2019. By 2023, the building is complete but has no occupancy certificate, and the developer is asking buyers to take "fit-out possession". The couple also learn that the parking space they were promised is in an open area and the developer is charging Rs 4 lakh for it.

Through associate counsel in Mumbai, they file a MahaRERA complaint seeking interest for delay at the prescribed rate from the agreed possession date until a valid offer of possession after the occupancy certificate, and a direction that the developer cannot charge for open parking. Hearings are online. The developer agrees to go to the conciliation forum. The settlement records interest for delay, to be adjusted against the final instalment, a refund of the parking charge, and a date by which the occupancy certificate will be obtained, with interest continuing if it's missed.

Defects after possession

The five-year defect liability under Section 14(3) applies in Maharashtra as everywhere. In Mumbai's climate, the commonest complaints are leakage and seepage during the monsoon, problems with waterproofing and external plaster, and lift and fire system failures. A defect should be reported to the developer in writing, with photographs, as soon as it appears. If the developer doesn't fix it within 30 days, the buyer, or the society for common area defects, can complain to MahaRERA for rectification and compensation. See defects.

Stamp duty on agreements, and what happens on cancellation

One feature of Maharashtra practice that surprises NCR buyers is that the agreement for sale of an under-construction flat is itself registered, with stamp duty paid on it at the time of signing, rather than only at the final conveyance. This has some useful consequences: the agreement is a public record, the buyer's rights are documented early, and disputes about the existence or terms of the agreement are rare.

It also raises a question when a buyer cancels and takes a refund. The stamp duty paid on the agreement is a payment to the state, not to the developer, so it isn't automatically part of the refund ordered against the developer. Maharashtra's stamp law provides a process for seeking refund of stamp duty on cancelled agreements in certain circumstances, within time limits. Buyers who withdraw from a project should look at this promptly, since the time limits can be short, and the cancellation needs to be properly documented. Whether the developer should compensate for stamp duty lost because of its own default can be raised in a compensation claim.

Navi Mumbai, Thane and leasehold land

A large part of Navi Mumbai is built on land leased by CIDCO, the state's planning and development corporation, and many projects in Thane and the wider region depend on approvals from municipal corporations and planning bodies with their own rules. As with leasehold land in Noida, disputes sometimes arise when a developer's obligations to the land-owning body (lease premium, transfer charges or conditions of the lease) hold up occupancy certificates or transfers to buyers. The RERA complaint is against the developer, but the solution may need the land-owning body's approval as well.

Pune

Pune has its own large real estate market, spread across the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal areas and the region under the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Many projects there are large townships and phased developments. MahaRERA hears Pune complaints in the same way as Mumbai complaints, and online hearings make it accessible from anywhere. Common disputes include delayed phases in townships, amenities promised for the township as a whole, and maintenance charges levied by township management companies. See our page on Pune.

MahaRERA or the consumer commission?

Maharashtra buyers can also go to the consumer commissions, and the Supreme Court in Imperia Structures v. Anil Patni (2020) confirmed that the choice is theirs. MahaRERA has the advantages of specialisation, conciliation and a fixed interest formula. The consumer commissions may suit buyers whose main claim is for substantial compensation, or who want to bring a class action for many buyers together. A Maharashtra buyer living in Delhi may also be able to file a consumer complaint in Delhi, since the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 allows filing where the complainant resides or works. Pursuing the same relief in both forums at once isn't permitted. See RERA vs consumer court.

Developers from the NCR expanding into Maharashtra

Several NCR-based developers have launched projects in Mumbai and Pune, often through joint ventures with local landowners or through redevelopment. They should expect a regulator that is detail-oriented about agreement formats, disclosures, project accounts and agent compliance, and that acts on missed filings. They should also plan for the local laws that sit alongside RERA: MOFA, the cooperative societies law, the development control rules and, for redevelopment, the specific schemes and the society's own processes. A compliance approach that works in Haryana or UP may need adjusting.

Documents for a MahaRERA complaint

• the registered agreement for sale, with the index (registration) page;
• the allotment letter and any booking form;
• receipts and bank statements for every payment, including stamp duty and registration paid at the agreement stage;
• home loan documents, if any;
• letters and emails from the developer about progress, revised dates and demands;
• any possession letter, with the occupancy certificate status from the municipal corporation;
• for parking disputes, the allotment of the parking space and any separate payment for it;
• for redevelopment projects, the development agreement with the society, if relevant to the claim; and
• the project's MahaRERA registration details and quarterly updates.

As always, a one-page timeline and a payment table save time at the hearing. Where the buyer lives outside Maharashtra, a power of attorney lets someone in India sign and file, and associate counsel can appear where needed.

What to expect on timing

MahaRERA handles a very large number of complaints, and timing varies with the bench, the developer's conduct and whether the facts are disputed. Uncontested refund matters can be decided within a few months. Matters where the developer disputes payments, claims force majeure or argues about the possession date usually take longer. Conciliation, where both sides are willing, is often quicker than a contested hearing. Section 29(4) of the Act asks authorities to try to dispose of matters within 60 days and record reasons when they can't, but in practice that is a target rather than a guarantee.

When a Maharashtra developer goes into insolvency

Several developers with Mumbai and Pune projects have been taken into insolvency before the National Company Law Tribunal's Mumbai benches. Once a developer is admitted, the moratorium under Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 generally stops MahaRERA proceedings and recovery against it, and buyers must file their claims with the resolution professional, usually in Form CA. Claims not filed may be lost once a resolution plan is approved. See our page on Form CA claims.

Handling a Maharashtra matter from the NCR

Distance used to be a real obstacle. It is much less of one now. Most of a MahaRERA complaint can be handled remotely: filing is online, hearings have commonly been online, documents are uploaded, and orders are published on the website. Where physical attendance or local knowledge is needed, for example at the appellate tribunal, before the deemed conveyance authority or at the Collector's office for recovery, associate counsel in Mumbai or Pune can step in. For NRIs, a power of attorney to a family member in India allows filing and representation.

What can't be done remotely is the work of getting the facts right: collecting every payment record, finding the occupancy certificate status from the municipal corporation's records, and understanding the society's position in a redevelopment. That preparation is where most cases are won or lost.

How we help

For buyers based in the NCR or abroad with property in Maharashtra, we review the documents, advise on the right forum (MahaRERA, the conciliation forum, the deemed conveyance route, the consumer commission or civil court), prepare the complaint, and handle the matter with associate counsel in Mumbai and Pune. For developers and agents expanding into Maharashtra from the NCR, we advise on registration, agent certification and compliance. See also our pages on Mumbai and Pune.

Frequently asked questions

Can I file a MahaRERA complaint online from Delhi?

Yes. MahaRERA complaints are filed online and hearings have commonly been held online, so buyers outside Maharashtra can pursue complaints without travelling.

What is the MahaRERA conciliation forum?

A forum set up by MahaRERA under Section 32(g), with consumer and developer associations, where conciliators help buyers and developers settle disputes voluntarily.

Does MOFA still apply after RERA?

Yes. RERA operates in addition to other laws. MOFA remedies such as deemed conveyance under Section 11 remain available.

What is deemed conveyance?

Where a developer fails to convey the land and building to the society, the society can apply to the competent authority under MOFA for a certificate that conveyance is deemed to have been made.

Can a developer sell open parking spaces in Maharashtra?

Open and stilt parking spaces are generally treated as common areas that a developer can't sell separately, following the Supreme Court's decision in Nahalchand Laloochand (2010). Covered garages can be allotted under RERA.

What interest does MahaRERA award?

The rate in the Maharashtra rules, the State Bank of India's highest marginal cost of lending rate plus 2%.

Where do appeals from MahaRERA go?

To the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal in Mumbai, and then on questions of law to the Bombay High Court.

Do agents need training in Maharashtra?

MahaRERA has required agents and their staff to complete training and obtain a certificate of competency, in addition to registration.

General information about proceedings before the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and related Maharashtra laws. MahaRERA's directions, fees and procedures change from time to time; check its website for the current position. Maharashtra matters are handled with associate counsel. Not legal advice.