MahaRERA: Know about RERA Act in Maharashtra

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, came into force from May 2017. Among the Act’s key objectives is regulating the real estate industry in every nook and corner of the country. Every state in India has its own RERA authority that oversees and regulates the real estate sector in the state. Maharashtra’s RERA, also called MahaRERA, has been very active since its launch.

What is RERA Act in Maharashtra?

Under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, every Indian state must have its own Real Estate Regulatory Authority. RERA overseas the protocols in the real estate industry and initiates quick dispute redressal. Maharashtra is the first state to fully implement RERA via Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority or MahaRERA. The RERA Act in Maharashtra functions on the following objectives:

1. Bring optimum transparency in the sale of plots, apartments, and buildings.
2. Protection of customers’ interest in real estate transactions.
3. Initiate fast dispute settlement with a settling method.
4. Formation of the Appellate Tribunal to receive complaints from buyers.

In Maharashtra, every residential and commercial project must mandatorily get registered under MahaRERA. No promoter or developer is permitted to advertise, sell or book their real estate projects otherwise.

So far, the state alone has processed over 18,000 applications, making up for more than 60% of the RERA applications in India. Also, MahaRERA dealt with close to 2,387 complaints in the previous year.

Is RERA Approval Mandatory?

Initiated by the Indian Government, RERA supervises the regulations in the real estate industry and quick settlement of disputes. According to the Act, every state and union territory in India must establish its own RERA to protect the consumers’ interests and enhance transparency in the sector.

Every promoter and builder must get their projects registered under the RERA of their respective state. Consumers must also ensure to purchase only RERA registered properties because of significant reasons.

• Non-registered real estate projects are considered illegal, and buyers may face difficulties in the future.
• On approaching the regulatory body for redressal, such buyers may be questioned on purchasing an unregistered property.
• Promoters shall pay the penalty for non-registration along with imprisonment in extreme cases.

Developers must mention the registration numbers of their projects in all their promotions, confirming their compliance with the regulatory body. These mandates are essential to meet the objectives of RERA – transparency in the sector, protection of interests, fast-tracking dispute settlement, minimizing project hand-over delays, etc.

Besides being the first state to implement RERA in full swing, here’s what makes MahaRERA act unique

1) Number of applications processed

MahaRERA act has been functional since May 2017, much before other state authorities formed their regulatory body. It handles RERA registrations in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and it has processed more than 18,000 applications. It makes up well over 60% of the total RERA applications handled in the country.

2) Number of grievances redressed

The regulatory authority handled around 2,387 complaints in the past year. Over 2,000 appellants completed the appeal process, and around 1,200 of these were resolved. This is large and speaks of the body's reach and convenient communication channels for homebuyers.

At the same time, Maharashtra RERA, along with developers' bodies such as NAREDCO, CREDAI, and MCH land, representatives of the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry have formed the MahaRERA Conciliation and Disputes Resolution Forum as an alternate forum for redressing grievances from homebuyers like you. The objective of having another forum, according to MahaRERA officials, is to create a level playing field for both buyers and builders.

3) How MahaRERA website differs from the rest

The Maharashtra RERA website is said to be the most consumer-friendly among the other RERA websites. You can find minute details about the projects undertaken under the scheme. Thus, it allows you to make a more informed decision regarding your real estate investment. Moreover, the Maharashtra RERA website mentions up-to-date information on current and new projects covered under the MahaRERA act online. For instance, you can easily get information on the building plan and the number of parking spaces allotted for a particular project with just a click on the MahaRERA website.

The website also gives you a pretty fair idea of when you can expect possession of your house, flat, or apartment, as it contains the completion date as well as the revised completion deadlines if any. You can also check the credibility of brokers of different projects here. Knowing when your project is going to be completed also enables you to decide whether you can take a home loan. Check the loan amount you are eligible for by using the Home Loan Eligibility Calculator on lender websites such as Bajaj Finserv and pave the way for easy housing finance up to Rs. 15 Crore*.

4) Buyer-friendly policies

One of the noteworthy policies undertaken by the MahaRERA act was the ban on advertisements of any developer’s projects until it was registered. Secondly, once builders cross the 3-month deadline of completion, they are prohibited from requesting further extensions and instead have to pay fines up to Rs. 10 lakh. Some of the policies are also beneficial to developers, such as where MahaRERA allows developers to make corrections even after they get the signed RERA certificate of their property.

Challenges ahead for MahaRERA

The MahaRERA has gone far in streamlining itself and regulating the real estate industry in Maharashtra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman & Diu. However, there is still much ground to be covered. It lacks, for example, information on the pricing of an apartment or escrow accounts.

Being the first to administer such a significant change, RERA impact on real estate in Maharashtra is adds to investor and homebuyer confidence.

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