The real Estate Regulatory Authority, also knowns as RERA, is fully responsible for regulating and governing the real estate sectors and their activities.

The real estate Regulatory Authority of respective states and union territories is established by introducing the Real estate (regulation and development) Act, 2016.

Real estate regulatory authority works in buyers’ interest and protects them from getting exploited by the unfair practices prevalent in the market.

RERA legislation regulates the conduct of builders and their agents by getting them registered and seeking a timely report from them on the development of the project. It protects buyers from bearing any unfair loss due to the builder’s delay in project development.

In Maharashtra, MahaRERA is the authority that regulates the construction sector and protects the interests of the buyers concerning the same.

What is MahaRERA?

MahaRERA stands for Maharashtra real estate regulatory authority, and this authority works in the interest of consumers and governs the whole real estate sector of Maharashtra.

It prohibits the consumers in Maharashtra from exploitation by the builders in the real estate sector.

Before commencement, it’s essential for every real estate project to get registered with the Real estate regulatory authority in Maharashtra.

MahaRERA is governed by the Real estate (regulation and development) Act, 2016, and Maharashtra real estate regulatory authority (general) regulations, 2017.

Features of MahaRERA

There are certain features of MahaRERA that satisfies the objectives of buyers. These are:-

• It is involved with the duty to grant registration to the projects in Maharashtra.
• It exercises adjudicatory powers and deals with the complaints related to registered and unregistered real estate projects. The buyers are free to file a complaint to the authority against the malpractices of promoters, agents, or developers.
• It ensures the project’s credibility by providing information about it to the buyers. It provides information about whether the project is registered with RERA or not and information related to the date of completion of the project. Thus it facilitates the prospective buyers and financers in getting better informed.
• It works in buyers’ interest and mainly suggests the buyers move towards buyer-friendly projects. It prohibits malpractices to defraud the buyers and works in the way of providing compensation to the allottees in case of a delay in project completion.
• MahaRERA regulates the project developers and promoters and mandates all the real estate projects to register with RERA.
• It also provides for punishment in the case of a non-registered project, in the form of a penalty maximum of up to 10 per cent of the amount estimated as the cost of the project or imprisonment of up to three years or both.
• It works for dispute settlement in a prompt manner. Early disposal of complaints by MahaRERA would lead to a sense of protection among consumers.
• It introduces flexibility in the real estate sector of Maharashtra. Consumers are flexible in opting for the projects according to their choice date of possession.

Benefits of MahaRERA

There are certain benefits sought from Maharashtra real estate regulatory authority:-

• RERA Act proved to be a milestone in removing the lack of transparency in the real estate sector. There were instances of non-factual advertisements, fraud by promoters and developers, etc.

  RERA Act came to protect buyers’ interests by providing them with all the information about a real estate property.

• Even the developer has to mandatorily register the project with RERA and report the project’s development on a timely basis. If a developer fails to do so, then he will be penalised for the same.
• MahaRERA acts to regulate the conduct of promoters and developers and keeps a check on the use of funds by the developer.

  It ensures that the developers don’t channel the funds taken by buyers or investors in the name of one project and channel it to other projects. The non-compliance would lead to penalties and, in serious cases, will include imprisonment.

• The developers are accountable to the people. The Developers must deposit 70% of all funds paid towards a particular project into a single account. These funds are to be used only for construction or land cost. Developers must report the project’s development to the regulatory authorities on a timely basis.
• The registration of the real estate projects with MahaRERA makes it more trustworthy and credible. The project’s approval in Maharashtra has resulted in consumers’ trust in the project. It makes the project more secure so that consumers face no loss just because of the delay in project completion by the developer.

MahaRERA registration process

The procedure of registration on the MahaRERA website:

• Visit the https://maharera.mahaonline.gov.in.
• Click on the new registration link under the Login button.
• Select the type of user you want to opt for from the new window. That is
  • Promoter
  • Real estate agent
  • Complainant
• Fill up all the required information.
• Complete the email if verification and login into the account.
• Submit the required documents in the specified form.

Registration of real estate projects

The promoters cannot advertise related to the unregistered real estate projects. They cannot even report the names of the beneficiaries, indulge in the sale or transfer of property, or invite them to purchase a plot of property, flat, or building.

All the promoters must obtain a construction certificate or an occupancy certificate following the approved plan in ongoing developments and register their real estate with their respective Real Estate Regulatory Authority.

Registration of real estate agent

In Maharashtra, the real estate agents must register themselves under MahaRERA. Only the registered agents can buy or sell apartments/flats/plots in the project. Once registered, they are also allowed to mediate them for selling/purchasing on behalf of another individual/persons.

If an agent fails to comply, he will be penalised with Rs. 10,000 per day.

Cancellation of registration

The MahaRERA is authorised to cancel or revoke the registration of a real estate project by taking ‘suo moto’ cognisance within thirty days after serving the notice to the promoter.

It is the authority’s discretion to cancel the real estate registration if the promoter’s reply is found to be dissatisfactory.

The cancellation of the registration is made on the following grounds:-

• Due to the default of promotor under RERA
• Due to the violation of the terms of the approval granted by the Authority by the promoter
• Due to Promotors’ unfair practices or irregularities, i.e. misrepresentation, publication of any advertisement/prospects of services which are not intended to be offered
• Due to Promoters involvement in any fraudulent practices

Is RERA approval mandatory?

Yes, every real estate project in a state needs to be mandatorily approved by RERA. Real estate projects approved by RERA enhance the project’s credibility and make it more secure and trustworthy to the buyer.

This approval is given once the project is registered with the RERA of the respective state.

The registration approved by the authority is valid for a period agreed on by the promoter to complete the project as prescribed in the affidavit submitted along with the application form.

The benefits of a RERA approved project are:

• The projects approved by RERA are secure and credible
• The RERA approved projects protect the buyers from any form of loss in the future
• The projects approved by RERA prohibit the builder, promoters, or agents from indulging any malpractices in gaining an unfair advantage.

The disadvantages of a non-approved RERA project are:

• The non-registered and non-approved RERA projects are illegal
• There are possibilities of difficulties arising shortly
• Seeking redressal can be difficult on a non-approved property
• Promoters will be liable to pay the penalty for non-registering the property or may face imprisonment.

How to find project details on the MahaRERA website?

Let’s go through the step by step procedure to seek project details on the MahaRERA website:

Step 1:- Go to https://maharera.mahaonline.gov.in/

Step 2:- Go to the ‘Registration’ tab, and click on ‘Registered Projects’.

Step 3:- Under the sub-heading ‘Select User Type’, click on ‘Registered Projects’.

Step 4:- You can search the details of a project either by its name, the name of its promoter, or its registration number.

Step 5:- To know the certificate number of a project, you can click on the ‘View all projects on map’ option on the top right-hand side of the page.

Step 6:- Explore the map and click on the concerned project to get its certificate number.

Step 7:- When you type the name or certificate number of the project and click on search, the project and a few details will appear in the search results.

Step 8:- By clicking on ‘View’, you will see all the project details like address, project type, current status, and proposed completion date by the builder.

Challenges ahead of MahaRERA

MahaRERA is working in the line protecting buyers’ interest, but many challenges are occurring in the path ahead.

As the MahaRERA’s jurisdiction is extended to Daman and Diu along with Maharashtra, the difficulty in implementing the objectives and monitoring the project’s development is the first challenge in the path of the Maharashtra Real estate regulatory authority.

The other challenge faced in implementing the objectives is that it doesn’t contain standard pricing requirements on its website.

Due to wide jurisdiction, the authority faces the problem of curbing the malpractices of the developers, promoters, and agents.

Conclusion

MahaRERA is the only regulatory authority entrusted with governing and regulating the conduct of real estate developers, promoters, agents, etc.

In the state of Maharashtra, the Real estate sector is governed by the Real estate (regulation and development) act, 2016 and Maharashtra real estate regulatory authority (general) regulations, 2017, which provide for the establishment of the state’s real estate regulatory authority and the way how it should function keeping in mind the interest of various stakeholders.

So, registration to MahaRERA is mandatory as it maintains transparency to prevent any fraud in the real estate sector.