MahaRERA Takes Action Against 370 Projects across Maharashtra

An action has been taken against 370 projects in Maharashtra. A show-cause notice has been issued and the owners are fined INR 33 lakhs for not printing the MahaRERA registration numbers and the QR Codes.

Of these 370 projects, 173 are from Mumbai, 162 from Pune, and 35 from Nagpur. MahaRERA has already recovered INR 22 lakhs from the developers.

All the projects that failed to update their Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs) about registrations on the MahaRERA portal received notices from the housing authority. Only 40 of the 222 projects that were notified did not fail to reply with the necessary booking and financial information.

According to a senior MahaRERA official, customers need sufficient information to make a knowledgeable choice before purchasing real estate, and other initiatives did not meet this need. These projects were supposed to produce QPRs for three quarters, but they haven't. They have been requested to provide the necessary details. Their bank accounts will be frozen and their registration will be suspended unless they comply. Additionally, unless they comply, the registration offices are not allowed to register agreements for any sales in these projects.

A Financial Quarter-Based Progress Reporting System was implemented by MahaRERA in January 2023. The system mandates that all active projects submit real-time data on the precise number of bookings, construction status, sales data, and other information needed for Forms 1, 2, and 3.

MahaRERA Chairperson, Ajoy Mehta, in an official statement, stated that In order to strengthen the consumer's hand, promoters are required under RERA requirements to update Forms 1 through 3 on a quarterly basis and Form 5 once a year. When registration numbers are issued to promoters, they are advised of these conditions. MahaRERA has also sent notices to 19,000 projects filed since May 2017 because they were not giving the necessary information. We developed a separate monitoring system for the Financial Quarter-Based Project Progress Reporting starting in January 2023. MahaRERA is adamant that promoter noncompliance would not be allowed going forward, even in the face of numerous opportunities for compliance. Securing consumer investments in the house-building sector requires this.

The regulatory agency also identified gaps in the amended reports. MahaRERA discontinued the registration of up to 363 projects earlier in September due to incomplete updates.

Since August 1, the MahaRERA made it compulsory for the developers to display QR Codes on advertisements or they will have to pay a fine up to INR 50,000. Officials stated that they made an appeal to all the citizens not to purchase or invest in projects that are being promoted without QR Codes or project registration numbers.