Maharashtra: Show cause notice to 14 developers for advertising without MahaRERA registration

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has pulled up 14 developers for having marketed their projects without getting them registered with the regulator.

This suo moto action involves five projects from Mumbai, three each from Pune and Nagpur, two in Nashik and one in Aurangabad.

“We have initiated action against these developers after taking notice of such advertisements published in various newspapers of the state without the MahaRERA number. All of them have been given seven days from the date of notice to present their case. We expect them to rectify the errors within the prescribed period. If not done, penal action will be taken against such errant developers,” said a MahaRERA official.

MahaRERA officials refuse to provide names of erring builders

When asked for the list of such erring builders to prevent gullible homebuyers from approaching these projects, MahaRERA officials refused to provide the names. As per MahaRERA law, every real estate project advertisement involving the sale of homes should have a RERA registration number for potential homebuyers to check details on the regulator’s portal. Additionally, any project (including flats) having over 500 square meters or 8 flats or more has to be mandatorily registered with MahaRERA.

“It has come to our notice that some developers are flouting this rule and advertising their projects without mentioning the MahaRERA registration number or by simply stating that the project is ‘MahaRERA registered’ which is incorrect,” explained the official.

In the last few weeks, some of the senior MahaRERA members, while reading newspapers spotted certain realty advertisements that did not include the MahaRERA registration number. This prompted the action and more advertisements were scanned to spot violations of the law.